Dr. Amy V. Heinrich, Director of the C. V. Starr East Asian Library, said, "It's wonderful to work with The Starr Foundation again. This challenge grant enables the library to expand its leadership in new areas of exploration that have developed at Columbia and across all of higher education."

The East Asian Library at Columbia was named the C. V. Starr Library in 1983, after a transforming renovation, funded primarily by The Starr Foundation, which substantially increased the Library's shelf space, improved its climate control, furnishings, storage and reading areas. The million-dollar donation was followed by an endowment of $3 million, to continue the acquisition work of the library, preserve the library's excellent holdings, and constantly improve its technology.

James G. Neal, Columbia University Librarian, applauded "the extraordinary record of support for the East Asian Library from The Starr Foundation and the importance of this new gift to the Library's excellence and to the Library's assistance in teaching and research."

The Starr Foundation was established in 1955 by Cornelius Vander Starr, an insurance entrepreneur who founded the American International family of insurance and financial services companies, now known as American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG). Mr. Starr, a pioneer of globalization, set up his first insurance venture in Shanghai in 1919. He died in 1968 at the age of 76, leaving his estate to the Foundation. The Foundation currently has assets of approximately $4 billion, making it one of the largest private foundations in the United States. It makes grants in a number of areas, including education, medicine and healthcare, public policy, human needs, culture and the environment.

The C. V. Starr East Asian Library is one of the major collections for the study of East Asia in the United States, with well over 730,000 volumes of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, and Western language materials, with some holdings in Mongol and Manchu, and over 5,500 periodical titles. The collection, established in 1902, is particularly strong in Chinese history, literature, and social sciences; Japanese literature, history, and religion, particularly Buddhism; and Korean history. The library's web site is located at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/eastasian/index.html.

For information contact:

Dr. Amy V. Heinrich
Director, C. V. Starr East Asian Library
Columbia University in the City of New York
Tel. (212) 854-1508