SC - redacting

[Huette von Ahrens]

Phillipa,

Not all libraries will allow you in their library or
even offer to xerox books for you.  It depends a lot
upon what kind of library they are.  Most university
libraries will give people limited access to their
libraries, because they are geared for undergraduate
research.  But some museum and private libraries are
much harder to use and are less "user friendly". At
least in the US.

I know that although I am a librarian, there are
libraries I cannot access, even as a professional
courtesy.  One being the Huntington Library in San
Marino California.  This library is less than five
miles from my home.  I can walk through their public
gardens.  I can view their public art gallery.  I can
view their public displays in the library.  But if I
want to use their books or even get photocopies of
their collection, I would have to have a PhD or
equivalent, or be a doctoral candidate, working on my
doctoral thesis.  I would have to submit a summary of
my research, explaining why I needed access to their
collection.  I also would have to give two references
from two other recognized experts [and holders of a
PhD or the equivalent].  If I managed to obtain all of
this and they accepted such, I would be given limited
access to the books I indicated that I would need and
only for a limited time period.  I have been told that
the J. Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City, is
equally as difficult to use.

Mark van Stone, who has written a masterful book on
the history of calligraphy, tried to gain admittance
into both these libraries, only to be denied.  He only
had a Master's Degree [in physics], and he was
planning to write a commercial book, but he had two
references from recognized experts [with PhD's].  That
was not good enough for these libraries.  Mark went
instead to England and to the British Museum.  He was
given almost instant access to their collection of
calligraphed books without any references.  He was
given white gloves to wear and a surgical mask to
prevent his corrosive breath from harming their books.
When he wanted photocopies, they did it for him for a
fee.  But they certainly had a totally different
attitude about who could or could not use their books.

Huette

- --- Seton1355 at aol.com wrote:
> Good Lord,
> So many libraries will let you use their materials
> if you ask politely & use 
> their stuff AT the library!  Or they will xerox it
> FOR you.
> Phillipa Seton
> 
> << by generically classifying any scholar into a
> specific group. It's just 
> that 
>  I get very frustrated when I approach University
> and museum libraries to 
> copy 
>  specific manuscripts only to be told to go away
> because I don't have this or 
>  that piece of paper  >>
>
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