The Harry W. Bass Jr. Library

The Society’s Library, which houses one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of numismatic literature, presently numbers some 100,000 items. These include books, periodicals, manuscripts, photographs, pamphlets, auction catalogs, and microforms, all of which are cataloged.

In addition to numismatic works, the Library has a strong reference collection and a wide selection of non-numismatic periodicals in the areas of archaeology, art history, economic history and other disciplines.

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Visiting

Those who are able to visit the Library will find that, except for manuscripts, rare books, and some unbound periodicals, much of the collection is arranged on open stacks. This allows visitors to browse freely, although the collections do not circulate and items must always be used on the ANS premises. With the use of the online catalog and assistance from the professional staff, it does not take long for one to learn the arrangement of the collection and to move freely throughout the Library in the course of research.

Hours

Monday–Friday
9:30 am–4:30 pm

Weekends: Closed. May also be closed on or before holidays and during inclement weather.

Contact us by calling 212.571.4470 x170 or email.

Visiting Fees

Members: Free
Non-members: $20/day
Students and Contingent Faculty: Free (Valid student ID required)

Government photo ID required

All materials must be used within the ANS premises.

ANS Partnerships

In 2015, the ANS entered into a partnership with the Newman Numismatic Portal (NNP) to digitize items from the Society’s archival and library collections. These materials are available through the NNP’s website and also at Internet Archive, a non-profit online library offering millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.

With this partnership, nearly all of the library’s collection of early American auction catalogs are now online, along with some foreign catalogs, including those published by Sotheby’s and Glendining. In addition, records and personal papers relating to two of the most important American coin collections ever assembled, by Virgil Brand and the Garretts of Baltimore, have also been scanned and made available online. The business correspondence of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century coin dealership firm of S. H. & H. Chapman, a collection that fills twenty-two large boxes and includes letters from over 2,500 correspondents, is just another example of the many important ANS items and collections that have been scanned and can now be found online. The Newman Numismatic Portal’s project coordinator, ANS Fellow Len Augsburger, has been vital to the success of this partnership, which provides benefits to the ANS beyond digitization, including improvements to the library’s catalog records and the physical rehousing of archival materials. The daily work is done by the scanning technicians, at first by John Graffeo and then by Lara Jacobs.

Reproductions

Scanning and Photocopy services are provided in accordance with the terms of the Copyright Law of the United States. For copy jobs performed by staff, there is a minimum fee of $10.00 for members and $20.00 for non-members. Articles longer than 40 pages will follow a fee schedule of $.25 per page for members and $.50 per page for non-members. There is no minimum fee for visitors making their own copies, which are charged at a rate of $.20 per page for members and $.40 per page for non-members. Note that for orders larger than 100 copies, additional fees will apply. Please inquire for details and quotes (generally $10-20 additional per set of 100 exposures).

All payments are to be made in US dollars. Checks must be drawn on US banks. Payment may also be done with credit card (an invoice will be sent via PayPal. You do not need to be a PayPal member to use this service in most countries). Please note also that requests should be limited to brief articles or relevant passages. Items that might be damaged in copying will not be reproduced.

Photography services are also available. Due to the fragile nature of some items, photography is the only available option for reproduction. Fees and restrictions of collection photography apply.

Please contact the librarian for additional details on any of these services or to request a quote for photograph orders. Note that photograph orders are processed digitally, and additional fees may apply for printed formats. Orders are processed on a first-come, first-served basis and will be answered in 2-4 weeks from receipt of payment (unless rush service is requested, which requires additional fees).

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research”. If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use“, that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

The American Numismatic Society supports fair useopen access publishing, Creative Commons, Open Data Commons and the efforts of the Electronic Frontier Foundation but, reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

Intern or Volunteer

The History of the ANS Library

Conducting Research in the ANS Archives

Proper Citation Formats

Numismatic Archival Collections in Other U.S. Repositories

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