This was originally published in Watch The Skies Fanzine – January 2021

The house where J.R.R. Tolkien lived when he wrote some of his most famous work is up for sale. There are a number of people making a concerted effort to purchase this house and turn it into some kind of literary center, including a garden of some significance. There is a news article about it on Tor’s website. This article sent my mind wandering down the path of historic preservation and the collection of authorial works. There are other displays from famous authors in many forms, in many places but I realized I don’t know the first thing that goes into creating or curating a collection like this. Thankfully the wonderful world of fandom allows me to connect to people that know an awful lot more than I do. I decided to reach out to one!

Mary Spila is a long time member of our fan group here at Watch The Skies and just so happens to be one of the librarians for our state. I pulled together the teeny amount of info I know about this sort of things and asked her a few questions about it. Here is the interview:

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First, thanks for being willing to help fill me in on these sort of things. I think the work you do is important and more people should know about it. What is your official job title and what sort of things are entailed in the work that you currently do?

I am the cataloger at the State Library of Pennsylvania. I am responsible to cataloging everything that in put into the collection. This includes books for the Main Library, Law Library, Government Documents, and the Rare Materials Library.

Does the state library have a collection of letters (or more than one) similar to the sort of works that might be on display at the Tolkien house, should that project become a reality? What sort of things are in that collection?

The Rare Collections Library of the State Library of Pennsylvania holds items from the founding of theState of Pennsylvania, and the United States. This includes the “Assembly Collection”, books that were purchased by Benjamin Franklin for the General Assembly, and the beginnings of the State Library Collection.

The library has The largest collection of Pennsylvania Newspapers, some of which go back to the late 1600s. There are copies of materials that were printed in Pennsylvania back to 1685.

The collection also contains rare items that include a copy of Hartman Schedel’s Nuremberg Chronicles; a map and documents signed by Hannah Penn and Lord Baltimore regarding the borders between Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Several years ago we were gifted with a collection of materials from Steve Didko, Pennsylvania Comic Book artist best known for his work at Marvel and DC. That collection contains pencil sketches, ink drawings, and published comic books. It is the basis of the State Library’s graphica collection, which highlights the works of Pennsylvania authors and artists in the comics industry.

How does the library team decide what to keep and when? There has to be a limit on space, right?

There are library policies and procedures for purchasing and removal of materials from the Main and Law Libraries. For the Main Library this includes genealogical materials, Pennsylvania newspapers, things that are about Pennsylvania and its history, as well as materials requested by State Agencies and Legislators. The Law Library contains materials that directly related to the courts, laws, and legislation of Pennsylvania and the United States.

We are also a Federal and State Documents Depository Library, and those materials are kept until superseded.

Outdated, damaged, and superseded materials from both libraries, are removed from the collections and replaced if needed.

Does the library have special systems in place to care for the works in their care?

The Rare Collections Librarian and Technician have some basic skills with materials maintenance and repair. For materials that are in need of more extensive work they are sent out to professional restorers.

Materials in the Main and Law Libraries, are generally replaced if they are damaged beyond use, as repair of modern books is not cost effective.

Are there special rules about who can see these collections and when?

For materials in the Rare Collection, an appointment needs to be made with the Rare Collections Librarian. Permission may be denied based on the condition of the item.

Given the significant increase in authors using electronic means to both write and communicate with each other in recent times, what sort of things might the library have to display in the future? Have there been discussions of this among various members of the librarian community?

Electronic resources can be “Displayed” in electronic formats such as the Library’s website and social media.

I’d really like to focus more on that last bit. I wasn’t clear about how I phrased my question about displays. I didn’t consider the internet as part of the library at all, I was visualizing some kind of digital kiosk on location in the library itself with a big ol’ touch screen or something like that.

Even if there were a physical device for an electronic display, what is displayed would still be
tied into the library’s website. Physical tech requires the library to have the time, funding,
and personnel to maintain it, and most libraries don’t have any to spare.

People are already carrying personal devices where they look for information and
entertainment. It is more cost effective to put things on the website and the library’s
social media, where it will reach a wider audience and is not limited to times when the library
will be physically open. Many libraries are even recording their current physical displays and
putting them on their websites. The website, or some future incarceration, will end up being
the primary way that libraries interact with users.

I know this isn’t what you are looking for, but that is the reality, especially considering that
library budgets have been falling.

A very big thank you to Mary Spila for being willing to share her time and expertise
with us on this subject! IF you have knowledge about an industry that relates to the
publishing world or science fiction in general, we’d love to hear from you too! Let us know ~
we want to hear what you have to say!