The Engleman World Peace and Nonviolence Collection includes the 100-volume Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi as well as more than 100 additional printed and audiovisual works about Gandhi’s life and nonviolent practices, and the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mother Teresa. The collection also contains 20 pieces of artwork, including busts of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa.

“The library is very fortunate to have received the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi and the rest of Mr. Engleman’s collection,” said Dana Hendrix, head of collection development and acquisition for the Smith Library Center. “While the set is not incredibly rare, there seem to be very few copies readily accessible to Texas scholars .” Southwestern joins The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Houston as being among the few universities in Texas to own the set.

A self-taught Gandhi scholar, Engleman became interested in ideas of peace and nonviolence later in his life. Until claimed by ill heath, Engleman traveled around the world learning about nonviolence practices and conducting peace and nonviolence workshops.

“It was a series of coincidences that led to Southwestern getting this wonderful gift,” said Lynne Brody, dean of library services. “Through a grant from the Susan Vaughan Foundation of Houston, we have been refurbishing our periodicals reading room with the theme “global perspectives.” So when the Engleman gift was offered to us, its focus on world peace and nonviolence was a perfect complement to the periodicals room theme. The peace conference to take place on campus this fall was a further connection.”

University Chaplain Beverly Jones is organizing a peace conference Oct. 11-12. The keynote speaker for Southwestern’s Peace Conference 2006 is Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.

“With Arun Gandhi sharing lessons from his grandfather, it will be wonderful to celebrate the Engleman World Peace and Nonviolence Collection along with the conference,” Jones said.

The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi is accessible for library use in the periodical reading room. The collected works speak to Gandhi’s experiences through many letters and journal entries. A display case adjacent to Gandhi’s Collected Works holds a sampling of several other items on nonviolence from The King Center in Atlanta as well as an autographed picture of Mother Teresa. It also holds several smaller pamphlets written by Gandhi.

The remaining books and videos in the collection are shelved in the library’s stacks and are available for regular checkout by students and other library patrons. The majority of these pieces are about the life and works of Gandhi and about practices of peace and nonviolence. Some of the artwork, including the bust of Mother Teresa, was given to Jones to display in the Chapel Lounge.

“I hope the display will allow students to see that there is a growing interest in peace and nonviolence throughout multiple religions,” Jones said.

Hendrix said the Engleman World Peace and Nonviolence Collection is a wonderful addition to the A. Frank Smith, Jr. Library. “I believe this collection will be a great asset to our students and their studies,” she said.