1960s Counterculture collection of James Holly

James F. Holly was born on June 9, 1915 in Pittsburg, PA. He earned a BA in English (1939) and an MA in American and English Literature (1940) from Pennsylvania State College, as well as a BS in Library Science (1941) from Carnegie Institute of Technology. Holly was an associate librarian and assistant professor at the University of Omaha from 1957 to 1959 before coming to Macalester College where he served as associate professor, college librarian, and later library director, from 1959 to 1969. During his time at Macalester, Holly was a member of the Faculty Personnel Committee and Learning Resources Committee. He became interested in the Hippy movement as evidenced by his 1967 sermon given at the Macalester College Chapel entitled “The Hippies – God’s Gentle People.” Holly collected publications and ephemera emerging from the counterculture of the 1960s, including materials related to the anti-war movement, poetry, art, music, sexuality, and psychedelics. He briefly served as an interim coordinator of the Expanded Educational Opportunities program before being appointed the first Dean of Library Services at Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA in 1969 where he started a rare books collection that is now named after him. In 1973, after leaving Evergreen, Holly decided to switch careers and open up Asterisk* and Cheese Library, a wine and cheese shop in Olympia. Holly passed on November 25, 1995.