Flashmob cataloguing

Has anyone ever considered doing flashmob cataloguing in London? (Like the US LT-ers have been doing for some time now!)

I'd certainly be up for it.

Likewise!

Good to see some interest. We'd need more than three people to make it work, though. And a first project would have to be something quite small, I think, almost like a practice round.

Agreed.

I'd be up for joining in.

I'd imagine there's a lot of legwork necessary up front, though -- finding a candidate library, talking it through with the custodians, arranging for computers to use (or at least power and network access for those who can bring laptops), etc. And I'm not particularly up for that.

MonkeyRobo: Indeed. I will start keeping an eye out for a candidate library, though.

See this thread re a suggestion of a legacy library for Richmal Crompton, which is at Roehampton University in SW London.

I'd definitely be interested (sorry to revive and old thread, but I've only just stumbled on this group) - I have a couple of vague ideas for possible targets too, so I'll ask a few questions, gauge some interest ...

Hey Alex -- that's great. Let us know your thoughts.

The Feminist Library is currently moving everything from a card catalogue to online system. We're always looking for more volunteers to help us do it; there's only about 14 of us and over 12000 items to catalogue!

Me, too! Feminist Library sounds like a good one to be online. And how about the Saison Poetry Library on the South Bank?

Sorry, only found this now!
Ooh. Feminist Library sounds good. How do we get in touch with them though?
There are some library reserves in London - reserve bookcases at Hammersmith Library, children's fiction reserve (gorgeous old stuff) at Stoke Newington Library, and I think there's some kind of reserve in Wandsworth too. Westminster libraries seem to be fairly up to date (though not sure because I'm not a member there).

A bit late to the party, it seems, but I have a manageable candidate for a flashmob. The library consists of around 500 books, going right back to the 16th century. It belonged to the author Peter Hobson, a scholar, translator, and linguist whose central interest was the truth within the world's religions. Accordingly, many of the books are in foreign languages, and something like 200 of them have titles in non-Roman scripts.

So, would any London-based LTers be interested in heading out to Chislehurst, near Bromley, to have a crack at cataloguing these? (At least the ones with titles that use the Roman alphabet, that is.) I believe it won't be long before the collection is dispersed by his relatives.

As a side note, I'm not sure whether Hobson would satisfy the criteria for a Legacy Library. Any thoughts?

Possibly. I'm in the right part of the world, though I don't have a laptop.

Are you familiar with Hobson's work? It looks like his author page could do with splitting, assuming he isn't the guy writing about autism and such like.

Might be worth dropping Jeremy a line re suitability as an LL (I don't see why not though).

I have split the Peter Hobson page. Brunellus's man has only one work, a translation of Chinese poetry. The more prolific (at least on LT) authors are a Professor of Developmental Psychopathology interested in autism and an Australian exorcist - well, a cleric who has written on demonic possession and exorcism, at any rate.

>15 abbottthomas:
Good work! Is it me, or is it a rule that any anglophone name on LT common enough to need spitting at least a few ways has to contain an author of Christian works of some level of esotericism?

>16 mart1n: 'Martin's Law', perhaps? ;-)

>15 abbottthomas: Thanks, abbotthomas – I had noticed that the author page needed splitting, but I was in a bit of a rush yesterday. Most helpful. (Incidentally, your moniker reminds me that I must read some M. R. James – for a medievalist who's obsessed with Poe, it seems a logical next step. I got a collection of Lovecraft stories for Christmas, though, so that's what I'm reading at the moment.)

>14 mart1n: mart1n, great to hear that you live so near. I'm sure we could sort you out with a laptop for the purpose. (I actually have a CueCat, but somehow I don't think it would be a great help with this particular collection…)

I'll hold back on asking Jeremy the Legacy Library question until I have a better idea about whether this is going to happen. So, any other LondonThingers?