HISTORIC LIBRARIES FORUM

The Forum has an interest in historic libraries of all kinds, but particularly those without a natural 'home' in the formal library world. All members of the Cathedral Libraries and Archives Association and of the Association of Independent Libraries are already on our mailing list, as are hundreds of others, from colleges to learned societies to parish libraries and many more - and also people who are simply interested, whether as trustees or conservators or library historians. The Forum has a variety of roles to play.

• A 'watchdog' function: with members all over the country we are well-placed to learn about libraries under threat or in severe need, and we can work with others to find a satisfactory solution - but you must keep us informed!
• Somewhere to find an expert when your library needs advice, whether in cataloguing systems or conservation or in other problem areas like charitable status.
• Encouraging the growing awareness, nationally and regionally, that historic libraries can contribute in a special way to the national pool of library and information resources.
• Organising reasonably priced events on subjects of interest to our members.

Our links to the British Library, the National Preservation Office, CILIP (formerly the Library Association), the Bibliographical Society - and more recently to Resource (the Museums, Archives and Libraries Council) - can all help you to find answers. We are aiming to improve our communication mechanisms, through meetings, the newsletter, and the Forum web-site: and we do very much need our members to communicate with us.

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