More on the Cardiff Book SAle

The following recent press releases by the Cardiff Heritage Friends give further information on the controversy over the sale of rare books by Cardiff city Council:

The Truth about Cardiff Central Library’s
Special Collections

SUMMARY: This document demonstrates the following:

• Cardiff over a period of some 100 years built up a major, comprehensive reference library, which by 1932 ranked fifth among the municipal reference libraries of Great Britain.

• In common with any other library of substance, Cardiff Central Library has a number of special collections. It is such collections that mark out a library and give it its unique ‘flavour’. They are, in other words, the ‘jewels in the crown’.

‘Disposal of Surplus Library Stock’:
A Rebuttal of the Report presented to
Cardiff Council Executive Meeting on 11 January 2007

There follows a copy of the Corporate Director’s Report to the Cardiff Council Executive Business Meeting of 11 January entitled ‘Disposal of Surplus Library Stock’, together with a detailed rebuttal of every main point of that report.

The rebuttal is included in square brackets after each section of the report.

We wish to make three initial statements:

1. It should be obvious, not only from the title, but also from its many questionable statements and omissions, that this report is a most misleading document. As the report itself admits, the books it recommends for disposal are in no way ‘surplus library stock’ in the normal understanding of the term, but rather extremely valuable special collections of rare books.

2. A key omission in the report is that it makes only very general assessments of the costs of retaining these special collections and no mention whatsoever of the considerable benefits to the city – economic, cultural and educational – of retaining these books in Cardiff.

3. A very significant omission is that there is no mention in the report of a prior offer by Cardiff University Library to house such special collections on long-term loan and to take full responsibility (financial and otherwise) for them, thus ensuring that these books would remain in Cardiff, in public ownership, at no cost to the Council.

It is also worth noting, that the report is coming under strong criticism from many quarters, and has brought considerable disrepute to Cardiff on the international scene. One website in Germany, for example, quotes extracts from the report, describing it thus: ‘I can't remember to have ever read a text dealing as callously with cultural heritage matters and scholarly interests.’ A September 2008 issue of Private Eye describes it as ‘extraordinary’.

It should be obvious to any reasonable person that Cardiff Council Executive made the decision to sell these prestigious collections of rare books based on a misleading document and without being in possession of the full facts.

We would argue, therefore, that the Council Executive has a moral duty, and possibly a legal one, to reconsider its original decision.

CARDIFF HERITAGE FRIENDS
c/o 13 Wyndham St., Tongwynlais, Cardiff, CF15 7LN
September 2008


CARDIFF COUNCIL - CYNGOR CAERDYDD
EXECUTIVE BUSINESS MEETING: 11 JANUARY 2007
DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS LIBRARY STOCK
REPORT OF CORPORATE DIRECTOR AGENDA ITEM: 15
PORTFOLIO: SPORT, LEISURE & CULTURE

[Rebuttal below by Cardiff Heritage Friends of every main point; in [ ] brackets].

[“Surplus Library Stock” is totally misleading. They are widely acknowledged as internationally important historical research collections of rare books.
“We are concerned about the sale of these important books” – Heritage Minister spokesperson, South Wales Echo, 05/09/08.
Also, the Council admits in a Freedom of Information answer that there is no full listing of these collections, so how can they know if they are ‘surplus’!]

Reason for this Report

1. To obtain authority for the disposal of certain collections that are held in
the library service.

[‘Disposal’ could have meant placing them in the care of an academic library in the city. Selling these books by auction, as proposed, means that the collections will be scattered, probably worldwide, and with a high proportion probably going into private hands. The Council Executive have opted therefore to deny the people of Cardiff, the general public elsewhere, and the academic community, access to these important historical collections, built up over many decades by gifts and purchases. It is morally wrong and totally irresponsible to transfer public resources in this way into the hands of private collectors.]


Background

2. Central Library houses a large number of volumes in the stacks area. The
main run of books and periodicals is a standard collection of library books,
and as such can be housed in a warehouse environment and used by the
general public.

[A ‘warehouse environment’! Is this the new iconic public library being built for Cardiff for over £15m. Do they understand what a modern library is: a hub for information, inspiration, study, IT access, leisure, education and social activities, such as the public libraries in Glasgow and Birmingham for example. ‘Modern’ libraries are a hybrid of the best of old and new; rich historical collections and wide access to IT resources.]

3. There are some small special collections which, despite their age and
condition, are extremely valuable, but which require special storage
conditions if they are to be preserved. They are unsuitable for use by
anyone other than academics and specialists. The anticipated move to the
Library for Cardiff requires decisions to be made about these smaller,
valuable and potentially lucrative individual collections.
[‘Unsuitable for use by anyone other than academics and specialists’: why is this group excluded from the Public Library’s remit? This is a very strange statement for a Council in a capital city with a high percentage of graduates among its population and with three universities, one of which is a major international research university. The general public are actually very interested in history and heritage, whether via original research in historical library collections, visiting ancient monuments or museums, or family/local history research. In the past the public benefited significantly from major exhibitions of these very collections. The Council is being condescending (and is incorrect) in assuming the public are not interested in these magnificent rare books collections.]

4. The major part of the stacks collection was gathered by Cardiff Libraries in
the latter half of the 19th century when Cardiff aspired to house the
National Library of Wales. When the decision was made in the early 20th
century to house the National Library in Aberystwyth Cardiff was left with a
major collection but inadequate resources to maintain it.

[This is an extremely misleading statement. The entry of the Cardiff Librarian, Harry Farr, in the Dictionary of Welsh Biography, provides a full rebuttal of this paragraph (http://yba.llgc.org.uk/en/s2-FARR-HAR-1874.html). Cardiff developed a pioneer reference library (the first in Wales) long before the campaign to establish the National Library of Wales. Although the National Library went to Aberystwyth in 1907, Cardiff City Library continued a vigorous policy of acquiring and exhibiting rare books and manuscripts, because of its desire to be a great city library and because of its key demographic location. In the mid twentieth century Cardiff was being described a ‘one of the great municipal libraries of Great Britain’, on account of its excellent public services and its great research collections. It is true that in recent decades Cardiff Council has failed to fund the library service adequately. In the 1970s/80s the old Central Library became dilapidated and this caused a major controversy; in November 1997 the South Wales Echo had to run a campaign to keep open branch libraries across Cardiff; and now in 2008 another campaign is required to keep major research collections available to the public in the city.]

5. The collections are made up of the following:
_ Private press editions of books
_ Early printed bibles
_ Rare atlases
_ Historical government publications
_ Some incunabula (books published before 1501)
_ Civil War tracts (early propaganda)
_ Bute and Scott manuscript collections
_ Early printed Welsh language materials (to be retained)

[Together, these materials form one of Wales’s great historical collections of rare books, of which there are only a few across the whole country. For example, Cardiff holds one third of Wales’ total incunabula – Cardiff’s collection of these pre-1501 books was gifted to the Central Library by John Cory in 1902 and is designed to show a good cross-section of early European printing. It is said that Welsh language books, and those of Welsh and local interest, will be retained. What is the rationale behind that rather parochial decision, and what criteria determine ‘Welsh interest’? The truth is that these collections are all ‘Welsh interest’, since they form part of a great Welsh national library collection. Indeed many of the books proposed for sale are not in the National Library in Aberystwyth, and are probably the only copies in Wales. Many of them also belonged to significant persons in Cardiff and Welsh history before arriving at the City Library. Major new trails of Welsh-related research will ensue from studying these collections in detail. They contain the first printed map of Wales, Welsh-related Shakespeare volumes, the original works of the Cardiff Farmers Club collections, and a great deal more. Again, if Glasgow and Birmingham can have access to major historical collections, consisting of much more than local Scottish or English works, why not Cardiff?]

6. Initial work carried out by Auctioneers and Valuers suggests these
collections have significant value even when manuscripts and items of
Welsh interest are excluded

[They are talking here only of ‘monetary value’; they ignore totally the educational, cultural, and heritage value to the nation of these works. If they sell these collections for the estimated £3m, they will need to give about £600K of that to the auctioneers. Their supposed ‘windfall’ from these assets will be wiped out within ten years. They will also lose at least £150K per year from potential student/academic spending in the city, not to mention the visitor-attraction value of regular exhibitions of these treasures.]

7. Experts have also indicated that “Overall they are dirty and in poor
condition, and… the cost of re-housing these books in state-of-the-art
conditions (which long-term conservation requires), combined with repairs
to bindings and other remedial work, could easily match the commercial
value of the books”.

[What experts were consulted? There seems to have been no meaningful consultation and discussion with stakeholders and relevant professional bodies and institutions prior to the preparation of this report. In June 2006, six months before this report was prepared, Cardiff University had presented the Council with a detailed offer to house the City Library’s special collections, to catalogue them, and make them available to the public in Cardiff and beyond – and that at no cost to the Council; all the other costs the Council suggest are purely speculative and unsubstantiated.]

8. The majority of the collections outlined in paragraph 5 have not been
catalogued and as a result are not (or very rarely) accessed by members
of the public. They also contain duplicate and, in some cases, triplicate
copies of the same item. Items of local or national interest would be
retained.

[Many of these books were catalogued, but the old card catalogue was discarded when the Public Library moved buildings two decades ago; and disgracefully these important collections have never been listed on the Library’s online catalogue. As the report points out, since the public and academics have not been able to discover most of what rare books the Public Library holds, it is not surprising that they do not make use of the collections! However, a number of the titles are listed in various standard catalogues (both print and electronic), noting the fact that there is a copy in Cardiff. These catalogues are regularly consulted by academics world-wide, who can at present see and appreciate (to some extent, at least) the wealth of material in Cardiff Central Library. Cardiff would disappear from such lists if these sales proceed, with the resulting loss of prestige. Mention is made of ‘duplicat’e copies. This demonstrates a basic ignorance of the nature of early rare books, since not only may different editions of books have different contents, but because of the nature of printing and binding in that period, all copies of the same edition of pre-1800 books are unique in various ways. These may therefore need to be consulted by specialists from time to time even if other copies of the same edition are available in other libraries or in digitised form. As under Section 5, what criteria will be used to determine items of ‘local or national interest’?]


Issues

9. The main issue is whether the Council should invest approximately £2-3
million to save the collections, which would only ever be used by a very
narrow group of interested parties, or free the resource tied up in these
items by selling them through auction to individuals or institutions that can
afford the upkeep.

[This is not true, it is also not the main issue, since Cardiff University had already offered to house the collections for free, and can afford their upkeep. There is NO NEED for this sale. The main issue is what sort of public library service policy should be followed in the capital city of Wales – should it be a narrow, ‘popular’ policy, or a comprehensive one which truly embraces all sections of society. Note that the ‘very narrow group of interested parties’ really includes all Cardiff residents with an interest in history, a shamefully misleading comment from the Council. The question of use by a ‘very narrow group’ also belies ignorance of the purpose of special library collections. By definition, rare books are only accessed infrequently – indeed there are usually restrictions on their use, partly for reasons of conservation. Rare books collections are important in order, among other things:
(a) to allow academics and others to consult them whenever it is really necessary to inspect the original volume in order to carry out detailed, specialist research;
(b) to give prestige to a library – especially to a library in a capital city which is home to a leading international research university;
(c) to provide regular public exhibitions of these special collections, in order to educate and instil pride in the citizens of the city and to act as visitor attractions.
(d) to attract more students and fees to the city, and to attract grants for cataloguing, digitising etc., to open up the collections world wide.

How did the report reach the very imprecise figure of £2-3 million? And why is there no assessment in the report of the long-term economic and cultural benefits of retaining these collections in Cardiff? Furthermore, since the Council intends keeping its Welsh rare books and its manuscript collections, what investment is envisaged in order for them to be kept appropriately? The fact that the Council has at present no archivist or rare-books specialist at the Central Library shows its serious neglect of valuable assets. Does the Council intend employing such people to care for the Welsh rare books and manuscripts? In other words, will not much of that £2-3 million have to be incurred in order to give proper care to the special collections remaining in the Central Library?]

10. If these collections are retained a commitment must be made for
investment in their conservation as without this the collections will be
worthless in another 50 years.

[‘Worthless in another 50 years’: this is not true and is a ridiculous statement, made by someone who knows little about historical book collections. Many of the books have survived for 500, 400, and 300 years; they would survive another 100 years in ordinary conditions, even without conservation. Also they become more useful as they get older, being one of the few historical sources we have for the 1400s, 1500s, and 1600s. If the Council employed a professionally qualified Chief Librarian with responsibility for managing the Library, or a rare books specialist, it would have received this advice a long time ago. The city has not employed a Chief Librarian for a decade. How many other major library authorities are there in Wales where the libraries are managed by non-librarians?]

11. Council policy would normally pool receipts from land or property sales.
However, in this case it is proposed that proceeds should remain within the
Library Service and be used to increase access to present libraries by a
much wider community – 19th century investments paying dividends in
terms of 21st century service delivery. Priority projects which could be at
least part-funded over the next 3 years include:
_ RFID across all libraries in Cardiff allowing self service and a
refocus of libraries

[It was interesting to note that when the South Wales Echo reported this new self-service development (10.09.08), it could find no popular support for the development. Indeed, to the contrary, it was pointed out that ‘one of the great advantages of visiting a library is the personal advice and assistance from staff’. Compare that ‘muted reaction’ to the purchase of this RFID computer system with the petitions being signed the very same week by hundreds of ‘lay’ people in various parts of Cardiff, expressing their outrage at the sale of Cardiff Library’s rare books collections!]

_ Virtual library provision in areas without static library provision

[‘Land or property sales’: this is how they perceive one of the major heritage collections in Wales, just as property to be traded! Any computer book loans system will need replacing in 5-10 years, and how will they fund the next computer system, since the rare books collections will be gone forever. Yet elsewhere the Council says it has sufficient funds for the new Cardiff Library building; so why this sale at all, one wonders, especially at the time of economic slump, when prices will be at their lowest? ‘19th and 20th century long-term investments being sold off for short-term gain’ is a more accurate description of what is happening! ]

12. The process proposed is to approach at least 3 expert auctioneers and
seek tenders from them for the disposal. Fees of approximately 15-20%of
the proceeds could be payable with auctions staggered over 2-3 years in
order to maximise possible sale value. Items of special interest to Cardiff
and Wales would be retained.

[No liaison, consultation, or agreement has been sought from the relevant stakeholders in Cardiff about this sale; no surveys of public opinion, no consultation with experts in the academic field. No agreement was sought with specialist libraries in Wales who could provide the public and academics with a first-rate library service based on these research collections. The fees for depositing the collection with Cardiff University Library would be zero, the auctioneers fees could amount to £600K of public money. These British and international rare books ARE items of interest to Wales, as they help to understand Wales in the wider historical and social context and give international prestige to our capital city. This was a collection developed FOR Cardiff and Wales by the City’s benefactors and enlightened councillors in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It belongs in Wales, in Cardiff!]


Reasons for Recommendations

13. The disposal of the proposed items represents the best course of action in
dealing with these collections.

[Not one other course of action has been properly explored. The professional librarians’ organization, CILIP, has guidelines on disposal of historical collections, these have all been broken: see, http://www.cilip.org.uk/specialinterestgroups/bysubject/rarebooks/policy/policy_sales.htm. The best course of action would have been to pursue the offer made by Cardiff University in June 2006, which would have meant that these valuable assets would have remained in Cardiff, the property of Cardiff Council and in the public domain, at no cost to the Council. Why was this offer not explored fully and mentioned in the report of January 2007?]


Legal Implications

14. The Council as library authority is under a statutory duty to provide a
comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons desiring to make
use of it and whose residence or place of work is within the authority's area
or who are in full-time education within the area (section 7 of the Public
Libraries and Museums Act 1964). Subject to this duty, there is no
general statutory restriction over disposals of library stock (save for
'manorial documents' transferred to the library authority under the Manorial
Documents Rules 1959; and subject to public lending rights which may be
applicable to books loaned out from the library). Assuming there are
no applicable statutory restrictions, the Council may dispose of the stock in
question provided it has first verified that it holds legal and beneficial
ownership of the same. If any stock is held on trust, then the provisions of
the governing trust will need to be observed and complied with.

[“Provided it has first verified that it holds legal and beneficial ownership”: In a Freedom of Information reply of June 2008 the Council could not confirm it held legal title to all the books proposed for sale. There is published evidence to suggest that the Council does NOT own some of the books intended for sale, e.g. rare Bibles loaned by the Bute family. No sale should proceed unless the Council can prove it has legal title to the books it proposes to sell. We have already seen that the Council is not providing a ‘comprehensive’ service, because it omits ‘academics and specialists’ from its services (see Section 3 above); this is especially serious in view of the specific statutory duty to provide for ‘those in full-time education’. It has also failed to provide an ‘efficient’ service, by not contracting for free Cardiff University to hold and make the collections accessible, to and on behalf of Cardiff residents.]

15. It is noted that the proposed method of disposal is by the engagement of
specialist auctioneers, and that it is estimated that such auctioneers may
charge fees of approximately 15-20% of the sale proceeds. The
appointment of auctioneers will need to be undertaken in accordance with
the Contract Procedure Rules, and depending upon the value of the
contract to be awarded, potentially also in compliance with the EU
Procurement Rules. Under the Contract Procedure Rules the procurement
process must be managed in accordance with guidance issued by the
Operational Manager - Procurement and Supplies and must be referred to
him to determine in consultation with the relevant Chief Officer, the
process to be followed. The Scheme of Delegations contained in Part 3 of
the Constitution sets out in detail the persons who are authorised to make
decisions on the invitation of tenders, and the tender evaluation criteria,
depending on the value of the proposed contract. In considering the
selection of auctioneers, the authority must have regard to its duty of best
value. Legal advice can be provided on the form of the proposed contract
and the procurement process, if required. The decision maker must be
satisfied that the proposal is within the Policy and Budget Framework, and
if it is not then the matter must be referred to the Council.

[“The decision maker must be satisfied…”: Clearly this matter should have been referred to the full Council, and the decision not to do that has led a major, and now international, embarrassment for Cardiff Council. No mention is made of any ‘losses’ if the sale proceeds, such as the £150K per year from potential research student income, lost future grant funds for work on the collections (such as Cardiff University Library obtains for online cataloguing, conservation work, and digitisation projects), lost cultural benefits, loss of heritage tourism revenue, etc., etc.].


Financial Implications

16. Council policy is to pool capital receipts to assist in the general funding of
the Council's capital programme. The windfall nature of this particular
capital receipt has provided the opportunity for the resource to be, as
an exception, set aside for specific capital library projects.

[This totally ignores the ‘windfall’ that can be obtained by keeping the collections in Cardiff. For example, it is estimated that Cardiff University could attract an additional 15 extra research students per annum to work on these collections if they were retained in Cardiff and readily accessible – or in monetary terms, £150,000 per annum, or £1.5m each decade brought into Cardiff’s coffers. It also totally ignores the other benefits of retaining the collections in the city; the cultural boost, the research and grants that will flow from academic use of the collections, the international prestige, etc.]


Consequences

16 [sic]. If these items are not disposed of considerable investment will need to be made by the Council for their conservation.

[This is false. If Cardiff University’s offer of 2006 to house them and catalogue them for free had been explored by the Council, no further investment by Cardiff Council would have been required. If the sale proceeds, Cardiff Council will reap huge, worldwide bad publicity; it will struggle to obtain any future grants for heritage projects due to its reputation for selling off collections, it will stifle scholarship in the city’s world-class university; it will lose millions of pounds over the new few decades, and these magnificent collections will be lost to the Cardiff public for ever.]


RECOMMENDATIONS
The Executive is recommended to agree that :
(1) at least 3 specialist auctioneers are asked to tender to conduct staggered
sales of specific items based on a fee calculated as a percentage of sale
proceeds
(2) the proceeds from the sales are re-invested in specific library projects
which would be a departure from the Council’s policies to the extent
detailed in paragraph 11 above

[These contradict the Council Policy, as outlined in their publication: ‘Cardiff: a Proud Capital’ strategy 2007-2017. This states:
“Cardiff needs to take advantage of the benefits of scale (big is beautiful)”, p.12;
Support a “First Rate University”, p.12;
“New measures to strengthen Cardiff’s position as a centre of culture”, p.15;
“Creation of alliances between schools, colleges, and other providers”, p.20.

The Council seems determined to sell these rich collections for short-term gain, rather than consider retaining them cost-free on long-term loan in Cardiff University. It is rather ironic that in 1905 Cardiff University reported to Cardiff Council that “in the event of the National Library being located in Cardiff, they [the University] will…transfer to the [Cardiff] National Library the collection consisting of over 16,000 volumes…known as the Salisbury Library.” A century later sees the City Council intent on selling their collection of 18,000 British and European rare books rather than co-operating with Cardiff University to retain these books in Cardiff. These collections are of international significance. Through disposing of them in this manner, the Council will not only bring Cardiff into great disrepute but will demote the Welsh capital irreparably as an international centre of learning and culture.]


[Concluding quotation: Barry Bloomfield, ‘Where Are They Now’, Rare Books Newsletter (CILIP),
Spring 1998, pp. 37-50.
“There is as yet no national coordination or policy for the research library collections in this country…The general picture is of a steadily shrinking reservoir of rare books available for research.”]



• These ‘jewels’, with their great historical significance and educational / economic / visitor-attraction potential, are the very books Cardiff Council now proposes to sell as ‘surplus library stock’.

• These special collections have not been used extensively during the past twenty years because they have not been catalogued and promoted during that period. To counter this argument, Council spokespersons state that ‘many of these items are listed in standard reference catalogues’. In fact only 180 out of the 18,000 items in these special collections – one per cent! – are listed in the standard reference catalogues named by the Council.

• Cardiff Council claims that, following the decision at the beginning of the twentieth century to locate the National Library at Aberystwyth, ‘Cardiff was left with a major collection but inadequate resources to maintain it’. On the contrary, it can be shown conclusively that Cardiff continued to develop its special collections, and the facilities for their use, well into the 20th century.

• All the books in the Central Library’s special collections, whatever their language or content, are of ‘Welsh or local interest’ because of the history of those collections and their provenance. Is not the collection of Impressionist paintings in the National Museum of Wales a ‘Welsh’ collection, despite the artists being French? Selling the ‘non-Welsh’ books in Cardiff’s special collections will destroy important national heritage collections and demote Cardiff City’s library provision to being little more than a provincial, ‘local studies’ collection rather than one fit for a European capital.

• As the Appendix to this document shows, nearly all the books in Cardiff Central Library’s special collections were presented/bequeathed by benefactors, or placed there on deposit, or purchased by public subscription. Even if no formal covenants are attached to some of these items, the clear intent of the benefactors was that these books be retained long-term in Cardiff for the educational and cultural benefit of its citizens and the nation, and not be treated as ‘windfall’ revenue. Given the high proportion of donated and deposited items in the special collections, it is quite likely that the Council has no legal right to sell a significant number of the books it intends to auction at Bonhams.

A COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION?

In his written reply to one of the three public questions at the Cardiff Council meeting of 25 September 2008 regarding the disposal of the special collections at Cardiff Central Library, Cllr Nigel Howells (the Executive Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture), made the following, rather disparaging remarks, regarding those special collections:

“It should be noted that these are not items that make up a valuable or important collection in their own right (such as those held by other institutions such as the British Library or the Bodleian Library); they are, in fact, an ad hoc collection of printed works. They are by no means a comprehensive collection in any sense of the word.”

This a very disturbing and misleading statement which shows a remarkable ignorance on the part of Cllr Howells and his advisors regarding research and reference libraries such as the British Library, the Bodleian Library, and – dare one say! – Cardiff Central Library. It also displays a particularly breathtaking ignorance of the nature and significance of such special collections, and of the history and holdings of the library which has been entrusted to their care.

To begin with, it is not appropriate to compare Cardiff Central Library with the British Library and Oxford’s Bodleian Library, since the latter are both ‘legal deposit’ libraries, two of a small handful of libraries in Britain which receive free copies of all books published in the UK – the other ‘legal deposit’ libraries in Britain are the National Libraries of Wales and Scotland and Cambridge University Library,

The true comparison for Cardiff Central Library is with the large municipal libraries of Britain, such as those of Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. In addition to their lending libraries of more ‘popular’ materials, these public libraries – not to mention the libraries of much smaller county towns – have substantial numbers of books that may only be consulted in the library. Such reference libraries divide into two main sections:

1. General Reference Library
Firstly there is the general reference library, built up gradually over the years as a comprehensive collection of works on a wide range of subjects. Admittedly, the reference library at Cardiff Central Library is not as large as that of Glasgow, say, but it was (and hopefully still is!) one of the most significant and comprehensive municipal reference libraries, not only in Wales but in the whole of Britain.

Cardiff was the first town in Wales to open a public lending library. That was in 1862. Within two years a reference library had been established, with a nucleus of 49 books. By 1932 that reference library had grown to 160,000 volumes, and was by then ranked fifth among the municipal reference libraries of Great Britain. Regular acquisitions were made over the following half century, which meant that at the time of the move from the Old Library in the Hayes in the late 1980s, Cardiff Central Library was still regarded as a major and comprehensive reference library.

When the Central Library moved twenty years ago (to the building which has just been demolished!), the disastrous decision was taken to dispose of the card catalogue which indexed the library’s collections, in order to make everyone use the new electronic catalogue. It was a disastrous step because a significant number of items in the reference library were not included on that electronic catalogue at the time and for many years afterward – indeed many thousands of such items remain uncatalogued in stores to this day.

It is a well-known fact among librarians and antiquarian booksellers that there has been a quiet ‘downgrading’ of Cardiff Central Library as a reference library since the move in the late 1980s. Some of the less ‘lucrative’ collections have been deposited in other libraries and many items have found their way into the hands of booksellers. However, unless there has been a large-scale secretive disposal of stock since the move from the Old Library in the Hayes, the majority of that great and comprehensive reference library should still remain somewhere in the Central Library!

2. Special Collections
The second feature of all libraries of substance and standing is that they have a number of special collections, which are kept as distinct units within the reference library. Many of these originated as the private libraries of prominent individuals; other such collections began life as the libraries of institutions or learned societies; others are thematic collections, often created because of some particular local interest on the part of an individual or group.

Because of the piecemeal way in which such special collections are acquired, they are by their very nature ‘ad hoc’. In that sense the special collections of the British Library and the Bodleian Library are as ‘ad hoc’ as those of Cardiff Central Library! However each individual special collection is usually far from being ‘ad hoc’, since most were put together very deliberately – this again is as true of those in Cardiff Central Library as it is of those in the British Library or the Bodleian.

Whereas many of the volumes found in a ‘general’ reference library will be common to any number of other libraries, it is these ‘special collections’ (as the term suggests) which help mark out a library and give it its rank. They allow specialist and often unique research to take place in that library. In addition, these special collections frequently reflect aspects of local identity because they have been formed by particular citizens, and as such are a crucial part of each city’s heritage. They are, in other words, the ‘jewels in the crown’ of that library.

Cardiff Central Library has a number of special collections, many of them either donated by individuals or purchased by public subscription. The most important of these is its collection of Welsh books, pamphlets, prints and maps, which is second only to that of the National Library of Wales – or at least that was the case until the late 1980s, since it is difficult to assess the extent of the Central Library’s current holdings of Welsh material, as so much is still not on the library’s electronic catalogue.

However there are also at the Central Library a number of special collections of ‘non-Welsh’ materials, which contribute significantly to its status as a major research library. Among these are its major collections of early printed books, of rare Bibles, of atlases and of early English drama texts, together with its extensive collections of books renowned for their fine bindings and/or illustrations. It is these ‘jewels in the crown’ which are to be sold by auction at Bonhams over the next few years as ‘surplus library stock’. In 1932, this ‘surplus stock’ was described as follows:

“[In addition to the Welsh collection,] there are a number of other special collections, nearly all of which have originated from gifts made from time to time. Amongst them are a collection of incunabula from the early printing presses of Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, and the Low Countries; early editions of the classics; a collection of English books printed before the year 1640, and later seventeenth century English literature; an English Drama Collection; sixteenth and seventeenth century Italian, French, Spanish, and Dutch books, Emblem books, and other Early Illustrated books; books illustrated by Cruikshank, and other nineteenth century English illustrated books; books printed at the Kelmscott, Doves, and other modern presses; a collection of early children’s books and early educational literature; contemporary French Revolutionary literature; a collection of seventeenth and eighteenth century music, which it is hoped to develop into a comprehensive music reference collection; a theatre collection, a collection of Quaker literature, and other smaller collections.”

These are the so-called ‘ad hoc collection of printed works’ referred to by Cllr Howells. Far from being a ‘lame-duck’, miscellaneous collection of books, these special collections are in fact culturally coherent and well-designed, many of them acquired very deliberately, through gifts and public subscription, by enlightened librarians, businessmen, academics and councillors. It is rather ironic to see the present custodians of Cardiff Central Library describing in such disparaging terms those very collections which contributed significantly to that library being described in the mid-twentieth century as ‘one of the great cultural institutions of Wales’.

Special collections of this kind are by their very nature little used by the public at large. Cllr Howells says that these special collections ‘have seldom been consulted over the last 20 years and are not considered to be “popular” stock by Cardiff library users’. The same could be said of the Book of Aneirin! Rare books are not kept to be borrowed by the general public as holiday reading! For reasons of conservation and security, their use in libraries is restricted and closely monitored.

The ‘popular’ aspect of such books is their educational value, promoted through public exhibitions and increasingly through websites, together with the marketing and prestige value they afford the library and the city in which there are found. The way other great city libraries market their heritage collections of rare books stands in stark contrast to the disdainful and neglectful way Cardiff Council seems to regard the treasures of its library. See for example the website of Glasgow’s public library:
http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Library_Services/The_Mitchell/

It is also worth emphasising, that even if a rare book is held in other libraries or has been digitised and made available electronically, there is still an intrinsic value in the individual copy held in each library. It is important to remember that all copies of pre-1800 books are ‘unique’ copies in various ways, because of the nature of printing and binding in that early period. Therefore, each copy of an edition may need to be consulted from time to time by specialists engaged in detailed research work on the text of that book or its binding. Furthermore, however many digital or facsimile copies are available, there is still great prestige gained from owning an ‘original’. There are plenty of facsimile copies of the Book of Aneirin available for ‘popular’ use: is it owning the original which gives prestige to Cardiff Central Library.


FOUR FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Four further points should be emphasised in the light of various comments by Cllr Howells and other Council spokespersons:

1. Cataloguing and access
In response to claims that problems of cataloguing and access have led to the decline in the use of Cardiff’s special collections, Cllr Howells states that ‘many of these items are listed in standard reference catalogues (for example Wing and Pollard and Redgrave’s short title catalogue which are well known research tools for academics and researchers)’. It is true that Cardiff is noted as a location for certain items that are included in such standard reference catalogues – which, of course, draws attention to Cardiff as an important repository for rare books. However, the British Library’s on-line ‘English Short Title Catalogue’ of books published pre-1801 (a catalogue which incorporates the Wing and Pollard & Redgrave catalogues) only lists 180 items as being at Cardiff – in other words only 180 of the 18,000 rare books in question are included in the standard catalogues referred to by Cllr Howells. It is hard to describe this number as ‘many of these items’ by any stretch of the imagination!

2. ‘Inadequate resources’
It is implied in the Executive report of January 2007 that Cardiff Central Library’s special collections were acquired as a result of Cardiff’s aspiration to become the home of the National Library of Wales, and that when the decision was made at the beginning of the twentieth century to locate the National Library at Aberystwyth, ‘Cardiff was left with a major collection but inadequate resources to maintain it’. This is very misleading. Cardiff was a pioneer of the public library movement long before the campaign for a Welsh national library began in earnest; and as the Appendix to this document clearly demonstrates, Cardiff Central Library continued its vigorous policy of adding to its reference library and special collections well into the twentieth century, because of its desire to be a major city library in a key demographic location for much of the Welsh populace. Indeed, far from the collections being inadequately resourced during the first half of the twentieth century, 1923 saw a special ‘Research Room’ opened at the Central Library, 1925 saw a bindery established for the repair and restoration of rare books and manuscripts, and in 1931 the library was recognised by the Master of the Rolls as an official repository for public records.

3. ‘Welsh/local interest’ v. European city of learning
Much has been made of the fact that the library’s Welsh-language books and those books judged to be of Welsh or local interest are to be retained. This is obviously to be welcomed. However, one matter of great concern is that the Council’s definition of ‘Welsh/local interest’ appears to be very narrow, since it seems to be rejecting ‘provenance’ as one of the criteria for a book being of ‘Welsh/local interest’. As will be seen in the Appendix to this document, very many of the books in the Central Library’s special collections were owned and donated by significant figures in the public life of Cardiff/Wales. In addition, by selling the ‘non-Welsh’ books in its special collections, the Council is actually splitting up important Welsh collections: for example, at least two of the early editions of Shakespeare plays to be sold in the first auction at Bonhams come from the ‘Wooding Collection’, the library of a major Welsh book collector of the late nineteenth century, whose manuscripts and Welsh-language books will be retained, but whose English books will be sold – thus destroying irreparably a significant collection in the history of Welsh culture. Ironically, of course, although Cardiff Central Library has a very important collection of Welsh books, copies of many of them are to be found in other libraries in Cardiff and in other parts of Wales, whereas many of the English and European rare books the Council intends selling are the only copies of that book in Wales, and sometimes in Britain. If the capital city of Wales wishes to be an international city of learning and culture, it is imperative, therefore, that these rare English and European books remain in Cardiff. By selling off its significant collections of early atlases, its seventeeth century Civil War tracts, its substantial collection of Restoration drama, etc., etc., the Council is selling part of the cultural heritage of Wales and the very collections which make Cardiff Central Library a library of European stature. Without them, it will be reduced to being little better than a ‘local studies’ library in a provincial town.

4. Donations, deposits and ownership
Cllr Howells has repeatedly said that no books gifted to Cardiff Central Library will be sold, although he sometimes adds the caveat, ‘no items with gift covenants’. As will be seen in the Appendix to this document, the vast majority of the books to be sold were donated to the library, or deposited there, either by individuals or by public subscription. There may not be formal covenants attached to some of these items; however the spirit and context in which they were given implies that the donors’ intentions were that these books be retained in the Central Library for the long-term educational and cultural benefit of Cardiff, its citizens and the nation, and not sold off as ‘windfall’ revenue. The Council certainly has no moral right to sell such donations. Can it demonstrate in black and white that it has the legal right to sell these special collections; that there are no covenants attached to the books that are to be sold; and that none of the deposited books are being sent to auction?


CARDIFF HERITAGE FRIENDS
c/o 13 Wyndham St., Tongwynlais, Cardiff, CF15 7LN
4 October 2008

APPENDIX

Cardiff Central Library: Details of the Acquisition of Special Collections

A booklet published by Cardiff Public Libraries Committee in 1932 contains a long list of important items and special collections obtained by donation, deposit and purchase, together with the dates of acquisition. The following list is shortened version of that original list, which omits most of the references to the acquisition of manuscripts, prints, photographs, etc. Prefacing the original list was the following paragraph:


“The extent to which the library is indebted to a long succession of benefactors is shown in the following list. Generous gifts of books and manuscripts, or liberal subscriptions to funds, have enabled the Committee to acquire, from time to time, important collections, with the result that the library now possesses large collections of Welsh manuscripts, deeds, and documents, rare books, maps, and prints, and other special groups made up largely from private sources.”


It is not difficult to imagine the reaction of the benefactors listed below, and their descendants, to the act of cultural vandalism currently being perpetrated by Cardiff Council!


1875
A collection of works on agriculture, numbering 210 volumes, presented by Mr C. W. David. Some of the books formed part of the library of the Cardiff Farmers’ Club in 1842.

1882
Judge Falconer, of Usk, presented 2,000 volumes.

1884
Publications to the value of about £160 received from the Trustees of the British Museum.

A series of books and maps relating to the Survey of Western Palestine, presented by the Marquess of Bute.

1891
The “Tonn” library was acquired, consisting of 7,000 printed volumes and 100 manuscripts. £350 was subscribed towards defraying the cost.

Mr H. M. Thompson presented a number of scientific works from the library of Professor Kitchen Parker.

1896
The whole of the Welsh manuscripts in the collection of Sir Thomas Phillipps were purchased. Subscriptions towards the purchase amounted to £1,897, including £1,000 given by the Marquess of Bute and £500 by Mr John Cory.



1898
An autograph sonnet by William Wordsworth, written in connection with the re-building of St Mary’s Church, Cardiff, 1842, purchased and presented by Lord Tredegar.

1901
The Scott Collection, comprising over 2,000 items in Welsh or relating to Wales, given by Mr William Scott.

185 volumes of Record Office Publications received from H. M. Stationery Office.


1902
67 examples of books printed before the year 1500, purchased and presented by Mr John Cory.

A collection of emblem books, examples of rare continental presses, and early editions of Italian classical writers, purchased from a fund contributed by a body of subscribers.

The Wooding Library, containing over 5,000 volumes, including many rare Welsh books, purchased.

855 duplicates from the Ashbee and other collections, presented by the Trustees of the British Museum.

1903
A copy of the first Welsh Testament, 1567, bequeathed by the Very Rev. David Howell., Dean of St Davids.

1905
2,000 volumes in Welsh, and relating to Wales, collected by “Dafydd Morganwg” (D. Watkin Jones), purchased for the library by Sir W. T. Lewis (Lord Merthyr).

1907
Books and MSS. of David Williams, founder of the Royal Literary Fund, acquired.

1911
In connection with the Bible Tercentenary Exhibition, a fund was set up, and with the subscriptions a number of rare and valuable editions of the Bible purchased.

1912
A collection (consisting of eight manuscripts […], 189 volumes and pamphlets, and 22 maps, plans, and charts) was presented by Mr Illtyd Nichol, of the Ham.

Mr T. H. Thomas presented 509 volumes, mainly from the library of his father, the Rev. Thomas Thomas, D.D., of Pontypool College.

Mr H. Jenkins Davies, of Totton, Hants., presented 34 manuscripts, 209 volumes, and 454 pamphlets, mainly Welsh, from the library of his father, the Rev. D. H. Davies, Vicar of Cenarth.

46 volumes relating to Ireland, and 42 relating to Gujarati and other Oriental languages, were received from Professor Littledale.

A set of the publications of the International Chalcographical Society, with other works on early engraving, were presented by Professor Claude Thompson.

1915
644 volumes and 423 pamphlets received from the trustees of the British Museum, from duplicates in that institution.

1916
For the purchase of rare items in the collection made by Mr Robert Drane, of Cardiff, the sum of £124 5s. 0d. was subscribed. Included in the books purchased were some rare Marprelate Tracts.

1918
A series of eight early Cardiff Theatre Bills, dated 1818 to 1869, were received from Mr F. Milnes, of Cardiff,

The famous collection of Welsh manuscripts made by Thomas Johnes of Hafod, known as the Hafod Collection, was purchased for the Library. The cost was defrayed by Mr Edgar Edwards, of Highmead, Ely.

A Cruikshank collection, consisting of 400 volumes and 300 prints, made by Mr Henry G. C. Allgood, was purchased by Sir William Seager and presented.

760 items from the library of Miss Metford, of Dinas Powis, including a number of works relating to the Society of Friends, were presented by Alderman H. M. Thompson.

From Mr T. Francis Howell, on behalf of the executors of Mr James Howell, was received eight editions of the English Bible, dating from 1540 to 1738, and a Tyndale New Testament, 1552.

1919
Mr Bonner Morgan presented a collection of seventeenth and eighteenth century music, numbering 52 MS. volumes, 160 printed works, and 200 songs. The music was collected by Sir Herbert Mackworth, of Gnoll Castle, Neath, and among the manuscripts are 10 scores of early Italian operas.

From the sale of Singleton Abbey, Swansea, some important items were acquired, including a sixteenth century manuscript in the hand of Llewellyn Sion of Llangewydd. […] Other important items are The Book of Simwnt Vychan, with armorial bearings in colour, two Civil War tracts – “The Welsh Foot Post” and “A Declaration by Sir Thomas Middleton in 1644,” – three volumes of ecclesiastical seals made by Miss B. Hewlett in 1826-7, and eleven volumes of music, supplementing the gift of early music by Mr Bonner Morgan.

1920
Mrs Treharne, of Pentre, gave 220 volumes, of which over 100 were early law books.

A further collection of 300 volumes from the library of Miss Metford, supplementing the gift made by Alderman H. M. Thompson, were received from Mr R. E. Reynolds.

1921
A Theological library, 484 volumes, collected by a clergyman of the Church of England, was presented by Captain and Mrs Griffiths.


1922
A number of manuscripts and early printed books, formerly at the Hertfordshire County Museum, were acquired.

1923
Sir Henry Webb, Llwynarthan, presented 100 volumes illustrating English and foreign bookbinding from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.

200 volumes and three local manuscripts, registers under the Turnpike Acts, dated 1764 to 1843, given by Mr Edgar David, Fairwater.

1924
A further collection numbering 210 volumes, including examples of incunabula, early sixteenth century works, and series of early and modern bindings, from Sir Henry Webb, Llwynarthan.

The bequest under the will of Mr T. H. Thomas, “Arlunydd Pengarn,” of manuscripts, correspondence, books, and prints received.

The Aylward collection of music, which formed a valuable nucleus for a musical reference library, purchased.

1927
Mrs H. M. Thompson gave 73 items for the special collection of Children’s Books, and a further 42 items received from Mr E. S. Tregelles.

The number of separate issues of the “Eikon Basilike” (The King’s Book), made up to 39 by the gift of Mr F. F. Madan, of seven issues.

1928
Dr Katherine R. Drinkwater presented 112 volumes of the publications of the New Sydenham Society.

80 items added to the early educational works and children’s books by gift from Mrs G. Carslake Thompson.

1931
Dr Erie Evans gave 263 volumes, medical works, and contemporary books.

170 volumes received from the Dean and Chapter of Llandaff Cathedral.

1932
Mr Lloyd Richards placed on deposit his drama collection, including some rare Craig items and two theatrical masks.

Lampeter Treasures at Fifteenth-Century Conference

As part of the Fifteenth Century Conference at Aberystwyth, the Lampeter library has arranged with the Hugh Owen Library at Aberystwyth to exhibit there some of its medieval manuscripts and incunabula as well as rare early editions of authors such as Chaucer, Lydgate and Polydore Vergil. Here is a 'blog' version of the exhibition.


TREASURES FROM LAMPETER


These cases contain a selection of late medieval items from the Special Collections of the library at the University of Wales Lampeter, about thirty miles from Aberystwyth. It has been arranged in connection with the Fifteenth-Century History conference at Aberystwyth during September 2008. The Special Collections at Lampeter include eight medieval manuscripts, 70 incunabula and an important collection of over 20,000 pre-1800 books. The earliest medieval manuscript dates from the first half of the thirteenth century. The collection of incunabula is the largest held by any university in Wales (the two other major collections of incunabula at Wales are at the National Library and Cardiff Public Library), and is the largest held by any university outside Oxford and Cambridge.


A BOOK PRINTED BY WYNKYN DE WORDE

The German Wynkyn de Worde was an apprentice printer at Cologne in 1471 when he met William Caxton during his visit to the city. Worde accompanied Caxton back to Westminster in 1475 and 1476 and worked in Caxton’s printing shop there. After Caxton’s death in 1492, Worde took over his business. This printing by Worde of Caxton’s translation of Jacob of Voraigne’s hagiographical compendium The Golden Legend is dated 4 January 1498 or 1499, shortly before Worde left Westminster for new premises in Fleet Street. Among Worde’s innovations was the use of woodcuts to entice purchasers, as for example this woodcut of St Tobias which introduces her life. This volume was among those bequeathed to his foundation at Lampeter by Thomas Burgess, Bishop of St David’s and afterwards of Salisbury, in 1837.

University of Wales Lampeter Library, INC. 46




A VENETIAN PRINTING OF A WORK BY BOCCACCIO


Boccaccio’s Genealogiae Deorum was an encyclopaedia of mythology which has been called the first critical treatise of the renaissance. Boccaccio’s work remained the chief source of information on the gods of antiquity until the mid sixteenth century. This is a copy of the first printing of Boccaccio’s treatise, which was undertaken by the Bavarian Vendelinus de Spira at Venice in 1472. With his brother Johannes, Vendelinus helped establish Venice as a major centre for the new printing industry. This copy of Genealogiae Deorum has been decorated by hand with charming family trees showing the relationship of the gods. It is one of many precious volumes presented to the fledgling university at Lampeter by the East India Company surgeon and patron of Welsh education, Thomas Phillips.

University of Wales Lampeter Library, INC. 13/14


MISSALE VRATISLAVIENSE

Peter Schöffer was a manuscript copyist from Mainz who by 1455 was the principal workman of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of mechanical printing, and Schöffer worked with Gutenberg on his celebrated 42-line bible. Schöffer afterwards went into business on his own, introducing many technical innovations such as the printer’s device and the use of Greek characters. This imposing missal of the use of the church in Breslau, now Wroclaw, was printed by Schöffer at Mainz in 1499. Among the technical developments associated with Schöffer was the use of coloured inks in printed initials, as can be seen here. This volume was bequeathed in 1506 to the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Glogau, near Breslau, by Vincency Irganck. It was purchased for Lampeter by Thomas Phillips at the sale of the well-known German book collector Georg Kloss in 1835.

University of Wales Lampeter Library, INC. 10


THE BODDAM HOURS

This manuscript of the Office or Hours of the Blessed Virgin Mary was written in France for use in the diocese of Rouen in the late fifteenth century, apparently for the woman who is represented in the picture of the Virgin and child on f. 68r. The manuscript was in the possession of Charles Boddam, of Trinity College, Cambridge in 1782 and was subsequently acquired by Thomas Phillips who presented to St David’s College Lampeter in 1846. The manuscript includes fourteen pictures within architectural frames, six of which are full page. Shown here is a miniature of David and Bathsheba, used to introduce the seven penitential psalms. A facsimile of the images in the Boddam Hours and commentary, produced by Dr William Marx, is available here.

University of Wales Lampeter Library, MS. VII, ff. 31v-32r








A GATHERING FROM A FRENCH PRAYER BOOK


This prayer book was written and illustrated in France at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Neil Ker suggested that the arms in the border of each picture page indicate a connection with the Rochechouart family. The manuscript has recently been removed from its nineteenth-century binding for conservation reasons and is now mounted as separate gatherings. This is the first gathering, which contains the Lord’s Prayer, Ave Maria, Creed and other standard prayers. The eight-line picture shows God the Father bestowing a blessing.

University of Wales Lampeter Library MS. VIII, f. 1r












This is a further gathering from the early sixteenth-century prayer book written and illustrated in France, perhaps for the Rochechouart family. This is the third gathering in the present binding of the manuscript and contains salutations and prayers at mass in nineteen paragraphs. The eight line picture shows the Sacrifice of Isaac. This manuscript was given to Bishop Thomas Burgess by John Symmons FRS, the owner of Paddington House near London who owned the Llangennech Park estate near Llanelli.

University of Wales Lampeter Library MS. VIII, f. 16r












Another gathering from the early sixteenth-century prayer book written and illustrated in France, perhaps for the Rochechouart family. The illustration shows the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Christ child, together with John the Baptist and St Christopher.

University of Wales Lampeter Library MS. VIII, f. 27r










A RARE CHAUCER EDITION

Following the establishment of St David’s College at Lampeter in 1822, appeals were made for books to establish a library there. Among the many valuable volumes donated at this time was this rare edition containing the works of Geoffrey Chaucer together with John Lydgate’s Siege of Thebes, printed by John Wright for John Kingston at London in 1561. Shown here is the conclusion of the Canterbury Tales together with the illustration introducing the Romaunt of the Rose attributed to Chaucer (but probably not all his work). The illustration plays with the name and period of the text by referring to the Wars of the Roses, but there are no direct textual links between the poem and political events of the fifteenth century. This edition was edited by the well-known sixteenth-century antiquaries William Thynne and John Stow.

University of Wales Lampeter Library Special Collections

POLYDORE VERGIL

Polydore Vergil was born near Urbino and studied at the University of Padua and possibly at Bologna. He achieved celebrity as a humanist scholar with the publication at Venice in 1499 of De Inventoribus Rerum, an encyclopaedia describing the origins of objects ranging from gods and mankind to printing and warm baths. Arriving in England in 1502 as a papal tax collector, he was feted by the royal court and spent much of the rest of his life in England. He began keeping notes for his Anglicana Historia (English History) soon after his arrival in the country, publishing the first version in 1534. Shown here is Polydore’s account of the overthrow of Richard III and accession of Henry VII in an edition of his history printed at Basle in 1570 by Thomas Guarin. Polydore played a fundamental part in establishing the myth of Richard III’s evil character.

University of Wales Lampeter Library PHI 00898


A SIXTEENTH-CENTURY EDITION OF LYDGATE

This version of John Lydgate’s Fall of Princes, an adaptation of De Casibus Virorum Illustrium by Boccaccio, was printed at London by John Wayland in 1553-4. Wayland was a Catholic from Middlesex who had not been active as a publisher for fifteen years but who on the accession of Queen Mary took the opportunity to reenter the business by purchasing the Sign of the Sun, a London printing house, from the Protestant Edward Whitchurch. Wayland’s decision to purchase this printing business was probably influenced by the fact that he had recently acquired a patent for the production of primers and prayer books. Wayland’s edition of Fall of Princes was his first major secular publication in his new premises. He probably made use of work already done by Whitchurch on an edition of this work. The Mirror of Magistrates was commissioned by Wayland as a continuation of Fall of Princes and he intended including it in his new edition of Lydgate, but the government prevented its publication, putting Wayland out of business.

University of Wales Lampeter Library ODS 00257

Cardiff Book Sale

As the custodians of one of Wales's most important collections of books and manuscripts, we have been anxiously monitoring for sometime the short-sighed proposal of Cardiff City Council to sell off a large number of the superb collection of pre-1800 books built up between 1884 and the Second World War. These include many early editions of plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries; the second largest collection of incunabula in Wales; some superb atlas and collections of topographicxal views; and examples of the work of such celebrated modern presses as the Kelmscott Press. It is good to see that a public campaign is now being mounted to prevent the sale of this wonderful material and to ensure that it remains in Cardiff and accessible to those in Wales who want to see it. Details of the public campaign are available here.

Here is a copy of the full text of the press release issued by the Cardiff Welsh Bibliographical Society:

Secret Destruction of Cardiff Heritage Collection

A last ditch attempt has been launched to stop Cardiff City Council from breaking up and selling off a national heritage collection of Cardiff Public Library’s rare books dating from the 15th century. Sales lists are now being drafted by the auctioneers Bonhams in London and the first sales will probably take place before the end of the year.

A new action group, ‘Cardiff Heritage Friends’, which includes local Cardiff residents, academics, solicitors, historians and librarians, is calling for world-wide support from specialists in this field, demanding that the Council stop the sale of some of the greatest treasures in one of Wales’ great libraries. The group will also be seeking legal advice on the Council’s actions and exploring the case for stopping the sale.

It is thought insufficient funding has been earmarked by the Council to complete the new public library building in Cardiff, and that a decision has been made to sell at auction their most important British and European historical research collections in order to plug the financial gap.

There has been no consultation with local people, academics or other libraries, to discuss the wider value of the collection for Cardiff, Wales and beyond. It’s believed many new Councillors on the City Council are not aware that Cardiff’s heritage is being sold in their name!

Academics at Cardiff University have estimated that they could recruit between 15 to 20 postgraduates per year to the city if they had access to the collections for teaching and research; this would bring in around £150,000 to £200,000 per year in student fees and related spending to the city – not to mention the spending by people coming to Cardiff to consult these rare collections.

One Cardiff resident, Mr Siôn Tudur, said on behalf of the action group: “The idea of selling a heritage collection such as this is a national scandal, and brings shame to the City and its Councillors. In short, this is a classic example of cultural incompetence.”

Dr E. Wyn James, Secretary of the Cardiff Welsh Bibliographical Society, added: “It is ironic that the City Council intends selling this collection of international significance now, in the year Cardiff had aspired to be the cultural capital of Europe! The Council appears to be ignorant of the cultural and heritage importance of this unique collection, and of its prestige and potential use. Selling the Public Library’s rare books would be a disaster to Cardiff and Wales comparable to the National Museum selling its French Impressionist art collection.”

Notes for Editors:

Contacts:
Dr E. Wyn James, Cardiff Welsh Bibliographical Society, 029 2062 8754, e.w.james@talk21.com.
Mr Siôn Tudur, Cardiff Heritage Friends, 07974 382 550,
siontudur@hotmail.com
Cardiff Heritage Friends, c/o 13 Wyndham St., Tongwynlais, Cardiff, CF15 7LN.

In 2007 Cardiff City Council decided to sell the historical British and European collections in the Public Library, due to the shortfall in the budget to build the new public library building in the city. It is understood that they intend buying a computer system to loan library books with the profits from the initial sales of rare books, for £500,000. The intention is to sell in the region of 18,000 books dating from the 15th century to the 19th century, covering literature, history, religion, geography, natural history and politics.

Cardiff is the only capital city in the British Isles without either a National Library or a National Archives in the city – key institutions for supporting academic research and the resulting economic benefits. However, it is generally recognised that Cardiff Public Library’s outstanding humanities collection is one of international significance, befitting a capital city. That collection will be irreparably damaged if this sale proceeds.

If the Council continues with plans to sell the heritage collections in the Public Library, that step will substantially damage the City Council’s hopes of attracting further public funds or private grants for heritage projects. It could also jeopardise its applications for grants for the new Museum of Cardiff which it wishes to establish.

Because of the failings in the Council’s case for selling the collections, and the damage to the reputation of the City Council that will come in the wake of its decision, it is quite possible the Council will lose other rare and historical collections which are on loan or deposit at the Public Library, since owners will have no faith their collections will be preserved. There is already evidence to suggest the Council intends to sell collections it does not fully own.

The report recommending the sale of the collections is published on the Council’s website here. The report is entitled: ‘Disposal of Surplus [sic] Library Stock’ (11/01/2007).


This is a copy of an open letter to Cardiff City Council issued by Dr Wyn James:

An Open Letter to Cardiff City Councillors and to the Assembly Members and Members of Parliament for Cardiff

Destruction of an Important Part of Cardiff and the Nation’s Heritage

I am writing to you in my capacity as Secretary of the Cardiff Welsh Bibliographical Society.

It has come to our attention that Cardiff City Council intends to sell many of the rare books in Cardiff Public Library, in order to furbish the new library building in the centre of Cardiff. We understand that Bonhams of London are at present preparing lists of the Library’s books for sale by auction.

From the end of the nineteenth century until the Second World War, an enlightened Cardiff City Council created in the City Library a research collection of national and international status – a collection befitting a capital city.

The City Library holds one of the most important collections of Welsh books and manuscripts outside of the National Library of Wales at Aberystwyth; but it also has many thousands of rare books from the 15th to the 19th centuries, together with manuscripts from the Middle Ages, which are not ‘Welsh’ as such, although many of them have strong Welsh connections.

These truly remarkable collections include a notable collection of rare atlases; a good cross-section of ‘incunabula’ (i.e. early books printed in Europe pre-1501); an important collection of early printed Bibles; key English and European texts from the Protestant Reformation; a substantial collection of scarce political tracts from the Civil War; rare books on natural history, geography, and so on, and so on.

In other words, Cardiff City Library has a rich research collection of international prestige and importance.

It is probable that Cardiff is the only capital city in Europe without either a national Library or a National Archives. But at least it had the magnificent collection of the Cardiff City Library. That collection is now in danger of being damaged irreparably as a result of a little-publicised decision by the Council made in 2007.

The decision to sell many of the Library’s rare books was made following the recommendations in a document entitled ‘Disposal of Surplus [sic] Library Stock’ (11/01/2007). The document contains such statements as: ‘they [the rare books] are unsuitable for use by anyone other than academics and specialists’ – as if Cardiff did not have a substantial academic community and aspirations to be an international city of learning!

As the document admits, most of these valuable books – especially since the Library was moved from it old building in the Hayes in 1988 – have been lying in stores, uncatalogued, and their existence almost unknown to all but a few specialists. Who knows but that Cardiff would have been the cultural capital of Europe in 2008, if these rare books had been treated and promoted as they deserve!

But rather than ensuring that these valuable collections be catalogued, and exploiting these assets in a way that would substantially enhance Cardiff’s prestige as a city of culture and learning, the Council has decided to sell them, thereby losing the substantial long-term benefit – both cultural, academic and cultural – that would come to the city through their presence there.

It is true that many of the approx. 18,000 rare books the Council intends to sell are not ‘Welsh’ as such; but as a collection they are a significant part of the cultural history of Wales. And of course, all libraries which aspire to ‘national’ status include a good cross-section of books from outside their country, in order to place their culture in an international context. Indeed, selling the rare English and Continental books in Cardiff City Library would be a cultural disaster to Cardiff and Wales comparable to the National Museum selling ‘La Parisienne’ and the rest of its French Impressionist art collection!

Many of the items to be sold were gifts, donated to the City Library by benefactors for the long-term welfare of Cardiff, its citizens and the nation. Although the Council may (perhaps) have the legal right to sell these treasures, it certainly does not have the moral right.

We urge you, therefore, to do all in your power to overturn this shameful decision to sell an important part of the heritage of Cardiff and Wales, an act which will damage irreparably Cardiff’s standing in the world of culture and learning, both nationally and internationally.

Yours sincerely,

E. Wyn James
Secretary, Cardiff Welsh Bibliographical Society
16 Kelston Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff CF14 2AJ


We urge readers of this open letter to write to their Councillors and to their Assembly Members and Members of Parliament, pressing them to do their utmost to prevent this disgraceful sale of rare books and to ensure that the Council promotes it rich library collections in a way befitting of the capital city of Wales.

Ancestry.com available at Lampeter

Lampeter has taken out a subscription to the library edition of the genealogical resource, Ancestry.com. It can currently be accessed from any campus pc by going to the following url: http://www.ancestrylibrary.com. Off-campus access via Athens will be available in due course.

Archives Network Wales

9 June 2008 marks the beginning of the first International Archives Week, which was marked in Wales by a public exhibition and reception at the National Assembly in Cardiff, organised by the Archives and Records Council of Wales, of which the University of Wales Lampeter is a member. A report of this event is available here. Among the many new resources on display in the exhibition was Archives Network Wales, a consolidated online catalogue of Welsh archives, including the archive of the University of Wales Lampeter.

MIT Staff Talk Links

The following links were prepared for a talk to members of staff from the University's Management and IT Department on 15 May. All the links will work easily on campus via IP recognition. Except where indicated, resources are also available off campus via the listings in Athens.

LibX is a toolbar for use with the Firefox web browser, which facilitates searching of library catalogues. It is used by a number of libraries including MIT, Glasgow, Warwick and York. The University of Wales Lampeter edition gives drop down menu access to selected electronic resources and allows searches of the library catalogue via keyword, author, title, journal title. It can be downloaded here. A version for use with Internet Explorer is at beta.

A similar toolbar for easy access to electronic resources via Athens is available from the main Athens site.

The National Library of Wales provides free Athens accounts to Welsh residents which gives access to some resources not available at Lampeter, such as Gale's digital archive of The Times. The NLW higher education page is here.

Cat Cymru has just been launched and is still in beta version, but is already a useful tool. It allows cross-searching of all publicly available library catalogues in Wales.

Lampeter was a major contributor to the Welsh university's shared collection of e-books developed with Netlibrary collection. Access to the Netlibrary collection is available by searching or browsing from the Netlibrary home page or by clicking on the 'linked resource' page when a record for an electronic resource is found in the Voyager catalogue.

The JISC has recently launched a project to investigate patterns of use of e-books. To facilitate the project, UK HEIs have been provided with a small selection of books on management, film,media and other subjects. They are available on MyiLibrary, a different e-book platform.

There are some long-standing resources which are underused by Management students. They include a comprehensive selection of directories, such as Who's Who, Who Was Who, the Civil Service Handbook and many others which are mounted on Know UK.

News UK is a searchable archive on national and regional newspapers dating back over ten years.

Oxford Reference Online is an extensive selection of Oxford University Press reference books, including handbooks on business, economics and computing.

Emerald EMX has become a very familiar resource, but it is worth exploring some of the collections within Emerald, such as the literature reviews and interviews in the Learner's Corner.

Lampeter Library photographs

Some photographs of the new Roderic Bowen Library and the old Founders' Library accommodation, together with some Ceredigion illustrations from volumes in our Special Collections, are now available on the Cadwyn y Canolbarth Flickr photostream here.