AWC Going Dutch May June 2022

AWC Library & Books 4 Life
by Anne van Oorschot (with historical information from Growing Dutch, the AWC’s
75th anniversary history book)
It is hard for me, an AWC Member of 36 years who loves to read, to imagine our Club
without a Library! A lot has changed over the past 91 years. While Members return more
frequently to the US and come back with suitcases loaded, the biggest change is the ease
with which English printed books and e-books can be ordered online. As we come to the
end of the AWC Library’s existence, let’s look back at the history of this important part of
our Club’s past.
From the beginnings of our Club’s history,
a Library was considered an essential part
of our organization. As early as 1930, supporters
contributed books and established a
fledgling Library, open twice weekly, in a
corner glassed-in cabinet of the Hotel Vieux
Doelen. Our Library provided not only a
much-treasured source of reading material,
but also a place for Members to meet socially.
In 1933 the growing library was moved
for a short period to Restaurant Anjema, before
finding a residence for many years in a
small rented space at Noordeinde 92, above
a gift shop called Tesselschade. According
to a FAWCO report from 1934, “The library
is running splendidly and is a great rendezvous
for both Club and outside members…
[and] contains about 500 books.”
stairs (a challenging endeavor for pregnant
Members and toddlers). For the first time,
it was decided to insure our Library for a
sum of ƒ15,000. By 1958, our Library (also
used for Board meetings) contained approximately
3,000 volumes with a monthly
circulation of approximately 600.
By November 1960, the Tesselschade location
had become overcrowded, and the
growing collection (and the weight of the
books!) required new quarters. It was also
hoped to find a location which could provide
a small space for social activities. A
move was made to a newly rented location
on the Vondelstraat. In 1963, our flourishing
Library―which also functioned as Club
headquarters for a growing Membership―
circulated 9,214 books. A committee was formed to look into yet another new location,
which eventually resulted in a contract with the American Protestant Church Council in
1964. We were overjoyed to move from our small quarters to the roomy second floor of the
Church. Special cupboards with removable doors were made to store all the books and for
an annual donation of ƒ2,000, and an annually renewable contract, space was provided for
over 4,500 hard cover and 1,500 paperback books.
With the acquisition of our own Clubhouse in 1984, our Library finally found a permanent
home. Proper bookshelves, weatherproofing and essential carpeting took a huge bite out
of the Club’s budget, but packing up and moving the books from the American Protestant
Church reigns as one of the major undertakings our Members have ever tackled! Thanks
to a highly motivated “Book Brigade” and the services of a moving company, over 7,500
books were transported to their new home at Nieuwe Duinweg.
Dedicated volunteers continued to nurture our Library and meet the interests of parents
and children not only in maintaining a broad selection of books, but in motivating staff to
open four days per week, plus two Sundays per month. The catalogue grew and became an
undeniable source of pride for the AWC.
After the Netherlands was invaded in May
1940, the name of our Library was changed
and attempts were made to keep it open as
long as Members were still able to come by.
When it became prudent to close it down,
In 2005, the Club’s 75th anniversary, our Library offered a wide variety of adult and children’s
books, with an Oprah book section, a new book section and―thanks to an increase
the books were taken away and hidden. One
year after the liberation, our Library was reopened. As a thank-you to the many friends who
in the library’s budget―audio and video sections, with DVDs being added as well. The
helped hide English-language books during the war, our Library was made available for the
process of computerization had been carried out in 2004, before which time, every item had
first time, not only to Club Members, but also to Dutch, British and other English-speaking
to be hand-catalogued! After 75 years, our Library consisted of over 8,500 books, videos,
friends. Since new books were almost unattainable in the Netherlands, Members were permitted
to pay their dues by American check. Consequently, two-thirds of the Membership
DVDs and audio tapes!
dues were deposited in “a Library account” in a New York bank, and then credited to an
While we thought the Nieuwe Duinweg would be a permanent home for the AWC and the
account at Brentano’s Books in New York, where books were ordered against the Club’s
Library, the world changed on us. With fewer space needs in a more digitized world, more
cash balance. By 1953, Club Membership had increased to 100, and our Library had grown
possibilities due to online ordering, and a smaller Membership, the huge cost of maintaining
our 11-room Home Away from Home became a burden. We put the house on the market,
to such a degree that a fixed sum from the Club’s budget was allocated to cover rent,
the purchase of new books and general Library upkeep. A second room was leased from
made a hefty profit when it was sold and found a modest new rental home at Johan van
Tesselschade in order to accommodate more than 2,000 books and periodicals, plus a new
Oldenbarneveltlaan 43. While this new space fit our Membership well, it could not accommodate
the size of our Library. With English books easy to come by in the Netherlands,
children’s section. (I LOVED this part of our Library when my three children were young
as I had access to all the fun books I remembered from my own childhood!) This second
the use of the Library had been decreasing so a major purge of books was carried out and
room was located on the top floor, with a handy rope bannister to help navigate the steep only a portion of the once impressive Library went with us to our new Clubhouse. >> 36
34 GOING DUTCH
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