A Gift from the Culture
"A Gift from the Culture", published in 1987, is a short work of space opera, by the Scottish science fiction author Iain M. Banks. The story is an early venture into the "complex and unusual and very distant" setting of the Culture, which Banks would further develop through various of full length novels, stories, and his essay "A Few Notes on the Culture".
Brian P. Burns
In 1986, Brian P. Burns and the Burns family founded The John J. Burns Library at Boston College. The Burns Library is the college's repository of rare books, special collections, and archives. The library's Irish Collection, formally established in 1948, is one of the top repositories of Irish history, literature, and culture in the world. The Burns Library was dedicated on April 22, 1986, with a commitment to expand the literary holdings of the Irish collection. Described as the guardian of Irish culture, the Burns Library is dedicated to preserving the abundant historical, literary, musical, and artistic heritage of Ireland, and to providing liberal access for research, teaching, and general appreciation through online resources and onsite exhibitions. The Burns Library continues to increase the richness and diversity of its Irish-related collections through strategic purchases and donations. Today, it holds more than 50,000 volumes documenting Irish history, literature, and culture, dozens of manuscript and archival collections, and significant holdings of photographs, artworks, maps, and ephemera, making it the largest and most comprehensive collection of Irish research materials outside Ireland.