Hundreds of boxes of books stacked in I.D. Weeks Library await the sorting and processing job that could last two to three years.
The books, along with 43 boxes containing 2,000 record albums, once filled emeritus English professor William "Bill" Selz's home and now have a new home here on campus.
After his death Aug. 17, Selz's entire library of 9,000 nonfiction, literature, art and history books were delivered to I.D. Weeks.
Three years ago, when he was writing his will, Selz contacted David Hulkonen, director of libraries and Joe Edelen, head of Content Management to discuss his idea of donating his lifelong collection to the library.
The decision wasn't widely known, Hulkonen said.
"When they found out, they were surprised, I think shocked would be a good word," he said.
Selz collected books throughout his entire adult life, even up until the very end, when he could only see the text with a magnifying glass or on audio.
Sarah Hanson, a member of the Vermillion Public Library's outreach program, would visit with Selz and enjoyed picking out books for him to read.
Even though his eyesight was nearly gone toward the end of his life, Selz continued collecting.
"He was very proud of giving his collection," Hanson said.
Wayne Knutson, who was chair of the English Department when Selz was a professor, was a close friend of Selz's.
"He was the most well read man I have ever met," Knutson said.
Thirty-five years ago, Selz was put in charge of purchasing $30,000 in new books for the library. Rather than ordering them and having them sent straight to the library, Selz had the books delivered to his office so he could carry them there personally.
Selz loved the feel of his books, Knutson said. The 9,000 books the library received are all in excellent condition and the library expects to put about half into circulation.
On average, the library processes about 6,000 books per year, so this collection will take some time to add into circulation even after they are all sorted.
Selz's other passion was music, demonstrated by his extensive album collection. He loved operas and symphonies. One of his favorite activities was attending the brown bag lunch program at the National Music Museum. Many of the 2,000 records donated to the library are by Wagner, Rossini and other opera greats, which will be added to the library's music collection.
While these books will all be integrated onto the library shelves, eventually liibrary officials plan to build a special reading room where students can see plaques or pictures commemorating people who donated books to the library, such as Selz, other professors and South Dakota authors.
"We cannot do a special room for everybody who donates," Hulkonen said, but, "We have a duty to recall ... and are indebted to him."
Reach reporter Sarah Paulus at Sarah.Paulus@usd.edu.
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