Revision as of 13:32, 16 October 2014

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 is under the direction of an individual called either a Library Director or a Librarian, the latter title being used when the individual has a degree in Library or Information Science.

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:

1. Shelving and physical maintenance
2. Accessions, covering both purchases and donations
3. Classification, defining how the materials are to be organized
4. Cataloging, entering specific items into the catalog
5. Patron support, opening and staffing the Library when a patron makes an appointment to visit the collection
6. Mail Loans to members only (presently suspended by Board policy)
7. Inter-Library Loans
8. Repair and rebinding, including the conversion of digital materials to new media
9. Deaccessions; weeding obsolete, duplicate, or unsuitable material from the collection

Note: Disposition of withdrawn items is handled by Sales.

At present, Consuls are responsible for all of the above. They would delight to delegate any or all of this work to volunteers.

Location

The physical location of the Library is at ExtraSpace Storage, 13125 S John Young Pkwy, Orlando, FL 32837, United States. The stacks with cataloged books are in Unit 986. Uncataloged material is in Unit 961. Some materials in process are at Headquarters.

Accessions

Due to the large amount of uncataloged material, accessions -- particularly purchases -- must reasonably be constrained:

1. Purchase policy: post-2006 until cataloging is complete
2. Donations

1. Donations will be accepted or rejected by staff.
2. Staff are expected to accept nearly all, with unsuitable material quietly disposed of later. Honest assessments of suitability will be given on request.
3. 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.
4. No assessment of the financial value of any donation will be made.
5. No promise to retain any donation can be made; all retention decisions are subject to periodic review by the Library Committee.

1. Expected donations:

1. Russell Clark, FAS, has willed us a large collection on royal biography; we are in touch with his next of kin.
2. 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 public web page on this topic is here.

Classification System

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.

Due to cataloging being done by a genealogist at this time, there is an innate bias toward classifiying as "genealogical" any work that has a substantial fraction of genealogical data, even it the author itended it primarily as a historical work.

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 history.

Sub-Classification by authors

Most classifications are then sorted by author. Cutter numbers (following the model of the Library of Congress) are used for this purpose. Where an author has multiple titles, the titles are used as a third group, also using Cutter numbers. When multiple editions are held, dates are used.

Sub-Classification by families or houses

Classifications GFN and RH are sorted by the name of the family or noble house using Cutter numbers. Third order sorts are by author, as above.

Sub-Classification by dates

Classification RB (Biography, individuals and couples) is sorted by date of birth of the subject. Care must be taken to precede dates with “BC” as needed, despite this confounding the automated sorting procedures. Third order sorts are by author, as above.

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.

Shelving

Books are shelved in the order of classification. This results in some things being out of alphabetical order (e.g.: Switzerland’s code is CH, which puts it far from where an alphabetical sort would file it). Dates BC are shelved before dates AD, in chronological order. Oversize and badly damaged volumes are placed on the top shelf as near as practical to their classification.

Rebinding and Repair

Standards need to be set for rebinding, and these should probably match those set for the bindings of Society publications. Current thinking is black ¾ covers, with a goldenrod spine, author/title printed in black. This needs to be run past our binder to ensure practicality.

Selection of items for rebinding or repair will come from:

1. Patron calls for damaged items
2. Suggestions from Department Heads
3. Suggestions from Committee Chairmen
4. 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: Shelving space, revenue from sales, and academic cleansing. None are likely to be strong motivators in the immediate future.

1. Categorical nominations — There are some categories which warrant consideration as a whole. These might include Anthropology and VHS videotapes, as a start.
2. Individual nominations — Books will suggest themselves of their own accord, either for being off-topic or unworthy of scholarly consideration.
3. Decision process — At present, Staff are placing candidates for deaccession in separate storage and not cataloging them. These will eventually be submitted to a Deaccession Committee (should one exist), or to the Board.

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