New Resources at the APRL, May 2019

Alaimo, Salvador, 1934-. Las comunicaciones Argentinas con las Islas Malvinas ([No location]: Salvador Alaimo, [No date]). [IP70947]

Michael E. Aldrich Auction. The Whitney collection: September 9-10, 2015 (Carefree, AZ: Michael E. Aldrich Auction, 2015). [NS Whitney Collection]

Resource of the Month – Show Programs

With the close of the most recent international show Stockholmia and with the APS StampShow in Omaha on the horizon, it brings to mind an often underused resource in our collection here at the American Philatelic Research Library. Stamp shows, whether local or national, domestic or foreign, provide a welcome resource documenting the hobby’s past through the shows presented by its clubs, societies and organizations. Often stamp shows are the first instance a beginner collector is introduced to the scope and grandeur of collecting, while even the most experienced philatelist waits with anticipation for all that that next philatelic show has to offer.

New Resources at the APRL, April 2019

Abajian, Paul G. Vermont postal history. Way mail of the Green Mountain State. Supplement no. 1(Essex Junction, Vermont (P.O. Box 475, Essex Junction, 05453): The Vermont Philatelic Society, 2003).[IP70777]

Abajian, Paul G. Vermont postal history. Way mail of the Green Mountain State / by Donald B. Johnsone. Supplement no. 2 (Essex Junction, Vermont (P.O. Box 475, Essex Junction, 05453): The Vermont Philatelic Society, 2004). [IP70778]

Resource of the Month – GPS Reference Manual of Forgeries

As the beginner collector matures from intermediate hobbyist to serious philatelist the desire to add to one’s collection and to verify and authenticate those additions becomes of greater importance. When collecting in areas of the hobby where forgeries and forgers are known to abound these additions can challenge even the most knowledgeable philatelist. One of these areas of collecting that has seen a proliferation of forged issues is that of Germany and German States and Colonies.

National Library Week: Libraries = Digital Communities – “APRL Digital”

In the age of Twitter, Instagram and other social media alternatives the ongoing resource and service goal of the American Philatelic Research Library is to expand the reach of the library to those who may not or cannot visit in person us here. The digital world of disseminating information for research, in this case philatelic research, has advanced such that a good number of the resources we know and use each day appear in digital form. To this end, the APRL in October 2017 began its Digital Resources Imitative to make available to our members some of the more common resources used in their research.

National Library Week: Libraries = Communities for Sharing

One of the most important goals for any library including the American Philatelic Research Library is that of sharing our resources with our community of library users, in this case philatelic researchers. We do this first by making our resources accessible to those users through borrowing, photocopying, scanning and providing research. In conjunction with this type of resource sharing we also have a responsibility to share what we don’t need or require for our collection with the philatelic community.

National Library Week: Libraries = Tips from Our Community

Now that you’ve been introduced to the staff here at the American Philatelic Research Library, we thought as part of National Library Week we would next ask some of the staff to share what tips they could pass along to assist patrons and researchers to the APRL with our services and resources. In working with the resources every day and assisting patrons with their research, our staff have discovered some useful “tips of the trade” they would like to share with our philatelic “community.”

National Library Week: Libraries = Strong Communities of Staff

On this second full day of National Library Week, here at the American Philatelic Research Library (APRL) we now move our focus to the dedicated and resourceful people who make up our “community” as the staff of the APRL, those who serve the research and resource needs of our members and the global philatelic community. The APRL is staffed by three full-time personnel and two employees who split time in the library.

National Library Week: “Libraries = Strong Communities”

As part of an annual national commemoration honoring libraries and librarians, today begins a very special week here at the American Philatelic Research Library (APRL). The American Library Association (ALA), the world’s largest and oldest library organization, highlights this week (April 7-13) as time to reflect and pay tribute to the role that libraries and librarians play in the creation, cultivation and dissemination of knowledge, research and resources. First observed in 1958 and now in its 61^st year, this year’s theme for National Library Week is “Libraries = Strong Communities.” Here at the APRL we’ve taken this a step further coining the phrase “Libraries = Strong Philatelic Communities.”

Resource of the Month – Universal Postal Union Publications

This month’s highlighted resource is a series of documents housed in the Government Documents section on the first floor of the public space of the American Philatelic Research Library. By way of introduction to these important international resources, in 1863 the United States Postmaster General Montgomery Blair organized a conference in Paris to discuss the state and future of international postal relations. Delegates from 15 European and American countries met and succeeded in establishing a number of general principles governing international postal relations and services. But the scope and necessary authority of their decisions remained limited and they were not able to come to a consensus regarding an overarching and binding set of international postal agreements.