Books of Isaac Norris

Shortly after Dickinson College was chartered in 1783, John and Mary Dickinson pledged five hundred volumes from the library of Mary’s father, Isaac Norris. What ultimately arrived in large packing crates, however, were nearly two thousand books representing the full breadth of the original Norris Collection, a fitting and welcome addition to a newly established liberal arts school. In 1974 the college launched an effort to catalog the Norris Collection, culminating in a published catalog with detailed descriptions of each title. Information about this catalog, as well as information about a 2004 digital initiative to share this catalog online, can be accessed from The Books of Isaac Norris at Dickinson College website.