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Dear Lib-Histers, Peter Hoare is spot on about the general lack of histories of private libraries particularly those belonging to the gentry and nobility. This is something I encountered throughout my PhD research on country house libraries. Those which are well-documented tend to the most obvious collections such as Chatsworth or Althorp (I have been guilty myself of adding to the published output on Althorp even though it is already fairly well covered). Stowe (or rather the great sale in 1848) seems to be another favoured topic. There are a great many houses with good libraries which could easily form the subject of interesting histories. The Northumberland collections at Syon and Alnwick being one of my own particular favourites. There is currently a study of collections in East Anglia (including such gems as Blickling, Holkham and Houghton) but apart from that little seems to be being done. Furthermore, it is the smaller collections in lesser country houses which could offer the greatest scope particularly because these properties and collections tend to be less well documented. For my honours dissertation as an undergraduate - when I was young and innocent - I catalogued a small book collection (as opposed to an actual 'library') belonging to a long-established family of Lairds in the North-East of Scotland. I would wholeheartedly endorse everything which Peter and Mark say with regard to that experience. One of the regrets of my PhD is that I could not devote as much time and effort to examining the history of particular collections in as much depth as I would have liked. Members may be interested to know that my thesis - the development of a national heritage policy for country house libraries - is currently with examiners and the viva will, hopefully, be before the end of May. Best wishes, Peter. Peter H. Reid, Lecturer, School of Information and Media, The Robert Gordon University, Garthdee Road, ABERDEEN, AB10 7QE. Telephone: +44 (0)1224 263927 Email: [log in to unmask] Si monumentum requiris, circumspice %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%