RSPL Announces Virtual Sessions

As part of its ongoing series of virtual sessions, the Royal Philatelic Society London would like to announce some upcoming events that all are free to attend. Past RSPL events have been excellent and these are sure to be the same. All events will take place via Zoom and are open to non-RPSL members.

National Postal Museum to Host 17th Maynard Sundman Lecture

The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum is proud to announce the 17th Maynard Sundman Lecture Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 4 p.m. ET online, via Zoom. Admission to the lecture is free, but registration is required. Register here. The museum will welcome Yamil Kouri Jr. to discuss the topic of his most recent book “Under Three Flags, the Postal History of the Spanish-Cuban / American War,” the winner of the American Philatelic Society’s philatelic literature Grand Award in 2019.

Cubans had long sought liberation from Spanish rule during the mid-to-late 19^th century, culminating in the Cuban War of Independence in 1895. After more than three years of fighting, neither side had a clear advantage. The United States’ declaration of war against Spain in April 1898 had a decisive impact on the conflict, leading to Spain’s surrender within a few months. Although brief, these coinciding military conflicts and the multi-country occupation of Cuba produced a rich and varied postal history legacy. The presentation will explore some of the fascinating aspects of this legacy that resulted in major global consequences.

Register Now of the 2020 Virtual Postal History Symposium

It’s Time to Register for the 2020 Postal History Symposium!

Back in July in order to overcome the health and safety concerns of the ongoing pandemic, it was decided that the 2020 Postal History Symposium would be held virtually. The biennial event, jointly hosted by the American Philatelic Society, the American Philatelic Research Library, the National Postal Museum and this year by the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, was re-imagined virtually and rescheduled for October 26-30, 2020.

A Very Different National Library Week for 2020

Today begins a very special and, given the current times, very different week here at the American Philatelic Research Library. First observed in 1958 and sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA), today marks the beginning of the 61^st anniversary of National Library Week (April 19-25), a week commemorating libraries and librarians. All across the country the annual event recognizes the important contributions that libraries have within the fabric of society and the role that librarians play as the organizers and facilitators of knowledge, resources and research.

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.”

Meeting Authors a Highlight at APRL 50th Event

While celebrating 50 years of research and resources of the American Philatelic Research Library another highlight of the Golden Anniversary Celebration event will be the opportunity to meet and discuss the latest publications written by two authors that will conduct signing sessions of their new works during the day on Saturday November 3.

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