Your local library is your gateway to a world of resources. Too often, collectors go to their local library and say that they have nothing, maybe some old Red Books. In fact, your local librarian can get you just about any book you can find. It is called "Interlibrary Loan" and ILL is a buzzword for librarians like "Mint State" or "Variety" for collectors. One of my buddies from college became a State Librarian and he published a funny article about people who were afraid to approach the Librarian as if they were coming to a church confessional. Ask! They live for that moment. They want to help. Check out your State University Library. You can use it, even if you cannot check out books. About 1000 years ago, I paid a $35 fee to be a "community patron" at the Michigan State University Library. Here in Austin, Texas, I needed to (1) have a City Library Card and (2) be a patron in good standing for (3) six months, in order to qualify for a (4) TexShare State Library card that entitled me to (5) a University of Texas Library Card. Now I have one. In addition to the numismatic resources here, I actually went there to place an ILL for a Hungarian rock-opera on DVD. They can get you anything... It so happens that my wife and I went back to university in 2005, and graduated in 2008; then I completed a master's in 2010. When I graduated from Eastern Michigan University, I lost most of my library privileges. However, here at UT Austin where I am a lowly guest patron I have the same privileges that I had when I was enrolled at EMU. The UT Libraries (plural) include both the general main campus library at the Perry-Castenada Building, and also several special collections, including the Classics Department Library, which has a nice run of books on ancient Greek and Roman coins. Today, I was at the Main Library. I checked out Zecca: the Mint of Venice in the Middle Ages by Alan Stahl. Of course, they have the usual run of US coin books, including two copies of the Breen Encyclopedia. They also have the current Krause Standard Catalog of World Coinage (three volumes), and Douglas Winter's books on the coins of Charlotte Mint and the New Orleans Mint, and much more. You probably never heard of John Leonard Riddell, but he was the Chief Assayer at the New Orleans Mint (1838-1849). The UT Libraries have several rare original editions of his books because he carried out a geographical survey of east-central Texas in 1838. I had to sign up, and even be searched (no kidding), and I might have been required to wear cotton gloves (but was not). But the bottom line is that I was able to carry out important numismatic research. It does not matter if you live in a city of 3 million or a village of 3,000. Your library is perhaps the single most important resource you can imagine, for numismatics and for light years beyond.
If I might add that it doesn't have to be a state college or university library, as most Community 2 yr colleges have libraries which can participate in ILL. Usually the rarer material is not allowed to be sent, but that only happened to me once when there was only 1 copy available in the US. It used to be free , but since the financial problems that now exist, I do have to pay for the USPS which is the less costly media mail. But they take care of the packing etc. Non students can apply for a library card, with proper ID, a local utility bill . Jim
I love my local library! I just requested Q. David Bowers's Experts Guide, which my library had a copy of. I plan to spend the winter reading and learning.
Here you go, even better access http://www.worldcat.org/ Find items in libraries near you 2 billion items available here through a library WorldCat connects you to the collections and services of more than 10,000 libraries worldwide
Thanks, DesertGem! Yes, we all have many resources that we often do not think of. When I was enrolled at a community college, they had a cooperative agreement with the nearby state university: one card to rule them all (or whatever). Right, circus! With the WorldCat listing your librarian will know what you mean by what you say. You still need a local library and it must be a member of some consortium for sharing. WorldCat does not lend books. Also, notice that the WorldCat entry often shows the OCLC number (Online Computer Library Center). Again, it is a catalog for cataloguers. But a good place to start. The last time I used WorldCat, the "local" library it suggested was 250 miles away... Fortunately, my real local library belonged to a consortium.
