University of Leicester completes century-old book swap

The university has handed over a collection of books to the Smithsonian

A university has gifted books to a famous US museum, in return for a donation it made almost a century ago.

In 1925, the Smithsonian Institution, which is the world's largest museum complex, donated several books to the newly-formed University of Leicester.

In return, the university has handed over a collection of books representing its research in the areas of space, health, and heritage.

It said the exchange represented a "scholarly collaboration".

The two institutions met in Washington on Tuesday in a ceremony to mark their continued support for each other.

'Knowledge exchange'

At the signing, Leicester Vice-Chancellor Prof Nishan Canagarajah handed over the books, almost 100 years after the Smithsonian had donated several scientific volumes.

Prof Canagarajah said: "In 1925, Leicester was a fledgling institution that was being offered support by the relatively older Smithsonian, which was then approaching its 80th year.

"Now, almost a century later, we are delighted to return the favour with our book donation, which marks the continuation of knowledge exchange between the two institutions."

The teams announced they would collaborate on work in Leicester's Institute for Digital Culture.

Prof Ross Parry, director of the institute, said: "The books we gifted not only look back to that moment a century ago when the Smithsonian showed support to our young university, but they also look forward to the scholarship we will continue to carry out together."