St. Paul's Cathedral Library

Photo courtesy of http://www.stpauls.co.uk/Cathedral-History

Cathedral Library

This library is in the process of cataloging their collection into a database,although it will not be web-based.  It is 85% complete and takes even longer than expected because they do not 'copy catalog' or import from OCLC.  Doing so would create what Joe Widsom refered to as "noise".  Noise refers to copy specific data that makes each monograph unique.  Each item has its own valuable provenance, and individually cataloging an item will retain that exceptional value. 

An interesting note Mr. Widsom spoke of in terms of special collections is rule #1 and rule #2 - never get rid of an outdated catalog.  Although this seems like something a library would weed, as an old catalog is not useful for patrons, it showcases the progression of the collection. 

The earliest item in the collection is a 12th century Book of Psalms.   

Visit their site at http://www.stpauls.co.uk/