Today's Hours
by Jerry Beersdort II and Sydney Van Nort
On December 18, 2018, the City College Libraries received an enormous bequest from the estate of the esteemed philosophy professor, Kaikhosrov D. Irani. Approximately 45 boxes of books from his personal library and 20 boxes of his essays, articles, correspondence, and commentary on Zoroastrian practice, for which he was internationally known, were received. This collection includes his life and his work in the philosophy of science, history, metaphysics, and information theory. This donation from his niece, Zarine Weil, included a caveat that selected writings would be converted into digital format and made available to the Zoroastrian community and the public.
The circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic created additional challenges for the City College Archives staff, Mr. Tabor Hollingsworth and Mr. Jerry Beersdorf II, under the direction of City College Archivist, Professor Sydney C. Van Nort, as they tackled this project. They were aided in these efforts by a committee of Professor Irani’s friends and associates.
The successful outcome of these efforts was announced on July 3rd, 2022, by Mr. Jerry Beersdorf II, Research Assistant and staff member of the City College of New York Archives and Special Collections, as a panelist at the 12th Annual Zoroastrian Congress held at the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The title of the panel was “Zoroastrian Digital Humanities: From Ancient Text to Digital Data.” Mr. Beersdorf was joined by three other presenters: Mr. Ruzbeh Hodiwala of the University of London; Ms. Aban Rustomji, founder of FEZANA Information and Research and Education System; and Mr. Kersi B. Shroff, founding member of the Zoroastrian Association of Washington D.C. Each presenter focused on ways the field of digital humanities can help support the Zoroastrian community. On behalf of CUNY and the City College Archives and Special Collections, Mr. Beersdorf presented on the lengthy digitization work of the Professor K.D Irani Collection executed thus far by the CCNY Archives staff in partnership with CCNY Libraries' Digital Scholarship Services staff. Pages upon pages of scans of Professor Irani’s essays and other important documents supporting the Zoroastrian Community held within his personal and professional papers have been made available online through JSTOR: https://www.jstor.org/site/ccny/professor-irani-archival-collection/
Photo: Jerry Beersdorf II right before presenting at the 12th annual Zoroastrian Congress
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