Yesterday as part of National Library Week and this year’s motto “Libraries Lead” we recognized the important role that the American Philatelic Research Library (APRL) plays in assisting a philatelic exhibit judge. Today we look a little further at this unique relationship of the APRL and exhibiting from the perspective of another distinguished philatelic judge as well as a renowned philatelic exhibitor. Both appreciate the important function the library plays in leading them to the resources they require for their different roles in the world of philatelic exhibiting.
Elizabeth “Liz” Hisey, a Life member of the American Philatelic Society (APS), is an APS-accredited judge and an active member of the Council on the Accreditation of National Exhibitions and Judges (ANEJ), Women Exhibitors (WE) and the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors (AAPE). In her duties as a philatelic judge she makes frequent use of the APRL and its timely and evolving services.
“I have used the APRL for many years as the source of information for judging stamp exhibits. When I first started, in order to obtain the information I needed, the librarians would send me books that had the required references. Now all I have to do is to ask for various pages to be scanned and within the next few hours the information is emailed to me. If it is some esoteric reference, the librarians now have access to other libraries around the country and can source the material for me.”
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Similarly topical collector and award-winning exhibitor Jean Stout, the 2013 American Topical Association (ATA) Distinguished Topical Philatelist, uses the APRL as a trusted repository for her topical research on penguins, as well as many other fascinating topical collecting interests such as roosters, chickens, Sherlock Holmes, Halloween and even cockroaches.
“I maintain the checklist for the ATA Penguins on Stamps Study Unit and stamp identification can be tricky at times. I have access to Scott catalogs at my local library but not the more detailed Michel catalogs. Scott catalogs don’t always list the stamps I need for the checklist, so on my last visit to the APRL I utilized their Michel catalogs. The hallmark of a good research library is the ability to serve its patrons’ needs from the simple to the complex. The APRL meets this requirement a thousand-fold.”
Exhibitors and judges both rely on the APRL to “lead” them to the research they need for their varied roles in philatelic competition.
As a fellow librarian, I am really enjoying this series of posts on the role the APRL plays in helping exhibit judges.