In Memoriam: Library Curator Alfred L. Bush

Published Dec. 26, 2023

Photo: Susan Fou

Alfred L. Bush, a longtime curator at the University Library and devoted mentor to generations of Native American students, died Nov. 9 at age 90. Bush came to Princeton in 1958 as an editor of the Papers of Thomas Jefferson and transitioned to the library staff in 1962. In the next four decades, he expanded the library’s collections of Western Americana, historic maps and photographs, and Native American materials. He also recruited students from tribal communities. “Alfred singlehandedly found Native students and made sure they felt supported when they arrived in the very foreign environs of the Princeton campus,” Yolandra Gomez Toya ’88, co-leader of Native Alumni of Princeton, wrote in an email to PAW. “His support was transformative. We went home to become doctors, lawyers, politicians, educators, and artists, serving our home communities and the nation at large.” Bush received the Alumni Council Award for Service in 2020.

Published in the January 2024 Issue

In Memoriam Arts & Humanities

1 Response

Lilian Aragon Polyzoides

3 Days Ago

Learning From Alfred as a Colleague and Friend

I worked as an assistant to Dr. Rice in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at the Princeton University Library from I believe 1968 to 1971, and Alfred Bush’s office was directly across from my desk. I remember vividly the many things I learned from him, all extremely interesting to a young woman like me, born and raised in Barcelona, Spain. There I was, magically exposed to the history of Western Americana and among many other things the influence that the Spanish conquistadors had in the very early days of the Southeast and Southwest of what would later become the United States of America. I still remember when Alfred brought to Princeton University Victor Masayevna ’76 from the Hopi Tribe.

Alfred visited my husband and I later in the ’70s when we lived in So California. Great memories from a wonderful person. RIP.