Library Vision
Our vision for the future of the Library of The Augustan Society, Inc., is:
Library Committee
The Library Committee is composed of the Librarian, the Chairmen of other Committees assigned to the Library, such members as the Librarian sees fit, and the President and Consuls as ex officio members.
The Librarian is named by the President and serves at his pleasure (or by the Consuls' Contract). The members are named by the Librarian, and serve at his pleasure.
All activities of the Library Department fall under the control of this Committee unless the Board or Librarian has created another Committee and charged them with responsibility.
The Facility
See Facilities Vision for gross goals.
Goals specific to the Library include adequate steel book shelving, aisle width matching current standards (36-inch/920-cm), sufficient oversize shelving, shelf boxes for periodicals and booklets, map cabinets, and filing cabinets for clippings and ephemera.
Proposal: The Society should obtain sufficient Library space to house the entire collection accessibly, with sufficient study and work space adjacent.
Proposal: The Society should obtain sufficient Library furnishings to house the collection accessibly, with due regard to long-term preservation.
Depending on the space available, it may be prudent to consider "movable aisle" shelving for the collection. This will approximately double the capacity of a given space in return for a capital investment, some of which will be reusable after a move.
The Collection
Proposal: The Society should make the Library collection publicly accessible, preferably through a library facility open to the public on a regular schedule.
Library Loans have been authorized by the Board. A pilot program is in place to develop data on the level of interest, volume of loans, and costs. At present, it is limited to Augustan members and recognized public and academic libraries.
Circulation should be limited to duplicates and titles easily replaced if lost. At present, the Librarian will make individual rulings on the items to be loaned. Long term, items that should not be loaned should be flagged as "non-circulating".
The collection should cover all five Augustan subjects, plus ancillary topics found useful, such as maps, style guides, and some general encyclopediae. Efforts to balance the collection should largely come from the five major departments and the Study Groups.
Long range goals for collection development should include:
- Repair or replacement of damaged volumes held
- Completing sets now held only in part (e.g.: one of several volumes)
- Books and publications reviewed in Society publications
- Obtaining current editions of items held
- Books and publications cited in Society publications (including affiliated publications such as JAMS)
- Books, articles, and theses written by Augustans
- News articles and other material about Augustans
In all of this, balance among the five Augustan subjects should reflect the needs of the membership as represented through those departments, supplemented by requests from various Study Groups.
Given that the Library staff may not include experts in all of the fields of Augustan study, assistance should be required of each Department and Study-Group.
Proposal: The Society should oblige each topical Department (Chivalry, Genealogy, Heraldry, History, and Royalty & Nobility) and each Study Group to support the Library by providing advice and recommendations about materials to be added to (or removed from) the collection in their field of study.
Article Solicitation
The Department, either through the main Committee, a sub-committee, or a designated officer, will solicit articles on this subject for the Augustæum, in cooperation with the Augustæum Editor.
