wendorf became librarian (now the florence fearrington librarian) of the houghton library at harvard in 1989, and also served as senior lecturer on the fine arts. founded in 1942, the houghton library is the principal rare-book library at harvard university and one of the most important collections of its kind in the world. the library has significant holdings in american, british, and european rare books, literary and historical manuscripts, printing and graphic arts, and theatre history. wendorf led the library through its fiftieth anniversary with several exhibitions and publications, the acquisition of the houghton mifflin archive, and an international symposium on the future of rare book and manuscript libraries.