VCU Emeritus Professor of English transfers his large research collection to a South African University

Richard K. Priebe collected nearly 4,000 books, tapes, journals and other documents

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During his 33-year career at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richard K. Priebe, Ph.D., professor emeritus, Department of English, collected nearly 4,000 books, journals, tapes and other documents connected to the study of African literature and cultures.

As Priebe began planning for retirement three years ago, he also started to think about what to do with his massive collection of literature, history, folklore and the arts.

“It struck me as both right and important that the material be returned to Africa and housed in an African university where future scholars could study popular culture material published in Africa – by Africans and for Africans- in the 50s, 60s and 70s, material no longer available anywhere,” Priebe said.

But there were two large problems; paying the high cost of shipping the collection and finding a library with the security and climate control necessary to protect and preserve the collection.

At around the same time, VCU was working to establish an international partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in Durban, South Africa. UKZN Professor Mbulelo Mzamane was heading a new Center for African Literary Studies and former Executive Director of VCU’s Office of International Education Peter Kirkpatrick learned that Mzamane was interested in Priebe’s collection.

Priebe had a long personal and professional relationship with Mzamane, who had returned to South Africa after 20 years of political exile during that country’s apartheid era. Mzamane had taught African literature at a number of American Universities and Priebe often taught one of his novels, “The Children of Soweto,” in his classes. The two men would see each other on nearly a yearly basis during meetings of the African Literature Association.

Priebe has given the two most significant parts of his collection, which focus on popular culture and narrating childhood in Africa and are valued at $50,000, to VCU’s Department of English, which will in turn give them to the Center for African Literary Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Another portion of the collection, consisting of many books that are now out of print, is also valued at $50,000. Priebe is selling this portion of the collection to UKZN.

Rosalyn Hobson, director of the VCU-UKZN partnership, helped to coordinate the transfer of the collection. Ben Dombroski, a recent graduate from the English Department’s MFA program, catalogued the collection.  

VCU will pay to ship the material, about 62 boxes in all, to the South African University.  Priebe hopes to have the collection transferred to the University of KwaZulu-Natal by early next year.