The latest exhibition at The Claremont Colleges Library brings together for the first time the extraordinary collections of the Asian Library, highlighting traditional printing and manuscript cultures. Curated by Xiuying Zou, Head of the Asian Library, Carol Chiodo, Director, Distinctive Collections and Digital Scholarship, and Yanjie Hu, a visiting Chinese rare book specialist from Tianjin Normal University, China, the exhibit features rare books and manuscripts in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese that converge around topics such as traditional philosophy, literature, and the cultural and historical interactions among East Asian countries and their dissemination across the globe.

Books, like people, have their diasporic journeys and each one is marked by new, transformative intellectual encounters. Much like autumn leaves scattered to new destinations by the wind, the leaves of these volumes have made their way to Claremont on the currents of winds crossing time, oceans,  and nations. Coming to rest in their current home at the Asian Library, these scattered leaves are now re-examined by students and scholars alike, inspiring new encounters and transforming learning.

Established in 1936 as the Oriental Library, the earliest of its kind among all liberal arts colleges in the United States, today the Asian Library at The Claremont Colleges is home to a legacy of nine decades of curating these scattered leaves while preserving them for the future. The exhibition not only celebrates the 90th anniversary of the Asian Library at The Claremont Colleges Library, but also honors the many people and organizations whose generosity supported the creation of these collections and the stewardship necessary for their continued longevity. Happy viewing!

Exhibit Details
February 2, 2026 - August 28, 2026*
Exhibit on view during Library building hours
North Lobby (Honnold 2) and Asian Library (Honnold 3) Galleries, The Claremont Colleges Library
800 N. Dartmouth Ave., Claremont, CA 91711

*Please note this is the correct end date; our calendar is limited to a 45-day window so the dates listed below will be updated as time goes on.

Special Thanks
This exhibition is co-sponsored by the Asian Studies Program at Pomona College, and the Department of Asian Languages and Literatures, Pomona College. The Claremont Colleges Library thanks Dr. Christopher Rand, Mr.& Mrs. Peter and Linda Yao, Mr. Abe Lillard, Ms. Julia Kalmus, Dr. Ping Sheng, Ms. Sue Sheng, and Ms. Rosemary Choate for their generous donations to the Asian Library Innovation Fund, which made this exhibition possible. The Library also thanks our various donors who gave their valuable personal or family collections of Chinese rare books to the Asian Library, including Mrs. Yun-Lan Wong, Mrs. Maureen Carter, Mrs. June O’Leary, and in particular the family of Prof. Ch'en Shou-yi (1899-1978) who helped to found Pomona College's Asian Studies program and whose personal library forms the core part of the Asian Library's Chinese rare book collection. 

A special thanks to the librarians and assistants who have nurtured and curated the collections over the decades, including Frances Wang, Anne Lee Yao, Jing Yao, Isamu Miura, and Grace Chen. For more information about the Asian Library's rare book collections, visit the Asian Library Special Collections. 

Related February 5th Opening Reception
In celebration of the exhibition and the 90th anniversary of the Asian Library, an opening reception is scheduled for February 5, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. in the Founders Room. Preceding the reception, Dr. Peter X. Zhou, former Assistant University Librarian and Director Emeritus of the C.V. Starr East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley will be speaking on the history of East Asian collections such as those housed in the Asian Library. Come and enjoy some wine and cheese, and nice conversation at the same time.

Questions?
Contact Xiuying Zou, Head of the Asian Library, by emailing xiuying.zou@claremont.edu or calling 909-607-4094.