His daily work includes examining and looking after a steadily increasing collection of thousands of books and manuscripts, housed in rooms off a narrow spiral staircase.
The works in Lincoln Cathedral Library, opposite the West Front of the cathedral, date back to the 10th century and cover varying issues from church history, make-up tips for ladies and the history of chocolate.
Prized possessions include a first edition of John Milton's Paradise Lost.
Across the city, at the Lincolnshire Archives, off St Rumbolds Street, a quiet storeroom with 10ft-high shelves is stacked with hundreds of boxes containing an estimated four to five million items.
Across the city, at the Lincolnshire Archives, off St Rumbolds Street, a quiet storeroom with 10ft-high shelves is stacked with hundreds of boxes containing an estimated four to five million items.
Church documents, letters, maps, court records and council minutes are some of the things waiting to be catalogued, while people have access to many other works in the public reading area. These two quaint buildings, although not secrets, contain histories undiscovered by many in the county.
Librarian Dr Nicholas Bennett said the collection was stored in eight rooms in Lincoln Cathedral's Medieval and Wren libraries, with 10,000 items dating pre-1800 and 10,000 items dating post-1800s.
Dr Bennett said he was joined throughout the year by up to 80 volunteers, with exhibitions on the library's contents being held from Easter to October and usually during the Lincoln Christmas Market.
He said: "We are an historic library and a working library. Access is restricted only because it's in an historic building and there is not a great deal of space or staff.
"Anyone can come to use the collections, they just have to make an appointment first.
"Every time a book is taken off the shelf, it deteriorates a little bit. We have to be careful. But there is no point keeping precious books if we can't see them. We want to keep them for future generations but we also want the present one to see them."
The 12th century library contained between 40 and 50 books by 1148 and has grown largely thanks to donations. Dr Bennett said a recent arrival was a rare 18th century Irish catechism.
The librarian of 20 years said: "Apparently, there are only three known in the world and the man who donated it found it in his mother's attic. It's such a rarity and shows how the library has grown through people's generosity.
"My favourite book of the collection, perhaps unexpected, is a history of chocolate from the late 17th century which is fascinating and very appetising."
Collections officer at Lincolnshire Archives, James Stevenson, said the first challenge for staff was identifying a document. He added the second was working out its context in a collection and place in history.
Mr Stevenson said: "Our oldest document dates to 1072 and we have already got some material that is from the 21st century. Unfortunately these days some of the Methodist chapels are having to close and the records come to us."
No comments:
Post a Comment