E. F. Schumacher Personal Library and Archives
The New Economics Library is home to the bulk of Dr. Ernst Friedrich Schumacher 's personal library and archives, donated in 1994 by his widow, Vreni Schumacher. His collection, consisting of 2500 books, has been computer indexed and its catalogue can be searched online. Schumacher's archives, which include books, articles, memorabilia, and lecture and background notes, can be viewed at the E. F. Schumacher Library.
The books:
The 2500 volume collection of books, many containing Schumacher’s research notes, and some inscribed by their authors, span a surprising range of topics. In addition to the expected criticisms of economics, technology, agriculture, and development, there are equally considerable collections of titles exploring Western and Eastern philosophies, a variety of religious and political thought, psychology, and mysticism. Seven hundred of the titles are in German, and the remainder in English. The books are fully catalogued, and the collection may be browsed over the Internet. Schumacher’s own titles, as well as his contributions to volumes of collected essays and more than 200 journal articles, can be separated and searched independently. It is nearly a complete collection, missing only the approximately 200 books that were removed from the collection by Schumacher’s children upon his death. A brief record of each of these absent books has been entered into our catalogue system to maintain the integrity of the collection. (For details about conducting specific searches of Fritz Schumacher’s personal collection, please read about searching special collections).
The archives:
Schumacher’s archives were professionally organized by his daughter Barbara Wood, author of E. F. Schumacher: His Life and Thought (NY: Harper & Row, 1984). They include articles written by Schumacher himself, including copies of Small Is Beautiful in many languages, documentary film productions about him, his lecture and background notes, and his awards, medals, and photographs. The collection has been computer-indexed and will eventually be scanned and made available to scholars online. Please contact us if we can assist you with research specific to the archives. Go to the library home page to search the archives online.
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