ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

Dave -

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. As a former Treasurer and Trustee of
the Andrew Carnegie Free Library in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, I also have a
love of libraries.

As I said, the Buhl Planetarium library was fairly small, just 800 volumes.
Although a volunteer [retired librarian] did assist with the collection,
from time to time, there was no dedicated staff for the library. When
teachers, or other researchers, wished to use the library, they simply made
an appointment and were permitted to use the collection. Unfortunately,
there was limited publicity about the library.

It had a very good reference collection. For instance, the library had
copies of the Astronomical Almanac published jointly by the U.S. Naval
Observatory and the Royal Greenwich Observatory [originally titled the
American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac] dating back to about 1910. Also,
our Physics Lecturer, Bill Moser, kept the library current by continually
requesting the most recent Physics textbooks from book publishers [which
were sent to us for no charge, at that time].

I am happy to hear that OMSI has a public library adjacent to the museum.
Pittsburgh actually does have similar situtions. In 1939, The Buhl
Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science was built just across the
street from The Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny, America's first
publicly-funded Carnegie Library [Andrew Carnegie grew up in this North Side
neighborhood of Pittsburgh, originally the City of Allegheny].

So, although Buhl Planetarium's own Science library was rather small, a
major city library was right across the street. When The Carnegie Science
Center replaced Buhl Planetarium as the City's major Science museum, a mile
southwest of Buhl on the Ohio River, the Science Center lost this advantage.

And, when The Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Carnegie Museum of Art
were formed in 1896, they were in the same building as the main branch of
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, in the City's Oakland [university/civic]
district. Of course, this was the specific plan of Andrew Carnegie.

Although the Internet does mean changes to the traditional library, I hope
we never get to the point where it completely replaces the physical library.

I am somewhat cynical regarding the lack of even a small library in Science
museums today. The fact is that a library does not produce revenue for the
host institution. In this day and age, it seems that if does not make money,
it is not built!

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh
  Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] >
  Internet, World Wide Web Sites -
  History of The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science,
Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
  History of The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
  History of Astronomer and Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
  History of Andrew Carnegie and Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
  The Duquesne Incline, historic cable car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.incline.cc >

>From: David Taylor <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Informal Science Education Network
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: being a resource for teachers
>Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 14:56:33 -0700
>
>ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>institutions.
>*****************************************************************************
>
>Glenn,
>I think there are a number of things that work against
>libraries in museums.
>
>Back in the 1970šs the Pacific Science Center where I
>worked at the time, had a library and a librarian.  When
>we looked at the cost for keeping the library materials
>current and the cost of having a librarian and a number
>of  volunteer helpers, the cost per person served was
>very high with no notable income against that expense.
>
>It makes little sense to replicate the services provided
>by standard city libraries, and with the advent of Google
>searches on the Internet, I havenšt opened any of the
>three encyclopedias I have in my office for years.
>
>If there were any function that a museum library might
>serve it would be in making curriculum materials
>available to teachers for review.  Curriculum materials
>though seem to be best used when a teacher workshop
>is done on them.  But once again, might it not be better
>to offer much of this material over the web?
>
>Donšt get me wrong, I love libraries... there is something
>about them that is special, just as there is in seeing an
>original piece of art or artifact at a museum that I could
>see a picture of on the web.  I just think museums need
>to look at what their core business is and where they
>can afford to put their resources.
>
>Dave Taylor
>
>
>From: Glenn Walsh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Informal Science Education Network
>Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 21:33:00 +0000
>Subject: Re: being a resource for teachers
>************************************************
>
>The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science in Pittsburgh was
>constructed, in 1939, specifically with a beautiful wood-paneled library
>that was available, by appointment only, to teachers and other researchers.
>The library was small, about 800 volumes; however, it is significant that a
>library was included with the original building which, also, was small:
>40,000 square feet. Regrettably, such a library was not considered a
>priority with the 1991 construction of the much larger Carnegie Science
>Center.
>
>It seems that many of the newer science museums do not include any type of
>library, for use by the public, with their facility. Why has something as
>basic as a library been disregarded with new science museum construction?
>
>Glenn A. Walsh

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