The Beck Book contribution to the University of Victoria library began on December 14, 1971 when Dr. and Mrs. Beck presented a token volume to the university with the rest of their 2,500 volume collection to follow over a period of years (see original news release).

The collection included volumes covering classical Old Icelandic literature, 19th-century prose and poetry, and cultural and general histories of Iceland, as well as other Scandinavian authors and history.

Mrs. Beck’s contribution to the collection included a number of books in the Icelandic and Scandinavian fields, notably in English translations, as well as two to three hundred volumes on the history of arts and on related subjects, which was her main field of specialization. The collection has increased since that time with purchases made from the Beck Fund established in their wills to bring speakers on Icelandic culture and literature to the university for public lectures.