An exciting opportunity exists for American beekeepers to help make
spectacular volumes from the E. F. Phillips Beekeeping Collection at
Cornell University's Albert R. Mann Library available to the public
via the World Wide Web. The Phillips Collection, inspired by Cornell
professor Everett Franklin Phillips, is a major repository of
information on bees and beekeeping. It is one of the three major
apiculture library collections in the United States and includes
several thousand volumes, many published before 1900.
The Phillips Collection features many volumes from the personal
library of L.L. Langstroth, who popularized the moveable frame hive.
Among these are Munn's Description of the bar-and-frame hive (1844),
Mills' Essay on the management of bees (1766), Gelieu's Bee preserver
(1829) and Townley's Practical treatise on humanity to honey bees
(1848.)
Although Prof. Phillips initiated the collection, beekeepers
themselves supplied the funds for the library's growth by
contributing the proceeds of designated hives. These donations
established an endowment that today continues to support new
acquisitions of modern apicultural materials for the collection. In
return, Phillips intended the library to be a storehouse of knowledge
for the beekeeping community.
Seventy-five years after working beekeepers helped Phillips create
his library, a new generation of apiculturalists is leading efforts
to digitize major parts of that collection. In April 2004, Mann
Library launched The Hive and the Honeybee (http://
bees.library.cornell.edu/), a new and growing online collection of
the most important historical publications in beekeeping. The idea
for The Hive and the Honeybee emerged following the 2002 conference
of the EasternApiculture Society, which was held that year on the
Cornell University campus in Ithaca. Individual beekeepers and
beekeeping organizations from around the country responded generously
to a seed challenge announced by the Eastern Apiculture Society in
Fall 2003. Their contributions made the creation of The Hive and the
Honeybee possible. Now the Tampa Bay Beekeepers Association (TBBA) is
offering another exciting challenge to help grow the online
collection. The TBBA will match all new gifts in support of The Hive
and the Honeybee on a 1:1 basis up to $1000.
The Hive and the Honeybee presently consists of the full text of ten
books from the Phillips Collection, chosen by a team of scholars for
their historical importance and usefulness to beekeepers today. The
collection will grow as funding allows, and it is hoped that
eventually it will contain every major pre-1925 beekeeping work in
the English language. To make a donation in support of The Hive and
the Honeybee digital collection, please fill out the form below and
send it along with your gift to the address given. You will receive
written acknowledgement of your contribution, and the support of you
and the Tampa Bay Beekeepers Association will be recognized on the
Hive website. If you have any questions or for more information on
the digitization of the Phillips Beekeeping Collection, please
contact Janet McCue, Director of Mann Library, at (607) 255-2285 or
[log in to unmask] Thank you for your interest and your support!
I wish to make a gift of $________________ in support of The Hive and
the Honeybee at Mann Library.
Name_______________________________________________
Address____________________________________
City______________________ State & Zip_________
I can also answer questions about this as I have been sending out
solicitations to beekeepers! Our current target is the first 20
Volumes (1861-1880) of ABJ
Mike Griggs
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---
|