The following people at Cornell University, listed alphabetically, provided content and assistance for Wason Collection. Please note that information about individuals may have changed since the publication of this Explore Cornell feature.

Thomas Hahn was educated at the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, and received training in Chinese language, literature and history, European philosophy and cultural anthropology. After spending three years of post-graduate studies and teaching in China, he returned to Germany to pursue a project coordinator position on the subject of education in pre-modern China. At the same time, Hahn underwent basic and advanced library training. In 1990 a librarian position was created at the Institute for Chinese Studies at Heidelberg University, which Mr. Hahn filled for close to nine years. During this time he continued his academic studies in Chinese history (historical geography) and was awarded a Ph.D. from Heidelberg University in 1996.

In October 1998, Thomas Hahn moved from Heidelberg to Madison, Wisconsin, as the East Asia bibliographer at Memorial Library. Finally, at the beginning of 2001, Dr. Hahn joined the Cornell University Library as the new curator of the Wason Collection on East Asia. Current administrative duties include the supervison of Wason staff, the building of a Korean collection, and a (growing) number of internet and web related projects.

Dr. Hahn has been active on a national and international level, especially in the area of digital cartography as well as in the field of multilingual information and learning environments. He is the editor of various academic publications as well as two journals, and is active in the Internet community in an effort to help build digital library components pertaining to East Asian studies.

Frederic Kotas received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Japanese language and literature from the University of Washington, Seattle. He was also awarded scholarship support for focused study at Stanford and Columbia Universities, and at Waseda University in Tokyo.

Early study of the Nihon Ryoiki, an early 9th-century collection of Buddhist tales that documents the assimilation of Buddhism by the Japanese people, led Kotas to focus on Japanese Buddhist literature of the Heian (784-1185) and Kamakura (1185-1333) periods. His doctoral dissertation was on Heian period ojoden, i.e., hagiographical literature of persons believed to have achieved rebirth in the Western Pure Land of the Buddha Amida (Skt. Amitabha).

Following completion of his work in Japanese language and literature, Kotas received the degree of Master of Library and Information Science. Prior to his service at Cornell, he was employed by the Seattle Public Library, where he was in charge of East Asian acquisitions and processing, and the University of Washington, where he worked in both public and technical services and later served as selector of Japanese language materials.

Kent Loeffler's excellent scientific photography was the subject of the Explore Cornell feature Plant Pathology Photos. His imaging skills have been critical in the creation of other Explore Cornell releases such as The Wason Collection.

Having served at Cornell University Library since 1976, Teresa is one of the most knowledgeable resource persons to ask a reference question on Chinese materials. Her long-standing experience in cataloging and bibliographic control issues have proven to be extremely valuable to the quality of the collection and its bibliographic databases. With an M.A. degree from Kyoto University, Teresa has a solid background in Japanese language as well. Another degree as a Master of Library and Information Sciences puts her career and experience into perspective. Within Wason, Teresa Mei's responsibilities are broadly defined, although to a large part she is in charge of cataloging books, journals and all other media types. Other projects under Teresa's supervision are the conversion from Pinyin to Wade-Giles and assisting with the move of materials to the Kroch Library annex.

Caroline Spicer was a seasoned reference librarian in the John M. Olin Research Library at Cornell University from 1961-2001, serving as the Head of Reference for an unprecedented 32 years (1963-1995), and as the Western European Social Sciences Selector (1996-1997).

Spicer received a B.A. from Brooklyn College in 1953; an M.S.L.S. from Columbia University in 1957; undertook M.A. study at Columbia University from 1958-1960; and a Ford Foundation Foreign Area Fellowship on Japanese Studies in 1959. She has participated in non-degree study at Cornell in Modern Greek, Serbo-Croatian, Balkan history and literature, and is a very active presenter in Balkan history and culture classes with special areas of interest in Balkan dance, music, song, and folklore. Professional areas of interest include bibliographical and biographical research, government documents, and the history of Cornell University as an academic institution and as a campus.

Further Acknowledgements
Other contributors include: