Denis: Your S&T collection sounds very interesting.
Perhaps I should explain my reason for wanting to build an extensive library, in addition to loving books and relevant journals. Many people here know that I have an observatory in La Palma. Within the next 15 months or so I will sell up my house in the UK and move to LP, taking my library with me(*). I also want my place to be a self-supporting research observatory, even after I eventually snuff it. Astro-tourism, on-site astronomy classes and visual observing sessions, and remote access to the telescopes will help fund things, as would renting the house to tourists in general. Part of a well-equipped observatory is an extensive library, both historical and immediately practical. BAA members and the BAA as an organization have helped me extend the library greatly in the last few years.
I already have a century or so of BAAH, JBAA, The Observatory, and decades of other journals such as MNRAS. Atlases range from C19 Proctor to the Millennium Star Atlas. A few hundreds of books are also present, from Sir John Herschel to vol. 11 of Annals of the Deep Sky which came out late last year. Around 100 books and a smattering of atlases are already in La Palma. I make sure that I top-out the airlines’ hold baggage allowance …
Paul
(*) Six boxes of journals were packed up and put into storage ready for shipping today alone. Perhaps 30 will be needed for the complete collection.
