Post by dade on Jan 20, 2019 21:38:49 GMT 12
What makes a library a good resource for the aviation museum it is attached too. It depends if its resourced by the government of that country, where wages are allowed and books and manuals are bought with taxpayer money, and even the best facilities are not a problem, and dare I say it the tea/coffee and biscuits are top class.
You then have the other private libraries staffed by un paid volunteers, donated books and manuals, second hand facilities and tea/coffee, plus biscuits that are not in the providore class.
As a private museum your donations can be a mixed bag as you luckily gain a donation form that states the museum if not needing the resource can do what it likes with it.
This donation can go into three categories that are covered by thus. 1.Ow my god look at this. 2. Do we have one and do we need it. 3. The last one comes under, the Beano, Dandy ( British Comics) and the bare arse monthly category, that then gets turfed into the rubbish bin or sold second hand at the shop.
The subjects are covered by the alphabet and each letter has another range of the alphabet, thus each book and manual has two letters of the alphabet and a number that is not duplicated in the computer, but sometimes by mistake it is duplicated and with smoke coming out of your nose you look for the twit that did it. When you find out it is your mistake, your vast knowledge of the library can eradicate the problem before others see it.
With the knowledge that books and magazines go back to 1909, you also gain the knowledge that the Cessna 172 pilot's notes will one day be an historical aircraft long after you have left this planet and must save the books covering it, so that the future population of the world will gain the knowledge you saved.
The clients that come through your door think that the brand of McDonalds has extended to your library and you will get the information they need in 2 minutes, this has problems built in due to the software not allowing your instant access to the obscure book or manual on the screen, if the information is forthcoming then the next obstacle can be the fact that the book has been put back in the wrong place. They can also be upset due to the fact that their relative or aircraft does not appear on the donated books. This can be because the author was the rear gunner and the relative was the navigator. It remains up to the author to include the other flight crew or not, this can be because of the authors war experiences. The missing aircraft maybe one that did not gain flight and ended in matchwood.
Over the years authors and publishers have written or published the books that sell due to the subjects that are most sell able and this becomes a problem as the Spitfire, Lancaster, P-51, Boeing B-17 saturate your shelves with usually the same information and pictures. The aircraft built by certain constructors and manufacturers are not mentioned due to them being on the nose for what they did or did not do. It is only recently that books from the Eastern European countries are now covering the missing aviation histories over the 20th century. South America is one of these areas that books provide access to the aircraft used and plus the often political wars and quick endings they have. First World War books and magazines are many and now varied about little thought about aircraft and actions especially in the Balkan and Italian area , with Cross & Cockade being a leading magazine on the subject.
Some books that are donated are found to be already on the shelves and you check to see which one is in better condition. You do find that the worst one has a signature written inside the book cover and it can be a pioneer or military pilot with a history, so you keep both good and bad books for that reason. One particular title had the same author but three different publishers, with the books having different coloured covers and sizes, so you keep all three.
The saddest paper work coming into the library is the manuscripts that are half finished, plus the flight crew log books that are signed off by the C.O. and end in a date during the wars.
You rely on your knowledge being without having any problems, until you call the aircraft by the wrong manufacturer, then you wake up to the fact that your are not infallible.
So if you see a librarian volunteer with their head in their hands its because that they have realised that the last 300 inputs into the computer are wrong and they need to be changed, so take pity on them.
I hope that other aviation libraries and librarians give their experiences to this thread.
You then have the other private libraries staffed by un paid volunteers, donated books and manuals, second hand facilities and tea/coffee, plus biscuits that are not in the providore class.
As a private museum your donations can be a mixed bag as you luckily gain a donation form that states the museum if not needing the resource can do what it likes with it.
This donation can go into three categories that are covered by thus. 1.Ow my god look at this. 2. Do we have one and do we need it. 3. The last one comes under, the Beano, Dandy ( British Comics) and the bare arse monthly category, that then gets turfed into the rubbish bin or sold second hand at the shop.
The subjects are covered by the alphabet and each letter has another range of the alphabet, thus each book and manual has two letters of the alphabet and a number that is not duplicated in the computer, but sometimes by mistake it is duplicated and with smoke coming out of your nose you look for the twit that did it. When you find out it is your mistake, your vast knowledge of the library can eradicate the problem before others see it.
With the knowledge that books and magazines go back to 1909, you also gain the knowledge that the Cessna 172 pilot's notes will one day be an historical aircraft long after you have left this planet and must save the books covering it, so that the future population of the world will gain the knowledge you saved.
The clients that come through your door think that the brand of McDonalds has extended to your library and you will get the information they need in 2 minutes, this has problems built in due to the software not allowing your instant access to the obscure book or manual on the screen, if the information is forthcoming then the next obstacle can be the fact that the book has been put back in the wrong place. They can also be upset due to the fact that their relative or aircraft does not appear on the donated books. This can be because the author was the rear gunner and the relative was the navigator. It remains up to the author to include the other flight crew or not, this can be because of the authors war experiences. The missing aircraft maybe one that did not gain flight and ended in matchwood.
Over the years authors and publishers have written or published the books that sell due to the subjects that are most sell able and this becomes a problem as the Spitfire, Lancaster, P-51, Boeing B-17 saturate your shelves with usually the same information and pictures. The aircraft built by certain constructors and manufacturers are not mentioned due to them being on the nose for what they did or did not do. It is only recently that books from the Eastern European countries are now covering the missing aviation histories over the 20th century. South America is one of these areas that books provide access to the aircraft used and plus the often political wars and quick endings they have. First World War books and magazines are many and now varied about little thought about aircraft and actions especially in the Balkan and Italian area , with Cross & Cockade being a leading magazine on the subject.
Some books that are donated are found to be already on the shelves and you check to see which one is in better condition. You do find that the worst one has a signature written inside the book cover and it can be a pioneer or military pilot with a history, so you keep both good and bad books for that reason. One particular title had the same author but three different publishers, with the books having different coloured covers and sizes, so you keep all three.
The saddest paper work coming into the library is the manuscripts that are half finished, plus the flight crew log books that are signed off by the C.O. and end in a date during the wars.
You rely on your knowledge being without having any problems, until you call the aircraft by the wrong manufacturer, then you wake up to the fact that your are not infallible.
So if you see a librarian volunteer with their head in their hands its because that they have realised that the last 300 inputs into the computer are wrong and they need to be changed, so take pity on them.
I hope that other aviation libraries and librarians give their experiences to this thread.
