"A Council report recommending the sale of 18,000 unreplaceable rare and ancient books from its Cardiff Library to fund the building of the new Cardiff library has shocked welsh scholars and heritage organisations."http://forums.walesonline.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=6016&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=
"The report recommending the sale of the historical book collections is published on the Council’s website: http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/objview.asp?object_id=7331. The report is outrageously entitled: ‘Disposal of Surplus [sic] Library Stock’ (11/01/2007). "
Taken verbatim from the WalesOnline forum:
ReplyDeleteCARDIFF COUNCIL - CYNGOR CAERDYDD
EXECUTIVE BUSINESS MEETING: 11 JANUARY 2007
DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS LIBRARY STOCK
REPORT OF CORPORATE DIRECTOR AGENDA ITEM: 15
PORTFOLIO: SPORT, LEISURE & CULTURE
[Rebuttal below by Cardiff Heritage Friends of every main point ; in [ ] brackets].
[“Surplus Library Stock” is totally misleading. This is an internationally important historical research collection of rare books. Point 4 below says they are a ‘major’ collection.
“We are concerned about the sale of these important books” – Heritage Minister spokesperson, South Wales Echo, 5/9/8.
“I was stunned to realize the international treasures which are here in south Wales” – Prof. Helen Phillips, medieval expert, Cardiff University, Golwg, 4/9/8.
“their significance was intentionally played down in describing them as surplus library stock so as to avoid controversy”. Cardiff Councillor D.Walker, Echo, 5/9/8.
Also, the Council admits in a Freedom of Information answer that there is no full listing of these collections, so how can they know if they are ‘surplus’]!
Reason for this Report
1. To obtain authority for the disposal of certain collections that are held in
the library service.
[‘disposal’ could have meant placing them in the care of an academic library in the city. Instead, the Council Executive opted to deny the whole of Cardiff, and beyond, any access to these original, important, and wonderful historical collections, and they will stifle all future scholarship in this area. This is morally wrong and totally irresponsible, to transfer public resources in this way into the hands of private collectors].
Background
2. Central Library houses a large number of volumes in the stacks area. The
main run of books and periodicals is a standard collection of library books,
and as such can be housed in a warehouse environment and used by the
general public.
[A ‘warehouse’! Is this the new iconic public library being built for Cardiff for over £15m. Do they understand what a modern library is; a hub for information, inspiration, study, IT access, leisure, education and social activities, such as the public libraries in Glasgow and Birmingham for example. ‘Modern’ libraries are a hybrid of the best of old and new; rich historial collections and wide access to IT resources].
3. There are some small special collections which, despite their age and
condition, are extremely valuable, but which require special storage
conditions if they are to be preserved. They are unsuitable for use by
anyone other than academics and specialists. The anticipated move to the
Library for Cardiff requires decisions to be made about these smaller,
valuable and potentially lucrative individual collections.
[‘unsuitable for use by anyone other than academics and specialists’; why is this group excluded from the Public Library’s remit? However, the public have benefited via major exhibitions of these collections in the past – an educational, leisure, and information remit is clear. The public are actually very interested in history, whether via original research in historical library collections, visiting ancient monuments or museums,or doing family history research. The Council is being condescending in excluding the public from accessing these rich historical rare books collections].
4. The major part of the stacks collection was gathered by Cardiff Libraries in
the latter half of the 19th century when Cardiff aspired to house the
National Library of Wales. When the decision was made in the early 20th
century to house the National Library in Aberystwyth Cardiff was left with a
major collection but inadequate resources to maintain it.
[N.B. 1905 University report to Cardiff Council: “in the event of the National Library being located in Cardiff, they (the University) will…transfer to the (Cardiff) National Library the collection consisting of over 16,000 volumes…known as the Salisbury Library”. A century later the City council refuses to help the University in a similar manner. Also, later, the City Library collections were maintained, and added to, right up to the 1950s. Only in recent decades has the City Council failed to fund the library services adequately. In the 1970s/80s the old Central Library became dilapidated and this caused a major fuss; in November 1997 the South Wales Echo ran a campaign to keep open branch libraries across Cardiff, and now in 2008 another campaign is required to keep major collections available in the city].
5. The collections are made up of the following:
_ Private press editions of books
_ Early printed bibles
_ Rare atlases
_ Historical government publications
_ Some incunabula (books published before 1501)
_ Civil War tracts (early propaganda)
_ Bute and Scott manuscript collections
_ Early printed Welsh language materials (to be retained)
[Together, these materials form one of Wales greatest historical collections of rare books, of which there are only a few across the whole country. Cardiff holds one third of Wales’ total incunabula books. This whole collection is of ‘Welsh’ interest; it is Wales first ever national library collection. Major new trails of Welsh related research will ensue from studying these collections in detail. They contain the first printed map of Wales, Welsh related Shakespeare volumes, the original works of the Cardiff Farmers Club collections, and more. Again, if Glasgow and Birmingham can have access to major historical collections, consisting of much more than local Scottish or English works, why not Cardiff]?
6. Initial work carried out by Auctioneers and Valuers suggests these
collections have significant value even when manuscripts and items of
Welsh interest are excluded
[They are talking here only of ‘monetary value’; they ignore totally the educational, cultural, and heritage value to the nation of these works. If they sell this collection for £3m, they will need to give about £600K of that to the auctioneers. They will also lose about £150K per year from lost student spending. Their supposed ‘windfall’ will be wiped out within ten years].
7. Experts have also indicated that “Overall they are dirty and in poor
condition, and… the cost of re-housing these books in state-of-the-art
conditions (which long-term conservation requires), combined with repairs
to bindings and other remedial work, could easily match the commercial
value of the books”.
[Cardiff University offered to house the collections for free in 2006, before they were put on sale, to catalogue them, and make them available to all in Cardiff and beyond; all the other costs the Council suggest are purely speculative. No ‘experts’ in the University or other Libraries have been consulted; the Council’s statement is ludicrous and unsubstantiated].
8. The majority of the collections outlined in paragraph 5 have not been
catalogued and as a result are not (or very rarely) accessed by members
of the public. They also contain duplicate and, in some cases, triplicate
copies of the same item. Items of local or national interest would be
retained.
[Most of the collections were catalogued, but the old card catalogue was discarded when the Public Library moved buildings two decades ago; and disgracefully the collections have never been listed since on the Library’s online catalogue. Obviously, since then, the public and academics have not been able to discover most of what the Public Library holds, so could not make use of the collections. However, the incunabula are important enough to have been listed online on the British Library’s ISTC database, and other collections have been included in the published Directory of Rare books and Special Collections; these sources are known worldwide; so why is the general public in Cardiff being denied access to these marvellous collections, which are of ‘national’ interest due to their importance]?
Issues
9. The main issue is whether the Council should invest approximately £2-3
million to save the collections, which would only ever be used by a very
narrow group of interested parties, or free the resource tied up in these
items by selling them through auction to individuals or institutions that can
afford the upkeep.
[This is not true, it is also not the main issue, since the University offered to house the collections for free, and can afford their upkeep. There is NO NEED for this sale. The main issue is the new Public Library building planned by Cardiff Council, which is too small to hold all its collections adequately! Note the ‘very narrow group of interested parties’ really includes all Cardiff residents with an interest in history, a shamefully misleading comment from the Council] !
10. If these collections are retained a commitment must be made for
investment in their conservation as without this the collections will be
worthless in another 50 years.
[‘worthless in another 50 years’: this is not true and is a ridiculous statement, made by someone who knows little about historical book collections. Under the Cardiff University offer research can begin on these collections immediately! Many of the books have survived for 500, 400, and 300 years; they would survive another 100 years in ordinary conditions, even without conservation. Also they become more useful as they get older, being one of the few historical sources we have for the 1400s, 1500s, and 1600s. If the Council employed a professionally qualified Chief Librarian with responsibility for managing the Library it would have received this advice a long time ago. The city has not employed a Chief Librarian for a decade, the only major library authority in Wales where the libraries are managed by a non-librarian].
11. Council policy would normally pool receipts from land or property sales.
However, in this case it is proposed that proceeds should remain within the
Library Service and be used to increase access to present libraries by a
much wider community – 19th century investments paying dividends in
terms of 21st century service delivery. Priority projects which could be at
least part-funded over the next 3 years include:
_ RFID across all libraries in Cardiff allowing self service and a
refocus of libraries
_ Virtual library provision in areas without static library provision
[‘land or property sales’: this is how they perceive one of the major heritage collections in Wales, just as property to be traded! Any computer book loans system will need replacing in 5-10 years, and how will they fund the next computer system, since the rare books collections will be gone forever. Yet elsewhere the Council says it has sufficient funds for the new Cardiff Library building; so why this sale at all one wonders, especially at the time of an economic slump, when prices will be at their lowest]?
12. The process proposed is to approach at least 3 expert auctioneers and
seek tenders from them for the disposal. Fees of approximately 15-20%of
the proceeds could be payable with auctions staggered over 2-3 years in
order to maximise possible sale value. Items of special interest to Cardiff
and Wales would be retained.
[No liaison, consultation, or agreement has been sought from the relevant stakeholders in Cardiff about this sale; no surveys of public opinion, no consultation with experts in the academic field, no agreement with other specialist libraries in Wales who could provide the public and academics with a first rate library service based on these research collections. The fees for depositing the collection with another library are zero, the auctioneers fees could amount to £600K of public money. Items of interest to Wales ARE these British and International rare books, to understand Wales in the wider historical and social context. This was a collection developed FOR Wales by the City’s benefactors in the 19th century. It belongs in Wales, in Cardiff] !
Reasons for Recommendations
13. The disposal of the proposed items represents the best course of action in
dealing with these collections.
[Not one other course of action has been explored. The professional librarians organization, CILIP, has guidelines on disposal of historical collections, these have all been broken: see,
http://www.cilip.org.uk/specia....._sales.htm ]!
Legal Implications
14. The Council as library authority is under a statutory duty to provide a
comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons desiring to make
use of it and whose residence or place of work is within the authority's area
or who are in full-time education within the area (section 7 of the Public
Libraries and Museums Act 1964). Subject to this duty, there is no
general statutory restriction over disposals of library stock (save for
'manorial documents' transferred to the library authority under the Manorial
Documents Rules 1959; and subject to public lending rights which may be
applicable to books loaned out from the library). Assuming there are
no applicable statutory restrictions, the Council may dispose of the stock in
question provided it has first verified that it holds legal and beneficial
ownership of the same. If any stock is held on trust, then the provisions of
the governing trust will need to be observed and complied with.
[“provided it has first verified that it holds legal and beneficial ownership”: in a Freedom of Information reply of June 2008 the Council could not confirm it held legal title to all the books proposed for sale. There is published evidence that the Council does NOT own some of the books intended for sale, which were loaned by the Bute Family. No sale should proceed unless the Council can prove it has legal title to the books it proposes for the sale. We have already seen the Council is not providing a ‘comprehensive’ service, because it omits ‘academics and specialists’ from its services (see Point 3 above); and it has failed to provide an ‘efficient’ service, by not contracting for free Cardiff University to hold and make the collections accessible, to and on behalf of Cardiff residents].
15. It is noted that the proposed method of disposal is by the engagement of
specialist auctioneers, and that it is estimated that such auctioneers may
charge fees of approximately 15-20% of the sale proceeds. The
appointment of auctioneers will need to be undertaken in accordance with
the Contract Procedure Rules, and depending upon the value of the
contract to be awarded, potentially also in compliance with the EU
Procurement Rules. Under the Contract Procedure Rules the procurement
process must be managed in accordance with guidance issued by the
Operational Manager - Procurement and Supplies and must be referred to
him to determine in consultation with the relevant Chief Officer, the
process to be followed. The Scheme of Delegations contained in Part 3 of
the Constitution sets out in detail the persons who are authorised to make
decisions on the invitation of tenders, and the tender evaluation criteria,
depending on the value of the proposed contract. In considering the
selection of auctioneers, the authority must have regard to its duty of best
value. Legal advice can be provided on the form of the proposed contract
and the procurement process, if required. The decision maker must be
satisfied that the proposal is within the Policy and Budget Framework, and
if it is not then the matter must be referred to the Council.
[“The decision maker must be satisfied…”: clearly this matter should have been referred to the full Council, and the decision not to do that has led a major, and now international embarrassment for Cardiff City Council. No mention is made of any ‘losses’ if the sale proceeds, such as the £150K per year from lost student funds, lost future grant funds for work on the collections, such as the University Library gets, for online cataloguing, conservation work, and digitisation projects].
Financial Implications
16. Council policy is to pool capital receipts to assist in the general funding of
the Council's capital programme. The windfall nature of this particular
capital receipt has provided the opportunity for the resource to be, as
an exception, set aside for specific capital library projects.
[This totally ignores the ‘windfall’ that can be obtained by keeping the collections in Cardiff, and attracting students to the University because of them, estimated at 15 students, or £150,000 per annum, or £1.5m each decade brought into Cardiff’s coffers. It also totally ignores the other benefits of retaining the collections in the city; a cultural boost, a PR coup, all the major research that will flow from academic use of the collections over decades, future grants to enhance the collections, etc].
Consequences
16 [sic]. If these items are not disposed of considerable investment will need to be made by the Council for their conservation.
[This is false; the University offer of 2006 to house them and catalogue them for free was ignored by the Council; no further investment by them would have been required. If the sale proceeds Cardiff Council will reap huge, worldwide bad publicity, it will struggle to obtain any future grants for heritage projects due to its reputation for selling off collections, it will stifle scholarship in its world class university in the city, it will lose millions of pounds over the new few decades, and the Cardiff public will never, ever, have the opportunity of researching their own historical development entailed in these collections].
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Executive is recommended to agree that :
(1) at least 3 specialist auctioneers are asked to tender to conduct staggered
sales of specific items based on a fee calculated as a percentage of sale
proceeds
(2) the proceeds from the sales are re-invested in specific library projects
which would be a departure from the Council’s policies to the extent
detailed in paragraph 11 above
[These contradict the Council Policy, as outlined in their publication: ‘Cardiff: a Proud Capital’ strategy 2007-2017. This states;
“Cardiff needs to take advantage of the benefits of scale (big is beautiful)”, p.12;
Support a “First Rate University”, p.12;
“New measures to strengthen Cardiff’s position as a centre of culture”, p.15;
“Creation of alliances between schools, colleges, and other providers”, p.20].
[Conclusion: quotation, Barry Bloomfield, ‘Where Are They Now’, Rare Books Newsletter (CILIP),
Spring 1998, pp. 37-50.
“There is as yet no national coordination or policy for the research library collections in this country…The general picture is of a steadily shrinking reservoir or rare books available for research [by sale, dissolution, transfer or amalgamation]”
STEVEN PHILLIPS
Corporate Director
2 January 2006
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