The Mysterious Fate of La Bibliothèque de Louis Pasteur (1822–1895)

Abstract

In addition to the holdings at Bibliothèque Nationale de France and Musée du Pasteur Institut à Paris, major parts of la Bibliothèque de Louis Pasteur are in four institutions in the United States - Reynolds Historical Library at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama; Burndy Library on the History of Science and Technology at Huntington Library in San Marino, California; Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at University of Texas in Austin, Texas; and Truman G Blocker History of Medicine Collections, The Moody Medical Library, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas. The circuitous paths that led each part of la Bibliothèque de Louis Pasteur to their present locations were traced and the lives of key individuals in medicine, science and the humanities who obtained these valuable documents were recounted. The documents in each institution were discussed and a plan was considered to make them accessible to scholars who wish to further explore the life of Louis Pasteur.