American Philatelic Research Library (APRL) has announced that Thomas J. Alexander has donated his entire postal history research archive and library to the APRL.
According to an e-mail announcement by the APRL, "The donation
includes Alexander’s entire philatelic library, consisting of many
hundreds of books, along with copious notes, clippings, and research
files. The materials reflect his broad range of interests, including but
not limited to the early United States postal issues, steamboat mail,
western forts, and the postal history of Kansas and Missouri. Also
included are many photocopies of collections and exhibits, both his own
and those of other now-departed postal historians. Over the coming
months, the assemblage of materials will be inventoried in detail,
catalogued, and stored for use by philatelic scholars."
The gift was
facilitated by the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society Inc. (USPSC), of which
Alexander was President in 1981-1984. The USPCS provided a grant to
cover shipping the 326 bankers boxes to Bellefonte, and the hiring of a
library intern to process the collection and create a finding aid.
Shown above, Tara Murray, Director of Information Services/Librarian with some of the donated material.
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