Dear Friends,
This was sent to the ABAA discuss list by one of
our members, and I thought it might interest
ARLIS members, as well.
Laurence McGilvery
>>Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:25:48 -0400
>>Sender: Rare book and manuscripts <[log in to unmask]>
>>From: Terry Belanger <[log in to unmask]>
>>Subject: [EXLIBRIS-L] NUC Pre-1956 Imprints Shop
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>[Message sent to the ExLibris and SHARP bulletin boards.]
>>
>>This posting announces the sale of individual
>>volumes of the 685-volume “NUC Pre-1956
>>Imprints.” So far as I know, a set has never
>>before been broken up, and single volumes have
>>been unobtainable. See the details of our sales
>>pitch below -- but first, some background for
>>the youngsters in the audience:
>>
>>In 1901, the Library of Congress began a union
>>catalog project in an attempt to identify and
>>note the location of a copy of every important
>>book in North America. Large libraries were
>>invited to contribute catalog cards
>>representing their holdings, especially of
>>older and uncommon titles. With financial
>>assistance from the Rockefeller Foundation, the
>>collection grew to over 11 million cards.
>>Copies of these cards were distributed to a
>>number of libraries around the country.
>>Eventually the cards for all materials
>>cataloged by the cooperating libraries were
>>reproduced and issued serially in printed
>>volumes as the “National Union Catalog”,
>>supplementing the “Library of Congress Catalog
>>of Printed Books.” Monthly NUC catalogs were
>>cumulated quarterly, annually, and
>>multi-annually in the 1950s and 1960s.
>> In an effort to simplify research, it was
>>decided in 1967 to collect and publish all of
>>the references to pre-1956 imprints in a single
>>alphabetical listing. The British firm, Mansell
>>Information / Publishing Ltd., won the contract
>>to publish the proposed union catalog. At LC,
>>the project was initially headed by Johannes
>>Dewton, working under John Cronin; David A.
>>Smith succeeded Dewton as head of a staff that
>>eventually numbered more than 25 professional
>>editors. Over a14-year period, about five
>>600-page volumes were published each month
>>until the “NUC Pre-1956 Imprints” was
>>completed. The original cost to the
>>approximately 1300 subscribers was $15/volume.
>>The final volumes were despatched to
>>subscribers in December 1981.
>> The “NUC Pre-1956 Imprints” (sometimes
>>simply called “Mansell” after the name of its
>>publisher) contains copies of printed catalog
>>cards from major American and Canadian
>>libraries, arranged alphabetically by author's
>>last name, or by title for books that have no
>>author, such as the Bible. It was an important
>>resource for verifying bibliographic
>>information and finding copies of books before
>>the advent of large electronic bibliographic
>>databases such as WorldCat.
>> Editor David Smith wrote an entertaining
>>account of the history of the project for
>>presentation at a conference held the Library
>>of Congress celebrating the completion of the
>>project; in November 1980, he repeated the
>>lecture at the Columbia University School of
>>Library Service as no. 69 in a now long
>>sequence of Book Arts Press/Rare Book School
>>lectures (James Green will be giving RBS
>>lecture no. 500 in Charlottesville on 16 July
>>2007). Smith’s lecture, published in the Winter
>>1982 issue of “The Book Collector,” concludes:
>>
>>The Project’s 14-year march twice through the
>>bibliographical minefield called the alphabet
>>has been filled with excitement, frustration
>>and deep satisfaction; and if the end result is
>>slightly less than a ‘3-star’ catalog, it was
>>still definitely worth the trip. We are indeed
>>proud of our accomplishment.
>>
>>The “NUC Pre-1956 Imprints” was eventually made
>>available for purchase in microform, and sets
>>of the 754 big green volumes have occasionally
>>come up for sale over the past 20 years. But
>>there has been relatively little institutional
>>interest in these sets – indeed, several
>>institutions that purchased more than one copy
>>of the “NUC Pre-1956 Imprints" have
>>deaccessioned their second or third copies. We
>>would seem to have reached the end of the line;
>>a complete set was recently offered free on
>>ExLibris to anyone who would cart it away --
>>but there were no takers.
>>
>>The set was headed for sanitary landfill, but
>>Rare Book School has worked out an arrangement
>>with its owner to distribute individual volumes
>>of the set at $100/volume *including domestic
>>shipping charges*. Potential purchasers include:
>>
>>-- institutions wishing to replace copies missing in their own hardcopy sets;
>>-- institutions wishing to have a volume or
>>volumes in their archives for pedagogical
>>purposes (e.g. library schools);
>>-- institutions or individual scholars and
>>collectors wishing to buy the volume containing
>>particular entries, e.g. for Longfellow or
>>Schiller, or any other volume of either the
>>main sequence or the supplement, for any other
>>reason.
>>
>>Approximately 27% of the books listed in the
>>“NUC Pre-1956 Imprints” were not in listed
>>WorldCat, as of 2005. It remains an extremely
>>valuable tool for researchers.
>>
>>Our NUC shop is open for business. Please go
>>look at a set ad lib. and send your needs to
>>the RBS program officer, Ryan Roth, at
>>[log in to unmask]
>>
>>We'll assemble a pecking-order list of the
>>volumes requested, confirm orders in mid-April,
>>and bill you. We take credit cards. Gift
>>wrapping for a modest additional cost. *But*
>>please do not send money, credit card numbers,
>>or suchlike until we confirm availability of
>>the volume or volumes you would like.
>>Distribution will take place in early May 2007.
>>We’d be grateful if you’d pass this offer on to
>>potentially interested persons or institutions
>>(provinces please copy, &c).
>> Each 7-pound volume of “NUC Pre-1956
>>Imprints” measures approximately 14 x 10 x 2
>>inches. The complete set weighs slightly over
>>5,000 pounds and takes up about 130 feet of
>>shelf space. I hope it goes without saying that
>>RBS’s decision to open an NUC shop has not been
>>motivated by a desire for profit (though we
>>hope to have a modest surplus at the end of the
>>day to share with the owners of the set). I
>>wish you had been here to see the expressions
>>on the faces of the four-person RBS staff when
>>I suggested this venture to them.
>>
>> Terry Belanger
>> University Professor, Honorary Curator of Special Collections
>> Director, Rare Book School : University of Virginia
>> Rare Book School : PO 400103 : Charlottesville, VA 22904-4103
>>Email [log in to unmask] : Phone 434-924-8851 : Fax 434-924-8824
>> URL <http://www.rarebookschool.org>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
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--
Laurence McGilvery
Member, Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America
Post Office Box 852
La Jolla, California 92038
USA
(858) 454-4443
[log in to unmask]
www.mcgilvery.com
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