During the past two-plus years of the pandemic, we at the American Philatelic Research Library and at the American Philatelic Society were at times limited to the number of people – whether it be staff or volunteers – that we could have in the building at any one time. We now have full staffing and our full complement of volunteers (although in the latter case we would always welcome more volunteers; contact us at [email protected] if available and interested).
As we begin to progress with projects in 2022 such as our digitization efforts, we have been able to expand our talent pool to include new members of staff.
The most immediate library project on the horizon is the expansion of the Robert A. Mason Digital Library. For these efforts we have now hired two part-time digital projects assistants, one new and the other a more familiar face. Geoffrey Hobart comes to us with a background in digital production and publishing. Geoffrey has worked with other digital content management software similar to ContentDM, which the APRL uses, and his experience with graphic arts will be an additional asset to the project.
The familiar face, Betsy Gamble, is the other assistant, and has previously worked on the project. With her considerable experience with the existing digital content of the APRL, Betsy’s involvement with the project will enable us to “hit the ground running” with our Phase I digitization efforts in 2022.
New opportunities
In addition to these two part-time hires, the library has been in contact with Clarion University of Pennsylvania and its library science department regarding the possibility of an internship at the APRL this spring. In response, starting in April, the library is hosting Clarion library science student Katie Monsell as an intern. Katie will be learning and assisting us with the various tasks and duties in the library as part of her degree. She will be assisting with requests and donations, as well as processing and cataloging of new materials as they are received at the library.
Finally, another organization that the APRL has worked with in the past is the Penn State Circle K student organization. Sponsored by the Kiwanis Club, Circle K International is a collegiate service organization with a worldwide membership that promotes fellowship, leadership and service. Pre-pandemic, this group would regularly spend time at the APRL each semester assisting the library with various tasks. We are welcoming Circle K back this April to assist us again with re-shelving material in the journal collection, unpacking and sorting some of our larger donations and processing mailings for the APS Development department.
Donations and support
As mentioned last month, the donations received by the library as a result of the January “Stamp Catalogs” issue have been overwhelming and welcome. Many of our readers reached out to the library with either a donation of an extra copy of needed stamp catalogs mentioned in the issue or directed us to where these catalogs were available for purchase. We welcome any type of literature donation that our readers would like to send to the library. All we ask is that you contact us first ([email protected]) so that we can decide if your donation is something we can use for the collection or repurpose in some way.
Another way to support the library is to take advantage of naming opportunities still available to members, clubs or societies. Whole collections can be named, as can a row of shelves within the library collection. Some clubs or societies take advantage of the naming opportunities to name the row of shelving that their journal appears on. There are still many of these rows in the journal collection available. If you or your club or organization would like to name a collection or area of the library consult the “Naming Opportunities” page on the website (https://classic.stamps.org/Library-Naming) or contact the library.
Gini Horn
As many of you have no doubt heard by now, the APS and APRL lost one of its family back in February when Virginia “Gini” Horn passed away. Gini was the APRL librarian from 1984 to 2010 and in those 25 years of service she had an incredible and lasting impact on all those who knew, worked and interacted with her. I never got the chance to really know Gini but have heard so many wonderful stories about her as a person and her commitment to the APS and the library.
My one lasting memory of her speaks to her dedication to the profession and her lasting desire to help others. When I was working as the APRL reference assistant, I was having a particularly difficult time one day finding for a patron the designers for a series of stamps from Grenada. I tried all the usual resources without much success.
As luck would have it, Gini, long since retired, came into the library that day for a visit and in passing I briefly mentioned my predicament. It was lunchtime so I went out quickly to grab a bite. When I got back I found several journals, books and even some new issues pamphlets, all open to different pages, on my desk with a note from Gini saying, “Here’s what I could find while you were out. I think I found most of them.” In fact, she had found all of them. I quickly sent her note with my thanks.
It is that commitment and desire to help others that I think is innate in librarians and an attribute that Gini certainly brought to everything she did for the APS and the APRL. She is and will always be greatly missed by the staff in the library and at the APS.