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Report Ofthe Council Report ofthe Council October 21, ip8y AN ANNUAL MEETING marks the end ofan old year and the be- ginning of a new one. In that respect, this one is no different from the previous 174 during which you, our faithful members (or your predecessors), have suffered through narrations about the amazing successes, the fantastically exciting acquisitions, and the continu- ing upward ascent of our great and ever more elderly society. But this year has been a remarkable one for the American Antiquarian Society in terms of change, achievement, and, now, celebration. In this country, there are not very many secular institutions more ancient than ours, certainly not cultural ones—perhaps sixty col- leges, a handful of subscription libraries, a few learned societies. For 175 years we, and our friends of learning, have built and strengthened a great research library and its staff; have presented our collections to scholars and students of American history and life through service and publications; and now, at the beginning of our 176th year, are looking forward to new challenges to enable the Society to become even more useful as an agency of learning and to the understanding of our national life. Dealing with change takes first place in daily routine and there have been many important ones during the past twelve months, more so than in recent memory. Among the membership we lost a longtime friend and colleague, John Cushing. John served as librarian of the Massachusetts Historical Society since 1961 and during this past quarter century had been our constant col- laborator in worthwhile bibliographical and historical enterprises. John H. G. Pell died only a few weeks ago. He was our senior 199 2OO American Antiquarian Society member, having been elected in April of 1930, not long after the publication of his biography of Ethan Allen. Mr. Pell was involved in historical matters for all of his long life, most vitally with the restoration of Fort Ticonderoga, a crux on the North American continent that had been his family's summer residence since the first decades ofthe nineteenth century. Death came also to Dumas Malone, of Virginia. When the Society met in Charlottesville in April 1986, he entertained us with a delightful talk, expressing dismay that he was not our senior member either in terms of service or in age! Succeeding Mr. Pell as our senior member is Hamilton Vaughan Bail who was elected to the Society in April 1939. Some years ago Mr. Bail published a fine book on early views of Harvard College and later, in our Proceedings, a bibliography of novels pertaining to his alma mater. Your reporter first met Mr. Bail thirty years ago when we were both trustees of the Vermont Historical Society and he has been a firm friend ever since. Change is rampant amongst the Society's staff also. Details concerning the comings and goings within the library staff will be given in the Report ofthe Associate Librarian, but I must comment here on the retirement of Carolyn A. Allen. Mrs. Allen, who came to the Society in the fall of 1971, has made our acquisitions proces- ses her own. During the past sixteen years she has come to know the collections, the vagaries of our cataloguing, and the organiza- tion of uncatalogued materials as well as or better than anyone on the staff. As acquisitions administrator, she searched out thousands upon thousands of offerings from booksellers and, with the librar- ian, has added at least 80,000 books, pamphlets, and broadsides to the collections. Mrs. Allen's retirement this October caused us to assess the manner by which the Society acquires materials. Thus, a new position was created, that of curator of printed books. The incumbent will take on many of the functions that Mrs. Allen performed and, after learning the shape of our holdings, will begin to select the research materials to be added to the collections. In addition, the curator will assume responsibilities for the manage- ment of the printed book collections, including the formation of Report of the Council 201 conservation policies, and other matters upon which the continued usefulness of the collections rest. These trying staff transitions have been orchestrated with skill and good will by the director's executive assistant, Eleanor Adams, who states that never has there been such comings and goings amongst the staff. Indeed, had we a few years ago experienced a turnover of this dimension, there would have been no staff left and the president would have had to open up the library! As has been the case in past years, we have acquired an excellent and numerous selection of materials to enrich our collections. A highly restricted list ofthe more interesting examples follows this report in the Proceedings, but we should take note here ofthe year's outstanding new rarity: A Briefe Relation ofthe Discovery and Plan- tation of New England (London, 1622). It was purchased this sum- mer at a London sale and comes to us as the gift, in part, of our member William S. Reese. The pamphlet recounts the early tribu- lations ofthe planters at Plymouth on Massachusetts Bay. Interest- ingly enough, at AAS it joins the only extant manuscript records, those for 162 2-2 3, ofthe Council for New England. The Council were a body of merchant-adventurers who existed from 1620 until 1639 as the financiers ofthe struggling settlement and who pub- lished our newly acquired promotional pamphlet. The library staff is very ably led by Nancy H. Burkett, who has been with us in a number of capacities since August 1973. She was a leading spirit in the writing and publication of our stunning new Collections and Programs of the American Antiquarian Society: A ly^th-Anniversary Guide, which has just been published and which we shall soon distribute to all members of the Society and, we hope, to scholars and to other libraries. In recognition of her outstanding work and in anticipation of her further leadership, I am happy to announce her appointment as Associate Librarian of the American Antiquarian Society. Donald K. Strader, our superintendent of buildings and grounds, has had his hands full this past year. Our surprisingly extensive real estate holdings require his constant attention and 2O2 American Antiquarian Society that of his staff, which was diminished when Kevin Adams re- signed. Furthermore, sixteen years after its last major overhaul, our building and its appurtenances are beginning to show signs of age. A variety of facilities and mechanical units have developed holes, leaks, or other disabilities that tax Mr. Strader's time, tal- ents, and the AAS budget. It is indisputable that serious thinking must soon take place on tbe condition of Antiquarian Hall, includ- ing that of security for tbe collections from fire, a topic that, following the recent disasters at the Los Angeles Public Library, absorbed not a little of Mrs. Burkett's attention. John B. Hencb continues to manage tbe Society's public and scholarly programs with imagination and great diligence. He planned (and AAS sponsored in conjunction with tbe Library of Congress's Center for tbe Book) a two-day conference held in June that was designed for teachers of tbe history of printing and of the book. Sixty-five participants traded syllabi, discussed tbe differing points of view beld by social historians and bibliog- raphers, and shared professional aggravations. Tbe conference, tbe first of its kind as far as we know, was funded in the main by tbe Exxon Education Eoundation. A full class of visiting fellows for 1987-88 was appointed, as we reported at tbe semiannual meeting, and Mr. Hench and bis assistants, M. Sbeila McAvey and Diane B. Schoen, worked mightily on a variety of publications. Tbese included tbe aforementioned i75th-anniversary guide as well as a listing of all members and officers of tbe Society from the founding in 1812. Bradford E Dunbar of tbe readers' services staff spent months putting the lists together, checking biographical directories, and sending out inquiries in order to make the list as complete and accurate as possible. The two anniversary publica- tions were funded by a grant from tbe William and Flora N. Hewlett Eoundation. The design of tbe Proceedings was changed, an alteration engendered by tbe shift at our printer from metal typesetting to digitized composition. Perhaps you have noticed tbe new look in tbe first part of volume 97, which you should bave received in tbe mail within tbe past few days. Report ofthe Council 203 Mary V. C. Callahan has outdone past accomplishments by helping to organize the i75th-anniversary celebration and in meeting our current budgetary and long-term financial needs. Her office has been the hub ofthe planning for the events of this week. Every idea was passed before her for her opinion as to appropriateness and she dealt with all of these distractions with good humor and even better sense. Responses were gratifying from members of the Society, from the corporate community, and from publishers and booksellers to requests from President Jeppson, Treasurer Daniels, and Chair- men Jacob Hiatt, Harold T. Miller, and Kenneth Nebenzahl, re- spectively. Gifts for general support totaled $181,875, while $ 19,969 was received to defray costs of specified purposes. The Worcester Association of Mutual Aid in Detecting Thieves under clerk William O. Pettit's leadership continues to be a very helpful and invigorating group to the Society. Members have given all kinds of assistance (as well as money) and have demonstrated an enthusiasm for the Society's activities that has greatly cheered the Council and staff. In our April report we cited two excellent additions to the collections that were made possible through gifts from WAMADT members.
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