What Does Your Bookshelf Say About You?

The Thomas J. Healey Family Collection

Each person’s library tells a story of that person. It is the association of books and the connections between them that reflect the lives of their owners. Argentinian author Alberto Manguel writes in The Library at Night, “What makes a library a reflection of its owner is not merely the choice of the titles themselves, but the mesh of associations implied in the choice.”

The recent gift of rare and collectible books by Thomas J. Healey (C’64) and his family provides an opportunity to showcase some of the finest in modern fiction and poetry, classics in economics and business, well-known illustrators, and limited editions and most with the original dust jacket. This is a personal library collected over a lifetime, of books largely pristine as they were originally issued. Many are inscribed. Multiple editions as well as uncorrected proofs are included for some. The books, judiciously and knowledgeably collected by Mr. Healey, present a kaleidoscope of intellectual, fantastic, scientific, practical, economic, and romantic thought.

The Georgetown University community is invited to get to know Thomas J. Healey and his family through these books. On the shelves in this exhibition we hope that you, too, can see this extraordinary family and at the same time give thought to what is on your bookshelf.