Rare Book Collections
The Cathedral’s rare book collection has been in the news recently. Most media reports have been balanced, but not always complete. We hope the following information will answer any questions you might have.
How large is the Cathedral’s rare book collection and what does it include?
The collection consists of some 8,300 books. Of these, 2,000 are books of hymnody or musicology—mostly American; 1,100 are works of Church history, more than 650 are Books of Common Prayer, and more than 450 are Bibles.
May I view the books in the collection?
The Cathedral’s rare book collection is not available for viewing by the general public.
I have read that the Cathedral is considering selling its rare book collection to raise money. Is this true?
No. The Cathedral’s goal in considering selling, loaning, or donating some of its rare book collection is to ensure that those books are properly preserved and made accessible to scholars and to the public.
How will the Cathedral decide which books to sell?
Of the roughly 8,300 books in the Cathedral’s rare book collection, some 3,700 cannot be sold due to donor restrictions. The Cathedral considers certain other volumes part of its patrimony, such as the Prince Henry Bible, which belonged to the son of King James I, the Gospels in Ge’ez presented to the Cathedral in 1931 by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Salassie, the Bishop Clagget Bible, and other volumes. Books such as these might be lent for display, but will not be sold.
Is a sale imminent?
The Cathedral is currently in very preliminary conversations with the Folger Shakespeare Library about a portion of the collection. No action is imminent.
What principles will govern the sale, loan, or donation of the books?
The Cathedral will be guided by four principles in dealing with a sale, loan, or donation of the books: to behave in a way that builds public trust in our stewardship of the nation’s religious and cultural inheritance; to make our decisions in a transparent fashion; to respect the wishes of the donors who gave us these books in the expectation that they would be continually available to the scholarly community and, on occasion, to the wider public; and to behave in a financially responsible manner.
Are the books being sold to support the Cathedral’s operating budget?
No. The Cathedral Chapter recently approved a balanced budget for fiscal year 2011 (which begins July 1, 2010). The Cathedral is exploring the sale, loan, or donation of books in an effort to be good stewards of these cultural treasures, and to make them more widely accessible. Media headlines and stories that reported the sale of the books in the context of the 2011 budget reductions imply a connection that does not exist.