KNOXVILLE — UT Libraries in Knoxville has begun unpacking and cataloging between 16,000 and 18,000 books donated from the personal library of Pulitzer Prize–winning author and Knoxville native Cormac McCarthy. The donation came from McCarthy's younger brother, Dennis McCarthy, a former Knoxville lawyer, and represents the majority of an estate that included roughly 20,000 books.

"This is definitely one of the most prominent collections we've ever received. We think it may be unprecedented in the world of library acquisitions," said Jennie Mezick, Associate Dean for Research, Collections and Assessment at UT Libraries.

Six UT librarians traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to meet with scholars and assess the collection before transport. McCarthy's personal library had filled nearly every room of his home there.

"Every room, every hallway, every corner, every nook, every cranny was piled with books. It was just a living library," said Jennifer Beals, Assistant Dean and Director of UT Libraries.

The collection spans subjects including philosophy, mathematics, literature, architecture, art, psychology, cookbooks, animals, and cars. Some volumes include handwritten notes, underlines, and marginal comments, including notes of disagreement with authors.

"There are markings in some of the books where he wrote little notes. A lot of times he just wrote little pencil marks next to a paragraph. I don't know if he was interested in that and he wanted to go back to it," Beals said.

The most heavily annotated books will be placed in Special Collections, where they can be viewed on-site but not checked out. The majority of the collection will be integrated into UT's circulating library system, making the books accessible to students and readers across Tennessee.

Joy Panigabutra-Roberts, Head of Cataloging at UT Libraries, described the processing work underway. "We not only catalog the books, we have to process them to put the labels on and the stamps so that they can be ready. A small portion will go to the special collections, and the user can check them out to read in the special collections reading room," she said.

"The level of love that he spent to do research, to pour into his books has been evident from his collection. Our researcher can also use it to look for patterns of his interest and how he connects them to his writing," Panigabutra-Roberts said.

Cataloging the collection is expected to take around 10 months before much of it becomes publicly accessible. UT Libraries is working with the Cormac McCarthy Society to expand access and research opportunities tied to the archive, and more information will be released in the fall. "They will have a digital bookplate in our catalog that will read 'Cormac McCarthy's Library' that will serve to link all the books together," Mezick said.