Beginning with his hire in 1957, Giok Po Oey (1922-2010) worked tirelessly to build a world-class library collection of publications from and about Southeast Asia. His efforts, in collaboration with Cornell faculty, students, and others interested in the region resulted in what is widely recognized as the leading collection of its kind in the world. The foundation built during those formative years created a legacy that has lasted far beyond Giok Po’s tenure as Curator when he retired in 1985, and now well beyond the span of his lifetime. During those early years, Giok Po worked closely with the founders of Cornell’s Southeast Asia Program to build up this magnificent treasure known around the world as the John M. Echols Collection on Southeast Asia.

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