Rudolf Steiner Library 139 Main St Philmont, NY 12565

Rudolf Steiner Library Newsletter Summer 2014

Rudolf Steiner Library Newsletter

Giving Care: �e Youth Section Work Weekby Seth JordanExplaining to a friend what the library is like these days, Geraldine Olszewski, a regular volunteer, described it as a kind of “hospital.” It’s a �tting image. It’s amazing how bruised books can get just from send-ing them in the mail! Add that these books have also been read, loved, written into (!), shared, packed into purses and bags, bumped, jostled, and then mailed back to the library… So the current work of the library consists of reinforcing corners, strengthening hinges, repairing spines, tip-ping loose pages back in, erasing, vacuum-ing, repairing, preserving, cataloging, and more. To do this we’ve formed a bustling medical corps -- six part-time sta� this summer and a whole host of volunteers. So far, so good. Besides our faithful weekly volunteers and some well-attended work parties every other week, we’ve had one “work week” this summer, co-sponsored by the Youth Section and entitled “�e Spirit of Nonviolent Transformation.” Eighteen

people joined us from all over the world, and we worked at least 4 or 5 hours a day, totaling an estimated 350 hours of volun-teer work!

“Many deep conversations could be heard as we worked together. (P)ar-ticipants expressed how wonderful it was to work together like a buzz-ing beehive, how enjoyable it was to work with their hands and craft something with care and attention to detail. I found this way of working together very nourishing …” - Olivia Hannah

We also worked with the theme of “nonviolent transformation.” How can we transform ourselves, our institutions, our society? We looked at the library: what are the forms that can sustain it, that can en-able it to renew itself? What about making it a library where everyone volunteered in some way, like the most engaging consum-er co-ops? What about a summer reading festival, where folks sit around reading and then come together for break-out study groups? Ideas began to bubble as we got deeper into the work. Rick Spaulding, a teacher, author, and anthroposophist from Chicago, led us through the lives of �oreau, Gandhi, King, and Mandela, and through the great social movements of the last century. What were these individuals like? What challeng-es did they face? How did they face those things with love, with what Gandhi called “truth-force?” We discussed the spirit of America, Columbia, and her great bard,

Whitman. We talked about organizing - what does a training look like that would truly prepare us to meet the hardship that this century is bringing? And we spent time tramping through the woods, visiting the best local swim spots, reading a Steiner lecture about Gand-hi while we worked on the books, eating dinner with the new Camphill initiative in Hudson, singing with the local Har-lemville community, and eating ice cream every step of the way.

“Sending many books o� to the book sale and removing all but the most helpful of old markings felt like a controlled forest burn or deadheading of garden �owers. �e library is poised for new growth, though the speci�c forms have not yet sprouted. What intangible deeds underlie this transformation? With what forces are we working when we care for these old books and the space that now houses them? �ere is an amazing archive of writings in the library, the documented her-itage of our movement, and it must be living.” - Elizabeth Roosevelt

Two more Work Weeks are coming up - “Sharing Our Stories,” August 18-22, and “Tombs or Seeds: the dual nature of books,” September 8-12. Please join us! Email us at rsteinerlibrary@gmail.com or use this link for information or to register: http://library.anthroposophy.org/volunteering/sign-up/. �ere are still many patients in need of our immediate care and attention!

Rudolf Steiner Library: the lending & mail order library of the Anthroposophical Society in America

�e Seed for a New Floweringby Maurice York �e Rudolf Steiner Library is well on its way into a bright new future. A great deal of imagination and e�ort has gone into the recent work at the library and we are grate-ful for the generosity that has come toward this project over the past several months. Last winter, in its annual appeal, the So-ciety asked for �nancial assistance for the national library. Hearing the need, the membership responded with great strength to help preserve this unique jewel, created by Society librarian Fred Paddock over the course of 30 years and lovingly tended over the last decade by librarians Judith Soleil and Judith Kiely, along with a cohort of many dedicated local volunteers.�e response was wholehearted, with 273 gifts totaling $22,780. Even as members

sent in their contributions, the books began to be moved to their new home, a brick church in Philmont, NY (see the video at http://bit.ly/rsllibrarymove). Member contributions have gone directly into the immediate needs of the library—preparation and upkeep of the building, book shelving, environmental control and security, book repair equipment, preser-vation supplies, furniture, updated com-puters and network equipment, and sup-port for the sta� and volunteers who have poured their time and energy into the task of renewing the library. As a Society, as a community, this is the work that we have enjoined—the care and renewal of this precious resource so that it may become a seed for a new �owering of the living study of anthroposophy. With great hope, we look forward to continuing the repair work, collecting new and important

archival materials, forming new partner-ships, and resuming lending services to the membership. We invite you to join us in preserving and growing this precious and comprehensive collection of anthroposophical works, and in carrying the ideas and history of the li-brary into the future.

August2014

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Rudolf Steiner Library Staff Maurice York, Project Manager for the Library Transition Seth Jordan, Library Transition Manager Judith Kiely, Interim Librarian

General Council of the Anthroposophical SocietyTorin Finser, General Secretary Dennis Dietzel, Chair and Central Region Representative Jack Michael, Treasurer and member at large Linda Evans, Eastern Region Representative Joan Treadaway, Western Region Representative Carla Beebe Comey, member at large Virginia McWilliam, member at large

Rudolf Steiner Library Steering CommitteeMaurice York, Project Manager for the Library Transition Virginia McWilliam, General Council Member Marian León, Director of Administration, marian@anthroposophy.org

Newsletter EditorDeb Abrahams-Dematte, Director of Development, deb@anthroposophy.org

John Beck, Director of Communications, editor@anthroposophy.org

Contact the Anthroposophical Society at info@anthroposophy.org or 734-662-9355

“Little thoughts will get us nowhere, so we must pluck up the courage to think big thoughts.”

~ Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner Library 139 Main St, Philmont, NY 12565, rsteinerlibrary@gmail.com 518-672-7690

Give the gift of service, learn new skills, and help preserve this vibrant

anthroposophical resourceJoin us for an upcoming Library Work Week “Tombs or Seeds: the dual nature of books”

Sept 8th – 12thFor more information or to register, visit www.

library.anthroposophy.org/volunteering/sign-up/

Thank Youto all who have contributed in support of the transition and operations of the Rudolf Steiner Library. �e 2013 appeal raised $22,780 and general library donations from January 2013 till now have brought in an additional $22,774, for a total of $45,554.Your gifts directly support the operations of the library, the preparation and upkeep of the new building, environmental control and security, book repair equipment, preservation supplies, shelving and work surfaces, updated computers and network equipment, and support for the sta� and volunteers who have poured their time and energy into the task of renewing the library.

We are grateful for your generosity! And yet, our work is not done.

Join us in bringing care and renewal to this most precious resource, so that it may become the seed for a new �owering of the living study of anthroposophy.Giving is easy! Specify a gift to the library in the enclosed remittance envelope, cut o�, complete and send the form below, or go online to www.anthroposophy.org and click on “make a gift”. If you have any questions, contact Deb Abrahams-Dematte, Director of Development at deb@anthroposophy.org.�ank you for your support of the Rudolf Steiner Library and the Anthroposophical Society in America.

The Rudolf Steiner Librarythe lending and mail-order library of the

Anthroposophical Society in America

I want to support the library with a gift of:

( ) $500 ( ) $250 ( ) $100 ( )$50 ( )$25 ( ) Other $_______

Name _______________________________________________________

Address ______________________________________________________

City, State, Zip ___________________________________________________

Phone number ______________________ Email ________________________

( ) I wish to remain anonymous ( ) My company’s matching gift form is enclosed ( ) I would like to make a one-time gift of $ _________ ( ) check ( ) MC/VISA ( ) would like to pledge a gift of $_______ __as a recurring gift

monthly/quarterly/semi-annually (circle one)

( ) MC ( ) VISA Card # ____________________________________

Exp month/year ___________ 3-digit code _________

Signature ______________________________________________

Mail this form and your gift to ASA, 1923 Geddes Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.

Or, to make a secure gift online, visit www.anthroposophy.org. The Anthroposophical Society in America is a 501(c)(3) non-pro�t organization.

Gifts are tax deductible to the maximum allowed by law.

Preserving the Library’s Treasures by Judith Kiely and Deb Abrahams-DematteIt’s been a time of transformation for the Rudolf Steiner Library, and many activities have been happening recently to preserve this important resource.We are fortunate to have four part-time employees with us for the summer -- Na-dia Bedard, Lisa Damian, Joshua Seymour, and Abigail Simkovic. �ey bring need-ed skills, such as book repair, cataloging, and events programming, to our team of preservationists. So we’ve been advancing in the following areas:• Book cleaning: To date, we have

�nished cleaning copies of books by Rudolf Steiner from “Agriculture” through “�eosophy.” Another 200 hours of vacuuming will be needed to clean the rest of the library’s book collection, so if you can spare a couple of hours a week, please come join us. �e vacuuming work may be monotonous, but the conversations are stimulating!

• Bookrepair: AlthoughthebooksbySteiner represent about 20% of the entire book collection, they are the most heavily used and in need of repair. We have repaired 130 books to date, and have identi�ed 650 more Steiner volumes as being in need of various repairs.

• Typescript re-foldering: On July21,we �nished re-foldering the 2800 copies (1400 titles) of English transla-tions of lectures and essays by Steiner, thanks to the e�orts of summer em-ployee Nadia Bedard and weekly vol-unteers Ann Finucane, Joyce Gallardo, Caroline Gordon, Geraldine Olszews-ki, and our Youth Section participants.

�e process involves removing rusty staples and acidic covers, re-housing materials in acid-free archival folders, and printing non-acidic labels for all the folders. We have begun to re-fold-er the library’s collection of articles by other authors, another 3000 items in all, and hope to �nish this work by the end of the year.

• Digitization:Wehavestartedthepro-cess of scanning the collection of 1400 titles, which will enable us to send dig-ital copies to borrowers in the future. �anks to the invaluable work of long-time volunteer/computer programmer Martin Miller, we’ve resolved some computer/scanner network problems we have encountered, including the destruction of our modem, router, and iMAC network card following a lightning strike in late June.

• Pamphletbinding:Wehavealsobeensteadily working on protecting the collection of 1600 booklets, consist-ing of single lectures by Rudolf Stein-er and works by other authors. Work -party participants, Youth Section volunteers, and our summer sta� have succeeded in binding 450 of these booklets to date, removing staples and sewing the booklets into acid-free pamphlet binders.

• Journalre-housing:Thelibrary’sjour-nal collection consists of over 200 cur-rent and archival periodical titles. Our preservation work with the periodicals includes removing the journals from their old acidic enclosures, sorting out duplicates, cataloging and re-housing the journals in new acid-free boxes. When this work is completed, we will

send them out to be scanned for inclu-sion in an internet archive.

• Cataloging:Sincethebeginningoftheyear, we have cataloged 2000 items, including books, articles, and individ-ual issues of periodicals. Six drawers of articles are yet to be cataloged, along with several shelves of older books, and many of the periodicals. Newly purchased editions of Steiner’s works will need to be cataloged as well.

• Andfinally,wealsorecentlypreserved35 �le boxes of archival materials, in-cluding the papers of Henry Monges and Henry Barnes, then placed them in new, non-acidic boxes and brought them to a climate-controlled facility in Poughkeepsie, NY, where we hope to have them processed by an expert archivist. Our �rst two out-of-town volunteers, Gloria Cooper and James Johnson, arrived just in time to help.

�e library is a hub of enthusiastic and im-portant activity, and much remains to be done. If you are interested in books, or an-throposophy, or preservation, we welcome your participation. Please contact Judith or Seth at rsteinerlibrary@gmail.com to volunteer or learn more.

We are grateful for the diligent and caring work of our volunteers. We couldn’t do it without you! Many thanks!!

Want to learn more about what’s up at the Rudolf Steiner Library?

Visit our blog at www.library.anthroposophy.org/ and

like us on Facebook

✂

Rudolf Steiner Library Staff Maurice York, Project Manager for the Library Transition Seth Jordan, Library Transition Manager Judith Kiely, Interim Librarian

General Council of the Anthroposophical SocietyTorin Finser, General Secretary Dennis Dietzel, Chair and Central Region Representative Jack Michael, Treasurer and member at large Linda Evans, Eastern Region Representative Joan Treadaway, Western Region Representative Carla Beebe Comey, member at large Virginia McWilliam, member at large

Rudolf Steiner Library Steering CommitteeMaurice York, Project Manager for the Library Transition Virginia McWilliam, General Council Member Marian León, Director of Administration, marian@anthroposophy.org

Newsletter EditorDeb Abrahams-Dematte, Director of Development, deb@anthroposophy.org

John Beck, Director of Communications, editor@anthroposophy.org

Contact the Anthroposophical Society at info@anthroposophy.org or 734-662-9355

“Little thoughts will get us nowhere, so we must pluck up the courage to think big thoughts.”

~ Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner Library 139 Main St, Philmont, NY 12565,

rsteinerlibrary@gmail.com 518-672-7690

Give the gift of service, learn new skills,and help preserve this vibrant

anthroposophical resourceJoin us for an upcoming Library Work Week“Tombs or Seeds: the dual nature of books”

Sept 8th – 12thFor more information or to register, visit www.

library.anthroposophy.org/volunteering/sign-up/

Thank Youto all who have contributed in support of the transition and operations of the Rudolf Steiner Library. �e 2013 appeal raised $22,780 and general library donations from January 2013 till now have brought in an additional $22,774, for a total of $45,554.Your gifts directly support the operations of the library, the preparation and upkeep of the new building, environmental control and security, book repair equipment, preservation supplies, shelving and work surfaces, updated computers and network equipment, and support for the sta� and volunteers who have poured their time and energy into the task of renewing the library.

We are grateful for your generosity! And yet, our work is not done.

Join us in bringing care and renewal to this most precious resource, so that it may become the seed for a new �owering of the living study of anthroposophy.Giving is easy! Specify a gift to the library in the enclosed remittance envelope, cut o�, complete and send the form below, or go online to www.anthroposophy.org and click on “make a gift”. If you have any questions, contact Deb Abrahams-Dematte, Director of Development at deb@anthroposophy.org.�ank you for your support of the Rudolf Steiner Library and the Anthroposophical Society in America.

The Rudolf Steiner Librarythe lending and mail-order library of the

Anthroposophical Society in America

I want to support the library with a gift of:

( ) $500 ( ) $250 ( ) $100 ( )$50 ( )$25 ( ) Other $_______

Name _______________________________________________________

Address ______________________________________________________

City, State, Zip ___________________________________________________

Phone number ______________________ Email ________________________

( ) I wish to remain anonymous ( ) My company’s matching gift form is enclosed ( ) I would like to make a one-time gift of $ _________ ( ) check ( ) MC/VISA ( ) would like to pledge a gift of $_______ __as a recurring gift

monthly/quarterly/semi-annually (circle one)

( ) MC ( ) VISA Card # ____________________________________

Exp month/year ___________ 3-digit code _________

Signature ______________________________________________

Mail this form and your gift to ASA, 1923 Geddes Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.

Or, to make a secure gift online, visit www.anthroposophy.org. The Anthroposophical Society in America is a 501(c)(3) non-pro�t organization.

Gifts are tax deductible to the maximum allowed by law.

Preserving the Library’s Treasures by Judith Kiely and Deb Abrahams-DematteIt’s been a time of transformation for the Rudolf Steiner Library, and many activities have been happening recently to preserve this important resource.We are fortunate to have four part-time employees with us for the summer -- Na-dia Bedard, Lisa Damian, Joshua Seymour, and Abigail Simkovic. �ey bring need-ed skills, such as book repair, cataloging, and events programming, to our team of preservationists. So we’ve been advancing in the following areas:• Book cleaning: To date, we have

�nished cleaning copies of books by Rudolf Steiner from “Agriculture” through “�eosophy.” Another 200 hours of vacuuming will be needed to clean the rest of the library’s book collection, so if you can spare a couple of hours a week, please come join us. �e vacuuming work may be monotonous, but the conversations are stimulating!

• Bookrepair: AlthoughthebooksbySteiner represent about 20% of the entire book collection, they are the most heavily used and in need of repair. We have repaired 130 books to date, and have identi�ed 650 more Steiner volumes as being in need of various repairs.

• Typescript re-foldering: On July 21,we �nished re-foldering the 2800 copies (1400 titles) of English transla-tions of lectures and essays by Steiner, thanks to the e�orts of summer em-ployee Nadia Bedard and weekly vol-unteers Ann Finucane, Joyce Gallardo, Caroline Gordon, Geraldine Olszews-ki, and our Youth Section participants.

�e process involves removing rusty staples and acidic covers, re-housing materials in acid-free archival folders, and printing non-acidic labels for all the folders. We have begun to re-fold-er the library’s collection of articles by other authors, another 3000 items in all, and hope to �nish this work by the end of the year.

• Digitization: We have startedthepro-cess of scanning the collection of 1400 titles, which will enable us to send dig-ital copies to borrowers in the future. �anks to the invaluable work of long-time volunteer/computer programmer Martin Miller, we’ve resolved some computer/scanner network problems we have encountered, including the destruction of our modem, router, and iMAC network card following a lightning strike in late June.

• Pamphlet binding: We have alsobeensteadily working on protecting the collection of 1600 booklets, consist-ing of single lectures by Rudolf Stein-er and works by other authors. Work -party participants, Youth Section volunteers, and our summer sta� have succeeded in binding 450 of these booklets to date, removing staples and sewing the booklets into acid-free pamphlet binders.

• Journal re-housing: Thelibrary’sjour-nal collection consists of over 200 cur-rent and archival periodical titles. Our preservation work with the periodicals includes removing the journals from their old acidic enclosures, sorting out duplicates, cataloging and re-housing the journals in new acid-free boxes. When this work is completed, we will

send them out to be scanned for inclu-sion in an internet archive.

• Cataloging:Since thebeginningoftheyear, we have cataloged 2000 items, including books, articles, and individ-ual issues of periodicals. Six drawers of articles are yet to be cataloged, along with several shelves of older books, and many of the periodicals. Newly purchased editions of Steiner’s works will need to be cataloged as well.

• Andfinally,we alsorecently preserved35 �le boxes of archival materials, in-cluding the papers of Henry Monges and Henry Barnes, then placed them in new, non-acidic boxes and brought them to a climate-controlled facility in Poughkeepsie, NY, where we hope to have them processed by an expert archivist. Our �rst two out-of-town volunteers, Gloria Cooper and James Johnson, arrived just in time to help.

�e library is a hub of enthusiastic and im-portant activity, and much remains to be done. If you are interested in books, or an-throposophy, or preservation, we welcome your participation. Please contact Judith or Seth at rsteinerlibrary@gmail.com to volunteer or learn more.

We are grateful for the diligent and caring work of our volunteers. We couldn’t do it without you! Many thanks!!

Want to learn more about what’s up at the Rudolf Steiner Library?

Visit our blog at www.library.anthroposophy.org/ and

like us on Facebook