Library Partnership:
The George Washington
Masonic National Memorial
Library & The Supreme Council Library & Museum
As
the new librarian of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial
Library, my original expectations of encountering experiences of
an unusual quality and distinction have not been left unfulfilled.
Besides the regular intercourse with truly interesting materials,
people, and ideas, occasionally I am granted the opportunity to
venture out to some outstanding place, other than the wonderful
Memorial
wherein it is my pleasure to labor. One such place is the House
of the Temple in the District of Columbia, and quite especially,
the
Library of the Supreme Council, 33, S. J., U.S.A. After appropriating
a special tour under the auspices of George Seghers, the Executive
Secretary-Treasurer of the Memorial, and Joan K. Sansbury, the
Librarian/Curator at the Scottish Rite building, I set out to find
16th Street in
downtown Washington.
Met by the pair of sphinxes at the front gate, I found my way to
the rear door and was escorted to
the library via the old, gated elevator. The tour of the library
began in the reading room, complete with computer and telephone
amid sliding ladder, marble busts of famous Classical authors,
and a giant
globe. I was introduced to Larissa P. Watkins, the assistant librarian
and author of the new American Masonic Periodicals. It
was in the reading room that I learned of the interesting origins
of the library.
It had started as Albert Pike’s personal collection, and it
opened in the first House of the Temple in 1891 after Pike’s
death, to become the very first major library to be open to the
general public in the District of Columbia.
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The
Library of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial,
Alexandria, Virginia, was dedicated by the Grand Lodge of
Pennsylvania
on February 22, 1952.
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Mrs.
Watkins first led me to the lower level to peruse the filed unbound
flat papers. Immediately we came to the vault where the
very rare materials are stored. Any bibliophile would understand
my awe
at being surrounded by so many footprints of man’s literary
evolution, including volumes dating back to the fifteenth century.
If this was not enough, then at least I will have the agreement
of every Freemason that my next experience should be unforgettable.
I was led to the distinct Albert Pike Collection, itself, made
even
more impressive by the ornate binding that Pike had done personally
for most of his books. The Supreme Council Library is still in
the process of assembling, preserving and cataloguing this collection,
which is certainly no small endeavor. I would come to learn this
on a first- hand basis in the following weeks, given the opportunity
to work closely with Mrs. Watkins for the edification of myself
and
the Masonic library graciously put under my charge. Along my
tour I was given briefly to view the J. Edgar Hoover Collection,
the
Robert Burns Collection, and finally the substantial Main Collection,
which
covers two floors.
This was to be just the beginning of my relationship with the
Supreme Council Library. Between several enlightening visits
to the library,
and an opportunity to host Mrs. Watkins on a tour through the
Memorial Library (pictured above), I was the grateful recipient
of a generous, yet reserved,
outpouring of wisdom. And here I must inject a small observation.
The good librarian is unequivocally an under-appreciated force.
The good librarian is naturally bound, as Alexander Pope, an
eighteenth-century Freemason wrote, to “do good by stealth
and blush to find it fame.” Not necessarily bound by these
restrictions, I am emboldened to proceed with my revelations.
Does one ever
stop to wonder what actually goes on among those shelves of books
beyond
the view of the public eye? The librarian, quiet, unassuming,
is there to answer questions, and the books just sit there on
the
shelves... right? Actually, those books are not as inculpable
as they appear.
They must be kept at a constant temperature and a constant humidity,
else they shrivel. They must be kept out of the light or they
will fade and crack. With growing awe I learned that they must
stand
perfectly upright or they may warp or break, and also, that there
is a proper
way to lift old books from the shelf, and a proper way to reshelf
them. The librarian sees to all of these things. The librarian
repairs the damaged and acts to preserve the aging. Not to mention,
dust
cannot be allowed to collect upon the books, so who does all
the dusting? The librarian must decide which new books to acquire,
and which to retire. The librarian must decide if that ancient
tome is
a priceless jewel, a good trading book, or a worthless scrap,
and
this process happens to be a relevant financial consideration.
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Archival
photo of the East in the original Alexandria-Washington Lodge
#22, which is now replicated in the George Washington Masonic
National Memorial
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Besides
relating to me the Supreme Council Library’s experiences
with these issues, Mrs. Watkins spent some time tutoring me
on tried and true methods of Masonic library cataloguing, such
of which have
recently been adopted by that hallowed institution, the Masonic
Libraries and Museums Association (MLMA). Both libraries are in
the process
of converting their cataloguing systems to have better capabilities
for librarians and patrons. Both collections will be available
online through their respective websites, which will make it easy
for anyone
to locate a book by its title, author, or subject, from one’s
own home. Of course, to use a book of either library one must
pay a visit to the library, oneself. Both libraries are accessible
and each has its own special gifts to offer. The Supreme Council
Library
has a staggering quantity of Masonic books, magazines, newspapers,
and bulletins, and lest one forget, the interesting collections
I mentioned above. Though not as large as the Supreme Council
Library,
the Memorial Library houses one of only two complete collections
of United States Grand Lodge Proceedings. It also is home to
the Washington Family Collection, and the Rae John Lemert Collection,
which includes extremely rare, antique French volumes, and
a unique,
comprehensive collection of early esoteric literature. Moreover,
the Memorial Library keeps a special section reserved for books
pertaining
to George Washington and historic Virginia.
As a final thought, I should like to offer my personal gratitude
to Joan K. Sansbury, Librarian/Curator, Larissa Watkins, and
the rest of the staff at the Supreme Council for their on-
going fraternal
support. Cooperation between the Supreme Council, 33°, S.J.
and the George Washington Masonic National Memorial has proved
beneficial
to both organizations and to their patrons, as well. I am sure
that we can look forward to continuing success and many improvements
in
the near future, as we are true to our chosen vocation, to better
serve Masons and the world at large.
Dustin B. Smith, Librarian, GWMNM
