PSU Magazine Spring 1994

Riches to be discovered rom his office in the New York Public Libra ry, John Lundquist '70 is a short ca b ride from the Museum of Modern Art, Columbi a Univer ity, and the United Nati ons-modern day templ es in the bu tling bo rough of Manhattan. For Lundquist, chief librarian of the public library's Oriental Di vision , these building hold obj ect and idea of grea t value; th ey are temples of learning. The pursuit of knowl edge and being open to new idea and old cultures is what define Lundqui t. He has tudied 20 languages, dug into the Near Eastern remains of ancient cultures, and examined and written about the wo rld's great temples. And since 1985, this Eastern scholar has been the Susan and Douglas Dillon Chief Librari an of th e O ri ental Di vi– sion of the N ew York Public Library. Lundquist ove rsees a unique collection , in that it i the only library where such a vast a ·ortment of new and old tex ts (300,000 plu ·) from so many different eastern cultures are gathered under one roof. "Visito rs are afforded a more uni versa l view than compartmental," he says. "Here, you can discover th e interrelationship between the Middle East, India, and Central and Eastern Asia. "It is th e greatest co llection of its kind in th e wo rld : one that is old , rich , and as broad as it is deep," Lundqui t continue admiringly. "It's unique that 16 PSU Magazine such a research co llection i open to th e public, who would otherwise ga in access onl y th rough affili ation with a major university." Until the bloody confrontation in C hina's Ti ananmen quare, th e New York Public Library had a somewhat colorless coll ecti on about the Commu– nist wo rld in China. That changed in late 1989, when a fl oo<l of material produced during the uph eava l was smuggled out of C hina. Newspapers, leafl ets, buttons, video recordings and fax messages-both from those seeking democracy and government supporters-are included. But because the archive al o includes the work of young write rs and poets, Lundquist beli eves its importance is as much literary as it is political. Another gem in th e O riental Di vision is the Tibet co llection. Soon after his arri va l, Lundquist discovered the collection's cataloger was retiring. In ord er to full y access th e archi ve, Lundquist lea rned the Tibetan langu– age . In 1989, he spent a month in southern India, living amongst Tibetan refugees. This spring he will visit Tibet for a month. Despi te the envious pos ition of "being able to take th e job in many different directions," Lundqui~t also has sub tantial administrati ve du tie . Beyond supervi ing and building thi rare ea rthly treasure, he ove rsees a taff and budget, hosts digni ta ri es, and ra ises money for his division. The Japanese publi hing giant, Kodan ha, recently A passion for knowledge has led John Lundquist '70 from Middle Eastern deserts to his present digs in Manhattan. By Timothy Buckley donated $ 1.3 million to renovate and upgrade a reading room and the coll ection of A ian materials. When time permits, Lundquist also lecture and teaches, most recently at the Institute for Asian Studies, the C.G. Jung Foundation , New School fo r Social Resea rch, Columbia University and New York University. How did this PSU alumnu become a top librarian and respected author, scholar, and teacher? After graduating with a bachelor' in history from Po rtland State, he went on to earn a Master of Library Science from Brigham Young University (BYU) and a mas ter's and doctorate in Near Eastern studies from the Unive rsity of Michiga n. While in Michigan, he upervised archeolog ical expeditions during the summer in Syria and Jordan. In fact, he directed excavations for a decade while getting his docto rate and then later as an instructor and ass istant professor of anthropology and religiou instruction at BYU. The most exc iting moment in Lundquist's yea rs in the Middle East was the unearthing of Tell Qarqur, a ruin dating from 853 B.C. His team found a probable link between this city and Karka r, where a legendary battle aga inst Jehu, th e king of northern Israel, took place. Whether Qarqur and Karkar are one and the same has not been proven. One might get the idea-because of hi aptitude fo r esoterica-that