Robert A. Mason Collection Sale Raises $229,000 for Library Digitization

"When Bob retired, he started visiting for days at a time, and developed deep relationships with the staff here, recalled Scott English, the APS executive director, in a recent phone conversation about Robert A. Mason's unexpected - and hefty - 2017 bequest to the American Philatelic Research Library.

With no family of his own, Mr. Mason in his later years had found companionship and support at the library, often inviting staff to lunch.

English continued. to the organization when he died.

The initial part of Mr. Mason's estate allowed the APRL to retire its mortgage debt. The substantial collection Mr. Mason left behind of his specialty area, U.S. and worldwide revenue stamps, was then offered in two sales by Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auctions.

English said the proceeds from the two sales will provide seed money for the APRL's digitization project, which has been gradually ramping up: over 1,300 new journals have been added so far this year, bringing the total to almost 5,000. All of these are now available free and unrestricted to visitors.

The APRL digital holdings have been renamed the Robert A. Mason Digital Library in honor of the generous bequest.

Thanks in part to the publicity the Rumsey sales brought to the digitization project, requests for research in that area have also jumped substantially, according to English. While the number of visitors seeking assistance in the physical library remains steady, library staff now responds to some 900 requests every month for help in the digital holdings, a several-fold increase during the past couple of years.

Thanks to the sales of Mr. Mason's collection, the library is moving forward on the digitization project at a faster pace than previously planned, English said.

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Robert A. Mason Collection Sale Raises $229,000 for Library Digitization(https://stamps.org/news/c/news/cat/aps-news/post/robert-a-mason-collection-sale-raises-229-000-for-library-digitization)

For more information on the American Philatelic Research Library, see:
https://stamps.org/services/library