To the research librarian:

I am a long time research person in the U.Q.Library. I have a Ph.D. in history from Princeton U. in the USA (1972), I was a lecturer in the School of Humanities at Griffith U. for many years, I have, until recently, been an Honorary Research Fellow in the History Dept. at the UQ. At present I am an ordinary borrower and I continue to use the UQ library for my research purposes. In the past I have occasionally found that my research interests make me want to comment on some of the specific holdings of the library. The present letter is one of these occasions.

The research subject matter which I wish to comment upon in this letter is Sigmund Freud. Freud is a writer whose intellectual fortunes have had their ups and downs. His status will always be questionable and the larger questions about whether Freud was a scientific genius on the level of Copernicus or Darwin or a charlaton will never be answerable. There will always be people who take up both views.

None of this is of any consequence from the point of view of the UQ Library. Freud is a major intellectual of the twentieth century and his status transcends disciplinary boundaries. Holdings in Frued are of equal interest to people in psychology, in literature, and in the social sciences. The UQ should try to keep its holdings in Frued up to the standard of what is expected of a major university library.

My sense is that, from this point of view, there may, at the present moment,also, be a few shortcomings.

I would like to put my comments in three different category areas: 1) Freud's writings in English translation; 2) Freud's writings in German; and 3) writings about Freud. I should like, also, to put my suggestions for UQ purchases in three headings: 1) hard copies; 2) hard copies in multiple copies; 3) E-Books.

1) Freud in English:

The standard edition of the writings of Freud in English is the edition of all of Freud's writings which is edited by James Strachey and which was completed in the 1960's. The library has this, but it is not, in my opinion, everything that the library ought to have. Ever since a famous essay by Bruno Bettelheim--which, ironically, the Library also has--there has been a great deal of controversy about translations of Freud into English. Recently Penguin Books has responded to this by putting out The New Penguin Freud, edited by Adam Philips. The translations in this series are at least contenders to become the authoritative translations of Freud into English and, even regardless of this,
because of the introductions to the separate volumes,, they are, I think, a must-have. Each volume has a separate introduction: One to the subject matter, by the editor, and the other to the translation. by the translator. These introductions may be the best introductions to Freud currently available. The library has, at present, only a few of these volumes. It certainly ought to have the whole series (1)

2) Freud in German:

The Library does not have Freud in German. This is easily remedied. The standard edition is Sigmund Freud, Gesammelte Werke, ed. Anna Freud et. al. (1968). It is not exorbitantly expensive, and I think it ought to be available on E-Books. The library has extensive holdings in the German language. Freud is a major figure in German intellectual history. No real research about Freud is possible without these volumes (3).

3) About Freud:

The literature about Freud is, of course, infinite, but some things do stand out. Two, in particular, seem to me to be must-buys for the Library.

Firstly, George Makari, Revolution in Mind: the Creation of Psychoanalysis (2008). I am astonished that the UQ Library does not have this book. It is the best available contemporary introduction to Freud, his writings, and his milieu. It has been recognnized as such by people from the standpoints of psychology, intellectual history--just about every point of view from which it is possible to take an interest in Freud (2).

Ernest Jones, The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud (3 Vols. 1953-57), is another interesting omission. The Jones biography has a special status and in many ways it will always be the biography of Freud. Jones knew Freud personally and well from about the very time when he began to attract attention. Ernest Jones was, himself, the founder of the pyschoanalytical profession in England. The book is, therefore, an indispensible document, both about Freud and about the movement of psychoanalysis. The Library has a one volume, abridged edition of this biography. It should have the whole thing, and it is easily obtainable (1).

Thank you very much.

John