Peter Briscoe

Peter Briscoe has had the pleasure not only of living with books as a reader but also of making them his life's work as a librarian and writer. For more than 30 years he built library collections at two universities. A specialist in collection development, book acquisitions, special collections, and preservation, he directed efforts that led to the purchase or donation of 1.5 million volumes from all over the world on nearly all subjects. He loved his job but increasingly worried about the fate...See more

Peter Briscoe has had the pleasure not only of living with books as a reader but also of making them his life's work as a librarian and writer. For more than 30 years he built library collections at two universities. A specialist in collection development, book acquisitions, special collections, and preservation, he directed efforts that led to the purchase or donation of 1.5 million volumes from all over the world on nearly all subjects. He loved his job but increasingly worried about the fate of books and reading in a digital, post-literate world. Briscoe, who attained the rank of Distinguished Librarian at the University of California, Riverside, and subsequently that of Associate University Librarian, is now Emeritus. He is the author or co-author of five books, including a translation from the French of José Cabanis' novel, Night Games (1993), Reading the Map of Knowledge: The Art of Being a Librarian (2001), Mexico at the Hour of Combat (2012), and The Bookseller: Stories (2022). See less