Some physicists like astro particles. The late Ada Booth, a renowned physicist, also loved the arts. Over her lifetime, Ada collected an incredible range of Slavic literature and other rare books, a treasury of all things Ukrainian and Serbian.
As requested in her will, Ada’s personal library was donated to Monash University together with a $10 million trust fund dedicated to the library’s development.
Today, the Ada Booth Collection is Australia’s largest collection of Slavic literature – a magnet for graduate research students studying Slavic linguistics, and Russian, Ukrainian and Eastern European history.
The trust fund has enabled Monash to purchase electronic databases to add to the existing material. Ada’s passion for the arts continues to live on through her generosity, and will continue for generations.
“The Monash Library’s collection of Slavic materials was already very good – Ada’s generosity made it outstanding.
Professor Marko Pavlyshyn
Head of the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics
Monash University