The Augustan Society, Inc., maintains and operates a library on the subjects of Chivalry, Genealogy, Heraldry, History, Royalty & Nobility. Other topics covered include maps, numismatics, philatelics, and material used for staff support such as style manuals.
The Library departement is under headed by the direction of an individual called either a Library Director or a Committee Chairman, who is styled [[Librarian]], who is appointed by the latter [[President]] and serves at his pleasure (unless this title being used when the individual has a degree is included in Library or Information Sciencethe [[Consuls' Contract]].
The work of the Library is conducted by a loosely organized group called the Library Committee, though it does not function as a conventional committee with meetings, minutes, etc. The activities include:
#Shelving and physical maintenance#Accessions, covering both purchases and donations#Classification, defining how the materials are to be organized#Cataloging, entering specific items into the catalog#Patron support, opening and staffing the Library when a patron makes an appointment to visit the collection#Mail Loans to members only (presently suspended by Board policy)#Inter-Library Loans#Repair and rebinding, including the conversion of digital materials to new media#Deaccessions; weeding obsolete, duplicate, or unsuitable material from the collection
:Note: Disposition of withdrawn items is handled by [[Sales]].
Due to the large amount of uncataloged material, accessions -- particularly purchases -- must reasonably be constrained:
#Purchase policy: post-2006 until cataloging is complete#Donations:#Donations will be accepted or rejected by staff.:#Staff are expected to accept nearly all, with unsuitable material quietly disposed of laterthrough the Book Sales program. Honest assessments of suitability will be given on request.:#Reimbursement for shipping costs will be considered (from the accessions budget) on a case-by-case basis depending on the desirability of the collection. Such reimbursement will not be made until after the books are inspected and found worthy and serviceable.:#No assessment of the financial value of any donation will be made.:#No promise to retain any donation can be made; all retention decisions are subject to periodic review by the Library Committee.#Expected donations::#Russell Clark, FAS, has willed us a large collection on royal biography; we are in touch with his next of kin.:#Marta Metcalf, FAS, may offer her genealogical collection as a long-term loan as long as the Library is open to the public. This will likely be delayed until all genealogical material has been cataloged.
=[[Cataloging]]=
The collection is cataloged using [http://koha-community.org Koha], an open source library software system. This includes an [[Online Public Access Catalog]] or OPAC, which is on the Internet and accessible by all.
The materials to be cataloged are being approached in the following groupsequence:
#Books for which cataloging data can be obtained from public sources (such as Library of Congress)#Bound periodicals for which cataloging data can be obtained from public sources#Other periodicals for which cataloging data can be obtained from public sources*#Books which require original cataloging#Bound periodicals which require original cataloging#Other periodicals which require original cataloging*#Maps and charts (pending the relocation of the map cabinets to a more accessible location)#Photographs (pending their being processed by the [[Photography Project]])#Ephemera*#Museum artifacts (these may get a separate catalog)
*These categories may will be delayed if until funds are not available for shelf boxes.
The public web page on this topic is [http://augustansociety.org/cpage.php?pt=67 here].
The classification system is a unique creation designed to meet the specific needs of our unusual collection. Click here to view the [[Classification System]].
Some books are difficult to assign to a given classification. The primary consideration will be to place similar books in the same classification, with the focus on how our members might be expected to use them, with traditional classifications or those used by other libraries being subordinate to perceived member use.
Due to cataloging being done by a genealogist at this time, there is an innate bias toward classifiying classifying as "genealogical" any work that has a substantial fraction of genealogical data, even it the author itended intended it primarily as a historical work.(Historians who object are invited to volunteer.)
Another innate bias is toward treating history as biography. A work on the reign of Henry III would be listed under Royal Biography rather than historyHistory.
==Sub-Classification by authors==
=Spine Labels=
Spine labels will not be created until the collection has been cataloged, as the process may drive changes in the classification system, and will certainly cause changes to Cutter numbers. The data to be printed on the labels, and the use of them on rare or valuable volumes, is to be determined.
Technology may suggest that we want to supplement the printed information on the labels with a barcode, either in black & white or using UV ink. This will depend on available and affordable technology at time time of label creation.
Selection of items for rebinding or repair will come from:
#Patron calls for damaged items#Suggestions from Department Heads#Suggestions from Committee Chairmen#Library staff selection of items with the highest ratio of damage to repair cost
=Deaccessions=
The pressure to weed the collection will come from three sources: Academic cleansing, shelving space, and revenue from sales. Only the last of these is likely to be a strong motivator in the immediate future.
#Categorical nominations — There are some categories which warrant consideration as a whole. These might include Anthropology and VHS videotapes, as a start.#Individual nominations — Books will suggest themselves of their own accord, either for being off-topic or unworthy of scholarly consideration.#Decision process — At present, Staff are placing candidates for deaccession in separate storage and not cataloging them. These will eventually be submitted to a acting as the [[Library Deaccession Committee]] (should one exist), or . The membership at large may serve on this committee by objecting to the sale of items advertised by the [[BoardBook Sale]]flyers.
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