February 2018 - Sneak Peek

The first American Philatelic Research Library, shown here in a 1974
photograph, was built in 1972 in State College, Pennsylvania.
Our Library History
When the American Philatelic Society formed in 1886,
one of the first member services provided was a Library Department.
Small and organized solely on member and volunteer
labor, the library would remain part of the APS until
1897, when the philatelic library was placed under the care
of the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Thirty
years later, the APS Board of Directors determined the library
of no value to the membership and abandoned all claims to
the philatelic library.
In October 1968, the APS created the American Philatelic
Research Library to advance philatelic research for our
membership. By 1972, our first library was built, along with
the APS headquarters in State College, Pennsylvania. Fast
forward to October 2016, when the APS and APRL opened
the doors on the newest and largest philatelic library in the
APS president Mick Zais speaking at the 2016 opening of the new
American Philatelic Research Library in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.
world at the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.
Those who attended the opening or have visited the library
since have seen the best our hobby has to offer. Not only does
the library serve the membership of the APS, but we are a
public library serving researchers from other disciplines and
continents. The most remarkable thing about the vast holdings
of our library is that most of the literature housed there
was donated by the members of the APS. It wasn’t until 2015
that the APRL received a significant acquisition budget when
former member Theodor Kerzner left $75,000 to the library
for that purpose. Books purchased through this fund will
bear his name in perpetuity to commemorate his generosity.
More Than Just a Building
Though we receive visitors and members on a daily basis,
the library is more than just a building in Bellefonte. While
we welcome everyone to peruse the stacks and research the
thousands of journals, catalogs, and books, members can
contact our great staff by phone or email to assist in researching
any time. Members can request books, scans, or guidance,
all from the comfort of their home. The late Timothy
Healy, a priest who rose to be president of Georgetown University
and then the New York Public Library rightly noted,
“The most important asset of any library goes home at night
– the library staff.” No matter where I travel, APS members
proudly tell me the library staff they know and how much
they’ve helped build their own personal philatelic libraries.
Shrinking the World of Philately
We have slowly begun the
process of shrinking the world of
philately through the APRL. We
led the way in creating the David
Straight Memorial Philatelic
Union Catalog, a searchable database
of philatelic records spanning
13 philatelic libraries around the
world. The PUC, a vision of a former
APRL trustee, the late David
Straight, is a single online resource
of hundreds of thousands of records
of books, journals, articles,
and other library holdings. It has
The late David Straight,
former trustee of the
APRL.
become known as “the Google of philatelic research.” David
and his widow, Carol, have provided a large donation of David’s
research, books, and financially supported the growth of
the catalog that bears his name to this day.
The Sustainability Challenge
Through the APRL, we have been able to purchase and
finance the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte. In total,
we’ve invested $15.8 million into the APC, which is home
to the APS, the library, and several tenants who lease space
on the complex. We financed a portion of the renovations
through bank loans, which are thankfully covered largely
by tenant lease revenue. On the current payment track, the
mortgage loans are projected to be paid off by the mid-2030s.
In the 2016 Joint APS/APRL Strategic Plan, the boards
committed to more aggressively paying down the mortgage
debt. Our first remarkable accomplishment was eliminating
one of the six mortgages in 2017 using the proceeds from the
sale of Position 76 of the Inverted Jenny. Our current target
is the 2016 loan of $600,000 to be paid off over a five-year
116 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2018