newsletter12

Newsletter 12 ======================================================= RENAISSANCE LIBRARY NEWSLETTER ======================================================= Issue Number 12 31st October, 2003 Editor: Stuart Urwin mailto:stuart.urwin@isim.org ======================================================= ATTENTION: You are receiving this newsletter, because you have subscribed to it, bought one of our products or expressed an interest in the Renaissance Library Collection in the past. If you'd like to remove yourself from the Mailing List, just send an email to stuart.urwin@isim.org, with "Unsubscribe" in the title field. Please send your message from the email address we have sent the newsletter to - it makes it much easier for us to ensure that you are removed right away. ======================================================= BEAUTIFUL GIFTS FOR LIBRARY & INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS AND BOOK LOVERS The Renaissance Library Collection Calendars, Greeting Cards, Prints and Posters Based on glorious colour images of magical old libraries Great gifts for you, your friends, colleagues and customers http://www.renaissancelibrary.com/ ========================================================= WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE ========================================================= 1)WELCOME AND EDITORIAL 2)THE FOOTBALL STORY! OR How not to say thank you to your library customers! by Gunnel Stjernvall 3)WEAK DOLLAR CREATES BARGAINS 4)NOVEMBER LIBRARY OF THE MONTH - BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 5)YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS AND FEEDBACK WELCOME ======================================================== 1)WELCOME AND EDITORIAL ======================================================== Welcome to the 12th issue of the Renaissance Library newsletter. This month, we feature a short article by Gunnel Stjernvall, ISIM's Managing Director and the originator of the unique Renaissance Library products. In her article, she describes how and why she first came up with her ideas for librarian gifts. The article is entitled "The Football Story." Why? Well, just read on and you'll find out. In our second article, we point out the bargains available now to customers outside the USA, because of the weakness of the dollar. Finally, we include our regular Library of the Month feature. This time, it's the Boston Public Library, which is the featured library for November in the 2003 calendar. For those of you, who didn't read the last newsletter, it's time to remind you that the 2004 edition of the Renaissance Library Calendar is now available. Details at http://www.renaissancelibrary.com For those of you who want to buy copies as gifts for your customers and colleagues - please don't delay. The same applies if you want a supply of our lovely greeting cards - details at http://www.renaissancelibrary.com/greetingcards.htm And don't forget our high quality prints and posters. All the details at the website. All the best, Stuart Urwin ====================================================== 2)THE FOOTBALL STORY! by Gunnel Stjernvall OR - How not to say thank you to your library customers! by an ex Library Manager ====================================================== Once, when I was Manager at the Library & Information Services Department at Ericsson (a major telecom company), I was given a football as a customer gift from one of our supporting companies. The same company gave me a backpack the year after. Another company gave a box of chocolates - for the whole Library! The next year, they sent a letter, letting us know that the money from not giving us a box of chocolates had gone to the Red Cross. Now - that is a very nice and important thing to do. But perhaps the bottom line was to show appreciation to me, as a customer? These experiences happened at a time when colleagues in other parts of the corporation often got very nice gifts, that appeared to have had some thought and concern behind the giving. This got me thinking. I am certain that a company's point with giving presents to customers is based on the wish to give thanks, to show appreciation and to say that they wish to be trusted as a partner and supporting company for the coming year. But did anybody out there create gifts for Librarians and Information Specialists? I could not find any - at the time. So I decided to create some, with my professional colleagues in mind. Today, three years later, we have a line of products where the Renaissance Library Calendar is our Star! It is spread in more than 40 countries today, thanks to you, our readers - and to a number of companies that do understand their library customers. Thanks to all of you. And please do continue to spread the word, so that we can continue to develop the range of gifts we offer. Sincerely Yours, Ms Gunnel Stjernvall ISIM (Consultants in Information and Knowledge Management) Stockholm, Sweden http://www.renaissancelibrary.com ======================================================== 3)WEAK DOLLAR CREATES BARGAINS ======================================================== Since this time last year, the US dollar has depreciated in value by over 25%, compared with the Euro, the Swedish kronor and many other currencies. We have struggled to hold our US prices stable in this difficult environment, but we have managed to do this, with the exception of a small increase in some of our shipping charges. As we price our products in dollars, the other side of the coin is that customers outside the dollar area can get great bargains on all our products. Now is a good time to buy not just the 2004 calendar, but also to get some of our greeting cards, prints and posters. They're all here: http://www.renaissancelibrary.com ======================================================== 4)NOVEMBER LIBRARY OF THE MONTH - BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY ======================================================== The current (2003) calendar features Bates Hall at the Boston Public Library (in the USA) in November. The Boston Public Library, founded in 1848, was opened to the public in 1854. It was the first publicly supported municipal library in the USA, and the first public library to let people borrow books. The library, initially in a former schoolhouse on Mason Street, moved to its current location in Copley Square in 1895. The McKim Building, named after its architect, Charles Follen McKim, now houses the Research Library. The Johnson Building, which was built in 1972, contains the General Library, and acts as the headquarters of the BPL's 26 branches. Bates Hall, which is shown in the calendar photograph, houses the Reading Room, and is located on the second floor of the McKim Building. It is named after Joshua Bates, one time Senior Partner of bankers, Baring Brothers, who donated $50,000 to the library in 1852, for the purchase of books. This majestic hall, 218 feet (67 metres) long, 42.5 feet (13 metres) wide, and 50 feet (15 metres) high, is currently the subject of a 10 year renovation project. It has a barrel-arched ceiling, is lit by 15 arched and grilled windows, and contains busts of eminent authors and Bostonians. The BPL currently contains over 6 million books, and serves more than 2 million people. It has over 1.2 million rare books and manuscripts, including many maps, musical scores and prints. There are several first edition folios by Shakespeare, the original score of "Peter and the Wolf" by Prokofiev, and the personal library of John Adams. The collection is so big that many items are shown in rotation. You can read much more about the history of the Boston Public Library, see many beautiful pictures of its buildings and art treasures - and find out how to book a tour - at the library's interesting and informative website. Just start by clicking here: http://www.bpl.org/guides/history.htm There's an "online walking tour" of the McKim Building, with descriptions of the art and architecture here: http://www.bpl.org/guides/walkmckim.htm And you can see more about Joshua Bates and Bates Hall here: http://www.bpl.org/guides/bates/bateshall.htm ====================================================== 5)YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS AND FEEDBACK WELCOME ====================================================== If you have any suggestions or comments, please let us know. We also welcome contributions to the neswletter. If you feel you can write a short article for us (up to 500 words), just email me at: stuart.urwin@isim.org In the meantime, if you like the products, please tell a friend or colleague. Better still, buy them one as a gift - or club together to buy several. This will get you a better price and spread the delivery costs. You can see all the products here: http://www.renaissancelibrary.com Best Regards, Stuart Urwin ====================================================== If you like this newsletter, PLEASE FORWARD IT to friends and colleagues! It may be posted, in it's entirety or partially, to newsgroups or mailing lists, as long as the copyright and subscription information remains. If you've received a copy of the Renaissance Library newsletter from a friend and would like to subscribe, just send an e-mail to stuart.urwin@isim.org with the single word "subscribe" in the subject field. Your e-mail address is confidential. ISIM will not sell, disclose or trade its subscriber list for any purpose. ====================================================== ©2003 ISIM, all rights reserved. ====================================================== The RENAISSANCE LIBRARY newsletter is published by ISIM Editor: Stuart Urwin Phone: +46 8 754 15 55 Fax: +46 8 754 13 33 E-mail: stuart.urwin@isim.org ====================================================== View cart/checkout		About The Libraries Product catalog Testimonials Product Review Price List FAQs Marketing with RL products Advertising with Calendars Customize the Calendar For Library Associations For Library Suppliers For Library Cooperatives For Library Consultants Bulk Orders Newsletter Archive Tell a Friend Press releases Site Map