Isaac Asimov was one of the greatest science fiction writers of the twentieth-century. Many critics, scientists, and educators believe Asimov's greatest talent was for popularizing or, as he called it, "translating" science for the lay reader. This online display features visuals and descriptions of some of the over 600 books, games, audio recordings, videos, and wall charts included in the West Virginia University Libraries’ Asimov Collection. Digital photography and scanning was used to create images for the exhibit so that Asimovians throughout the world can appreciate the collection.

Alumnus Donates Asimov Collection to Libraries
Read about the collection and the donor.

Isaac Asimov, 1920-1992 He coined the words "robotics" and "positronic", what else did he do?

Sign the guestbook

Questions? Write to:
Beth Jane Toren
Web Services and Reference Librarian
Beth.Toren@mail.wvu.edu

     Many first, rare, and autographed editions are in the Libraries’ Rare Book Room, where users must make supervised visits to see the books. Those books' covers and autographs are presented online along with descriptions and images of children’s books, science fiction art, games, recordings, and multimedia. Descriptions were taken from the MountainLynx library catalog, and additional details about access to some items can be found there.

Miscellaneous games, recordings, and multimedia in the Archives and Manuscripts Collection. View images and read descriptions of the collection.

Children's books in the Evansdale Library. View the slide show of book covers and read descriptions.

Rare and Valuable Books in the Rare Books Room. Warning- large files may take time to load. View scans of book jackets and autographs with the list of books in this collection. Select images to view enlargements.

Visions of Science Fiction Art from the Library Stacks: Browse through selected details of cover art and illustrations from hundreds of Asimov paperbacks in the general collection of the Downtown Campus Library.

Isaac Asimov, Laws of Robotics from I, Robot (1950).

One, a robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm;

Two, a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law;

Three, a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.


Illustration from the CD-ROM:
Science Adventure II

Selected Isaac Asimov Web Sites

Isaac Asimov Home Page http://www.asimovonline.com/
A comprehensive collection of resources pertaining to Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), "the quintessential author, who in his lifetime wrote over 500 books that enlightened, entertained, and spanned the realm of human knowledge." Includes links to an authoritative FAQ, publishing information, where to find books, articles, reviews, and other resources.

Jenkins’ Spoiler-Laden Guide to Isaac Asimov http://homepage.mac.com/jhjenkins/Asimov/Asimov.html
This dedicated fan-created site includes reviews of many books arranged in several ways. It also includes a useful and detailed description of a visit to the Boston University Archives to research Asimov's personal papers including manuscripts, correspondence, etc.. Asimov was a faculty member at Boston University for many years.

Asimov's Science Fiction
http://www.asimovs.com/
Web site of the award-winning science fiction literary magazine.