The George Williams Memorial Library is located in the ringing chamber of Winchester Cathedral and is available for readers and borrowers by appointment. The system for loans provides a standard loan period of eight weeks with a liberal renewal policy for serious research and special problems. The only exceptions are the archive material and the Guild’s annual and triennial reports for which, because of their unique importance, loans are solely at the discretion of the librarian. A catalogue of the printed books and of the complete archive is maintained on the Guild website. Part of our collection of archive material, held at the Hampshire Record Office in Sussex Street, Winchester, is available for consultation only. The collection there has the call-number 20M94. Meanwhile, early trialling of an online cataloguing system for the contents of the library shows promise, and I hope to have a catalogue conforming to international standards in place by the end of 2013.
Our acquisitions have been few in comparison with last year: a copy of Elphick’s Sussex Bells and Belfries to replace the copy on long-term loan from the Cathedral Tower Library, and some interesting donations: two attendance books of the Hursley Band from just before and just after the First World War, the peal book of Reg Reed and the record book of David Watson: these gifts have been lodged in the Hampshire Record Office. We have also taken in the original returns from the Belfry Stewardship Committee’s survey of towers and bells. Finally, a correction to last year’s list of purchases from the Central Council: amongst the composition collections we bought it was that for Stedman, not Grandsire.
The Guild’s online archive has the minutes of the Guild Annual meetings and Executive Committee meetings from 1980 to 2000 (More recent minutes are already available from the Guild’s Document Repository) and a collection of historical articles from The Ringing World about Guild people, places and events.
Andrew Barnsdale continues to hold recent volumes of The Ringing World which he is binding for the Guild Library, though I am budgeting in 2013 for binding of more recent years by a local bindery.
I am always pleased to assist Guild members and others with an interest in the Guild with their researches. Enquiries fielded this year have been to do with individuals and towers, with reference to the sixtieth anniversaries of the Queen’s reign and one individual’s ringing career featuring among them. I should like to thank my colleagues within the Guild and the Winchester Cathedral band for their continuing support.
| Income | Expenditure | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| £.p | £.p | ||
| Balance b/f | 0.40 | Sub. to The Ringing World | 59.00 |
| From the Central Fund | 150.00 | Sub. to The Friends of the Central Council Library | 10.00 |
| Elphick, Sussex Bells and Belfries | 23.50 | ||
| Balance c/f | 57.90 | ||
| £150.40 | £150.40 | ||
Bruce Purvis