newsletter7

Newsletter 7 ======================================================= RENAISSANCE LIBRARY NEWSLETTER ======================================================= Issue Number 7 22nd October, 2002 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. ======================================================= CREATED SPECIALLY FOR Library and Information Professionals and Book Lovers THE BEAUTIFUL RENAISSANCE LIBRARY CALENDAR 2003 12 Magical Historic Libraries in glorious colour with full descriptive text A great gift for you, your friends, colleagues and customers Not available in Stores Order Now While Supplies Last http://www.renaissancelibrary.com/calendars.htm ========================================================= WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE ========================================================= 1)WELCOME AND EDITORIAL 2)ORDER YOUR RENAISSANCE LIBRARY GIFTS EARLY 3)CHETHAM'S - A COVER STAR AT THE AGE OF 350 - AND THANKS FROM THE HEAD LIBRARIAN 4)FULL LIST OF LIBRARIES IN THE 2003 CALENDAR 5)WHY RENAISSANCE? 6)THE PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY OF CANADA AND THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC 7)NEXT YEAR'S ALA CONFERENCE IN TORONTO 8)CZECH LIBRARIES AND THE RECENT FLOODS 9)THE RENAISSANCE LIBRARY/ALLPOSTERS.COM STORE 10)REBIRTH OF THE LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA 11)YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS AND FEEDBACK WELCOME ======================================================== 1)WELCOME AND EDITORIAL ======================================================== Welcome to the 7th issue of the Renaissance Library newsletter, and a special welcome to new readers. We cover a lot of ground today, ranging from the new 2003 calendar, to the Rebirth of the ancient Library of Alexandria. Along the way, we're pleased to say that our calendar's cover library hit the news, because of the calendar; we take a look at the damage caused by the Czech floods; and there's much else besides. I hope there's something of interest for all. If you have other ideas of products and gift items you would like to see, please let us know - just email me at stuart.urwin@isim.org and we'll take a look at your idea. All the best, Stuart Urwin ===================================================== 2)ORDER YOUR RENAISSANCE LIBRARY GIFTS EARLY ===================================================== Many of our customers order our products, not just for themselves or for their libraries, but as gifts for friends, colleagues and customers. Our calendars, greeting cards, prints and posters are perfect for giving at this time of year. To make sure you get the gifts you want, remember to order early, and allow for the fact that deliveries from Sweden can take a week or so, (depending where you are), even though we use first class mail. Get more details on all the products here: http://www.renaissancelibrary.com ===================================================== 3)CHETHAM'S - A COVER STAR AT THE AGE OF 350 - AND THANKS FROM THE HEAD LIBRARIAN ===================================================== Yes - "A Cover Star at the Age of 350" - that's the title from an article in the Manchester Evening News a couple of weeks ago, in response to a press release we sent out about Chetham's Library being on the front cover of the 2003 Renaissance Library Calendar. The full text appears below. But first of all, Thanks from the Head Librarian at Chetham's -------------------------------------------- Here's an extract from a recent email from Michael Powell, head librarian at Chetham's Library, which appears on the front cover of the Renaissance Library Calendar 2003. "Dear Gunnel, Thank you for the copies of the Renaissance Library Calendar 2003 which have just arrived. It looks absolutely wonderful and the images of Chetham's have come out so well. It's a marvellous calendar and we are grateful to you for including us.... .... Thanks once again for all your work on this project. As you say the Calendar is a stunning publication and I am sure that it will be an enormous success." With best wishes, Yours sincerely, -- Michael Powell Chetham's Library Long Millgate Manchester M3 1SB http://www.chethams.org.uk Thanks from us to Michael for allowing us to quote him here - it's just the sort of feedback we love to hear. ---------------------------------------------------- And here's what the Manchester Evening News had to say in an article on October 10th: A COVER STAR AT THE AGE OF 350 Story: Riazat Butt Pictures Jon Super She might be pushing 350 years old - but you could have heard a pin drop when her picture made the cover of a glossy new calendar. Historic Chetham's Library in the heart of Manchester has just been voted one of the most beautiful old libraries in the world and it wowed the judges so much it grabbed the coveted front cover of the Renaissance Library Calendar, 2003 ahead of a list of impressive contenders from the USA and Europe. Founded in 1653, Chetham's is the oldest surviving public library in the English-speaking world and its famous Reading Room is the first picture in the calendar, produced by a company in Sweden. Even the library of the Sorbonne in Paris, dating back to 1897, is left trailing and doesn't make an appearance in the calendar until July. Librarians from 40 countries selected the winning entrants and head librarian, Michael Powell said: "I might be biased but I think it fully deserves the recognition and it shows that Manchester has buildings of international significance. "The library celebrates its 350th anniversary next year, but the building itself is more than 500 years old." Over the years famous names such as writers Daniel Defoe and Charles Dickens have all visited and the library features a desk used by Karl Marx. The library, which is free to visit, attracts 10,000 people a year and contains more than 100,000 volumes of books and manuscripts, some of which date from the 1650s. For more information, visit http://www.chethams.org.uk ---------------------------------------------------------- Editor's Note - the appearance of the libraries in a certain order in the calendar does not indicate any ranking in the selections. ---------------------------------------------------------- You can see a facsimile of the original newspaper article, with pictures, here: http://www.renaissancelibraryinternational.com/chethams-article.html ===================================================== 4)FULL LIST OF LIBRARIES IN THE 2003 CALENDAR ===================================================== Just a reminder that the 2003 Renaissance Library Calendar is now available. You can find the full list of the 12 beautiful old libraries it contains below, dating back to 1570. You can see more details and order it at our website at http://www.renaissancelibrary.com/calendars.htm Here's the full list: Altenburg Abbey Library, Altenburg, Austria, 1729-42 Angelica Library, Rome, Italy, 1765 Boston Public Library, Boston, USA, Bates Hall, 1895 Chetham's Library, Manchester, UK, 1653 Kremsmuenster Abbey Library, Kremsmuenster, Austria, 1680 Mackintosh Library, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK, 1909 Sorbonne Library, Paris, France, 1897 New York Academy of Medicine Library, New York City, USA, Malloch Rare Book Room, 1926 Redwood Library & Athenæum, Newport, Rhode Island, USA, 1747 State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, Domed Reading Room, 1913 Trinity College Library, Dublin, Ireland, 1732 Vilnius University Library, Vilnius, Lithuania, 1570 You can see pictures of some of the libraries by clicking here: http://www.renaissancelibrary.com/calendars.htm ===================================================== 5)WHY RENAISSANCE? ===================================================== One of our readers asked, after our last newsletter, why do you use the word "renaissance" for the Renaissance Library Calendar, when it's clear from the founding dates of the libraries that they are not all from the renaissance period? In fact, the question was put a bit more bluntly than that - something like - how can you possibly call it a Renaissance library calendar then? Well, we do get asked that question from time to time, and we thought it might be worth a few words on the thinking behind 'Renaissance' in the context of the calendar and the other products in the Renaissance Library Collection. First of all, some dictionary definitions: Usage: often attributive 1 capitalized a : the transitional movement in Europe between medieval and modern times beginning in the 14th century in Italy, lasting into the 17th century, and marked by a humanistic revival of classical influence expressed in a flowering of the arts and literature and by the beginnings of modern science b : the period of the Renaissance c : the neoclassic style of architecture prevailing during the Renaissance 2 often capitalized : a movement or period of vigorous artistic and intellectual activity 3 : REBIRTH, REVIVAL http://www.yourdictionary.com/ Gunnel Stjernvall is the founder of ISIM and the originator of the Renaissance Library Calendar. Here's what she has to say: "Apart from Renaissance as a European movement, often involving arts and literature, it also stand for Rebirth and Revival. This is the heart of the meaning of the word when we use it. "We want the old and beautiful libraries to glow one more time by putting them in this calendar. Also, I find it a truly beautiful word. "The Renaissance movement in Europe took place over a long period of time, from the 14th century and up to the 17th century. So even if you wish to believe in this meaning of the word also for the content in the calendar, a good number of our featured libraries do meet this definition. "Typically we mean the earlier Italian movement, where the Renaissance started. And of course we like to capture some of the good bits from the Renaissance period, as when we chose the dark renaissance red for the border of our glorious posters. And when we include a library from the renaissance period in Italy. "But even so, the name the way we have chosen it stands for letting the old treasured libraries glow again." For what it's worth, I also think that "Renaissance" is a great brand name - Ed. ===================================================== 6)THE PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY OF CANADA AND THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC ===================================================== In previous newsletters, we've included the text about some of our Renaissance libraries, more or less at the time they have appeared in the Renaissance Library Calendar. For October, 2002, this is the Library of Parliament in Ottawa, Canada. For November, it's the baroque hall of the National Library of the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, space precludes us from including the articles about the history and collections of these beautiful libraries, so we've put them online. If you don't have the 2002 calendar, you can see what you've missed at the two links given below. The picture and text for the Parliamentary Library of Canada is here: http://www.renaissancelibraryinternational.com/Library-of-Parliament-Ottawa. html and the National Library of the Czech Republic is here: http://www.renaissancelibraryinternational.com/National-Library-Czech-Republ ic.html You can also see the library from September - the magnificent Austrian National Library in Vienna - here: http://www.renaissancelibraryinternational.com/austrian-national-library.htm l ===================================================== 7)NEXT YEAR'S ALA CONFERENCE IN TORONTO ===================================================== Talking of the Parliamentary Library in Canada reminds me that the 2003 ALA Conference and Exhibition will be held in Toronto in June. We would dearly love to display the calendars, greeting cards, prints and posters in the Renaissance Library Collection at the ALA Exhibition, as well as many of the other Library Association meetings around the World. But it's very time consuming to attend them, and its very expensive to do it. We'd like to visit every one of the many countries in which we have customers, but it just isn't practical. So - If anyone has any ideas about how we could display our wares at some of these shows in an economical way, or if you know of any willing and interested agents, I'd really like to hear from you. Just send me an email at stuart.urwin@isim.org Perhaps some of the library associations themselves would be interested? All ideas gratefully received. We'd also like to hear from resellers. ===================================================== 8)CZECH LIBRARIES AND THE RECENT FLOODS ===================================================== This Summer saw major floods in the Eastern part of Europe. About fifty Czech libraries were inundated, more than 600,000 volumes were soaked and consequently 150,000 of them had to be frozen. Books that have not been frozen or dried promptly are being destroyed. The Czech National Library itself did not suffer any damage on books, but substantial parts of its technical infrastructure located in basements of the Klementinum were destroyed or damaged, specifically the electrical transformation unit and the central gas-heating unit. The cost for the recovery is estimated at about 20 Mil. CZK (670,000 Euros or $US670,000). On September 9, after four weeks of closure, the Library was able to open for the public. You can read more about the floods disaster at this web page http://www.nkp.cz/PublicRel/English/Floods.htm ===================================================== 9)THE RENAISSANCE LIBRARY/ALLPOSTERS.COM STORE ===================================================== I've been looking for complementary products to offer at our online store, but they're not so easy to find. For example, I took a look at the AllPosters.com site, to see whether they had any posters based on the beautiful old library theme. For a bit of fun, I put together a little online store based on what I did find. You can see it here: http://www.renaissancelibraryinternational.com/Library-Poster-Store.html Why not take a look and see if there's anything you like? By the way, we haven't forgotten the plans for a Renaissance Library Book Store. It's on the way, when I get a minute. ===================================================== 10)REBIRTH OF THE LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA ===================================================== As I'm sure you all know - The most famous among all ancient and medieval libraries was the Library of Alexandria. The library was destroyed by a fire which ravaged Alexandria. Even after its disappearance 1600 years ago, its memory survives to this day. The Egyptian Government, in close co-operation with UNESCO, decided in the mid 1980s to build a new library in Alexandria to endow this part of the world with an important focal point for culture, education and science. The new Bibliotheca Alexandrina was officially inaugurated last Wednesday, October 16th. It was due to open its doors to the public on Sunday, October 20th. The Library complex was already open to visitors, but the original inauguration ceremony was postponed from 23 April 2002, owing to events in the Middle East. It's not just a library - it is an integrated cultural complex, with libraries, museums, exhibition areas, educational centers and an international conference center. One of the most talked about buildings in the World, the new Library will eventually be able to contain up to 8 million volumes, with special collections on Mediterranean civilizations, as well as large collections on science and technology, the humanities and the arts. The main Library building is shaped like a long cylinder, 160 meters wide with the top truncated at an angle. The angle of the roof counters harmful effects of sea spray and allows the upper stories of the Library to enjoy natural light. The roof symbolizes the dissemination of knowledge among the different peoples and nations of the world. The Library collection is displayed over 7 levels according to what is called "The Pyramid of Knowledge" from "The Roots of Knowledge" to the New Technologies. On a purely local note, part of the library furniture was supplied by the Swedish company, Garsnas. You can read much more at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and UNESCO websites at: http://www.bibalex.gov.eg/ and www.unesco.org/webworld/alexandria_new/ ====================================================== 11)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. ====================================================== ©2002 ISIM, all rights reserved. ====================================================== The RENAISSANCE LIBRARY newsletter is published by ISIM Editor: Stuart Urwin Phone: +46 411 121 70 Fax: +46 411 121 10 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