Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Jan Maria Novotny And His Collection Of Books On Economics, Michael Markowski

The Courier

This article describes the life and books of economist Jan Novotny, whose extensive collection is now housed in the Syracuse University Libraries. Novotny believed that a comprehensive, liberal arts education was an essential prerequisite for anyone who wished to study or professionally practice finance and business. The well-roundedness obtained from the humanities, he argued, would lead those in business and finance to make moral and ehtically sound decisions. His collection covers the last five hundred years, consisting of nearly 6,000 books in many different languages. Novotny managed to flee Czechoslavakia with all of these books, which now provide a wealth …