Humongous Library Postcard Auction

September 7th, 2011 by Larry T. Nix No comments »
 
One of the largest privately held library postcard collections ever offered for sale is now up for auction on eBay. The collection includes 2,811US and international library postcards assembled by an architectural firm.  The starting auction price is $2,800 or about $1 per postcard. The auction has a 9 day bidding period starting today, but it could be bought without competitive bidding for $5,600 through eBay's "Buy it now" feature.  I won't be bidding because my library postcard collection is more focused on postcards that feature specific areas, but this is quite an opportunity for an individual collector or an institution to get a large library postcard collection in one fell swoop.

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Lighthouse Libraries

September 4th, 2011 by Larry T. Nix No comments »
Raspberry Island Lighthouse Bookcase

Pottawatomie Lighthouse Bookcase



My wife is a big fan of lighthouses and we have visited many of these historic structures over the years.  On occasion my interest in library history and her interest in lighthouse history overlap. This is the case with the traveling libraries of the U.S. Light House Establishment, a predecessor to the U. S. Lighthouse Service and the U.S. Coast Guard. I first became aware of these libraries while visiting the Raspberry Island Lighthouse in Wisconsin's beautiful Apostle Islands. That lighthouse has one of the original traveling library bookcases (shown above). Later I came across a very nice reproduction of a traveling library bookcase in the Pottawatomie Lighthouse on Rock Island in Door County, WI (shown above). A number of lighthouses across the country have similar reproductions. More recently I became aware of an original lighthouse bookcase that is owned by the Milwaukee Historical Society.  It was one of the featured items in their 2010 75th anniversary "Unlocking the Vault" digital exhibit.  I have also just acquired a book for my collection that has a Light House Establishment bookplate (shown above). The book is Illustrated Natural History by J. G. Wood published by a London publisher in 1886.  The lighthouse traveling libraries program was started by the USLHE in 1876 to provide reading materials to isolated lighthouse keepers and their families. This was a number of years before Melvil Dewey started the traveling library program of the New York State Library which spread throughout the United States. More on the USLHE traveling library program can be found HERE.

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ScienceDirect Maintenance Sept 10

September 2nd, 2011 by Randy Souther No comments »

SciVerse ScienceDirectScienceDirect is expected to be offline and unavailable for approximately 11 hours on Saturday, September 10.

Down time is expected to be 4:30 AM – 3:30 PM

In relation to the planned work, SciVerse ScienceDirect alerts will be suspended for two weeks, September 9-23. Subscribers will receive their outstanding alerts when we resume processing.


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St. Louis Mercantile Library Bookplate

August 30th, 2011 by Larry T. Nix No comments »
The primary purpose of a bookplate is to indicate the ownership of the book in which it is located. Bookplates in books in institutional libraries often have the additional purpose of acknowledging the person or fund that purchased the book for the library. The bookplates of the St. Louis Mercantile Library (now incorporated into the University of Missouri - St. Louis Library), in addition to showing ownership, have provided a substantial amount of information about the library and its policies and procedures.  I acquired several older books which had been weeded from the library and each contained a different bookplate. One of these is shown above. The bookplate indicates that the library was organized in 1846 and incorporated in 1847.  It indicates that books can be kept for two weeks with a fine for detention beyond that period of two cents per day. It contains an important notice which tells the library user that damage to the book could result in a fine equal to four times its cost.  Mercantile libraries were membership libraries created in the 19th century to serve merchants and their clerks. The bookplate above indicates that a clerks entrance fee was $2 with an annual subscription fee of $3. Fees for proprietors and others was $5 initially and $5 annually. A life membership could be obtained for $50. Books were evidently given an accession number and this one is number 50,371.  There are some other markings which probably indicate classification and/or shelf location. The bookplate was in a novel published in 1878 titled In Paradise by Paul Heyse.  Bookplates are very collectible and I have a modest collection of institutional library bookplates. You can see some my bookplates HERE. Another St. Louis Mercantile Library Bookplate article.

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Library Book Boxes

August 24th, 2011 by Larry T. Nix No comments »

My library book box
Milwaukee Public Library book boxes

Book boxes in Sweden's library museum 

Hans Krol with book boxes in library museum in Amsterdam
 I try to say no when someone offers or lets me know about a large library artifact in order to keep my basement from  becoming a library museum.  A colleague caught me in a weak moment, however, when he alerted me to a wood library book box that was being offered on Craigslist.  He even offered to pick up the book box, which was located in Sheboygan County, WI, some distance from my home.  The large wooden box is not impressive in the least, but it is a connection to the real library world of the past.  In all probability the book box was used to transport one of Wisconsin's many traveling libraries.  Sturdy boxes such as this one have been used by libraries worldwide in the past to transport books.  Some examples are shown above.

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