The Jeheskel (Hezy) Shoshani Library Endowed Collection (formerly known as the Elephant Research Foundation Library, or ERFL) began as a diverse collection of information and display resources specifically about elephants and their relatives, both past and present.
As of late 2020, the scope of the collection was expanded to include the acquisition of materials more broadly associated with the research and curriculum interests of the collection's namesake, Hezy Shoshani. The collection continues to grow in materials related to elephants and mammoths, but also with materials in the following areas:
- Animal Conservation
- Endangered Species
- Animal Ecology
- Human-Animal Relationships
- Animal Physiology
- Zoology
- Environmental Biology
- Evolutionary Animal Biology
- Paleontology
History of the Collection
Jeheskel (Hezy) Shoshani was the driving force behind the establishment of this collection. It was originally the library of the Elephant Research Foundation, an international nonprofit formed by Shoshani. In 2002, the collection was moved to Wayne State University.
Hezy became interested in elephants after reading Burma Boy by Willis Lindquist. His primary research was the evolutionary biology of elephants, their anatomy and physiology, and how to apply this knowledge to our understanding of elephant behavior and ecology. He taught at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan USA, for approximately 25 years.
In 1977 he established the Elephant Research Foundation (an international nonprofit organization) and was the editor of its publication, Elephant. Hezy published about 200 scientific and some popular articles and was the editor of two books on elephants and their relatives: a popular book, Elephants: Majestic Creatures of the Wild (2000, Checkmark Books, New York) and a technical volume (with Pascal Tassy), The Proboscidea: Evolution and Palaeoecology of Elephants and Their Relatives (1996, Oxford University Press, England).
From 1998 to 2006 he taught at the University of Asmara, Eritrea, and conducted research on mammals in general and elephants in particular, funded by the Born Free Foundation in the UK. In January 2003, on an expedition to search for elephants, Hezy almost lost his life when one of his beloved research subjects charged him. Fortunately, he escaped with only minor injuries. In 2007, he relocated to Ethiopia. He taught biology at Addis Ababa University and studied the same population of elephants. They crossed the border from Eritrea seasonally.
Hezy died on May 21, 2008, as a result of terrorist bombing of a public minibus in Addis Ababa. His work in Ethiopia on the northern elephants was carried on by his colleagues, and the Elephant Research Foundation managed the move of the collection to WSULS. The board of Directors of the ERF decided to rename the library as a tribute to the lifelong efforts of Hezy Shoshani.
In 2020, Hezy's widow, Mrs. Sandra Shoshani, generously allowed Wayne State Libraries to expand the scope of the collection to include a broader range of topics related to Hezy's interests. This has allowed for the collection to be utilized by a broader range of researchers.
Image: Hezy being investigated by orphaned elephants. Photo by Ian Redmon.
Selected Books from the Collection
Elephants and Kings: An Environmental History by Call Number: UH 100.5 .E44 T73 2015Publication Date: 2015
Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II by Call Number: D 767.6 .C76 2015Publication Date: 2015
Ivory, Horn and Blood: Behind the Elephant and Rhinoceros Poaching Crisis by Call Number: HD 9429 .I862 O74 2013Publication Date: 2013
Whales and Elephants in International Conservation Law and Politics: A Comparative Study by Call Number: K 3525 .C68 2014Publication Date: 2014
Behemoth: The History of Elephants in America by Call Number: SF 408.6 .E44 T63 2013ISBN: 9780062244857Publication Date: 2013
Love, War, and Circuses: The Age-old Relationship Between Elephants and Humans by Call Number: QL 737 .P98 S42 2002Publication Date: 2002
Elephant!: The Renaissance of Hunting the African Elephant by Call Number: SK 305 .E3 B63 2012Publication Date: 2013
Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation of the Asian Elephant: A Decade with Elephants in Rajai's Kingdom by Call Number: QL 737 .P98 J6 2011Publication Date: 2011
The Living Elephants: Evolutionary Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation by Call Number: QL 737.P98 S956 2003Publication Date: 2003
