Literature Library

Section 1: GPS Research Library Overview

Our Literature Library is currently being relocated to a new location, please understand that during this time requests will be severely delayed and please be patient as we find a new home for our vast literature on Germany Postal History.

The Germany Philatelic Society Research Library is currently located at the Baltimore Philatelic Society clubhouse in Ellicott City, Maryland. The first edition of the library catalog was created in 2002. It was revised and made available on the GPS website for download in 2007. Since that time, there have been many new items added and several sections have been revised and updated.

 

The latest edition is now available for download at the Library Catalog link at the bottom of this page. It is also available as a 3-hole punched hard-copy ($7.00pp) or as a CD ($5.00pp) by mail. Please include payment with your order. See below for contact information. All checks must be made out to W. David Ripley and NOT to the GPS Research Library or the Germany Philatelic Society. The use of actual stamps on all library correspondence is strongly encouraged, commemoratives or semi-postals preferred, because all stamps are donated to youth organizations at stamp shows to help promote the hobby.

 

All GPS members may check-out library items but are required to use the Library Checkout Request Form available for download at the link at the bottom of this page. Any member may also request a free hard-copy of the form by mail or email. See Section 3 for more information about library rules and procedures.

 

Shown at the following links are book covers of items in the library:

Examples: (click for picture of cover)

Glider Mail (in English) B06.174 (In English)

Bavaria Specialized Band I (in German) A02.26 (In German)

For our non-German speaking members, the German/English Philatelic Dictionary, is highly recommended and is available for purchase from the GPS Secretary, Michael Peter, at GPS Service Center, P.O. Box 6547, Chesterfield, MO 63006-6547 or send an email to mpeter@tritechcoatings.com for more information.

 

Section 2: GPS Research Library Contact Information and Table of Contents

 

Don & Lena Unverrich

Librarian

Email: 516mru@gmail.com

Mail: Don & Lena Unverrich

c/o: GPS Library

P. O. Box 10285

Ogden, UT, 84409

U.S.A.

Section 3: Library Rules and Procedures

* GPS members in good standing may check-out any item from the library, unless the item has been identified by the librarian as excessively delicate or valuable.

* Items are lent for a period of 30 days from the day of receipt but low-demand items can be renewed.

* The basic fee is $4.00 for US members, $6.00 for Canadian members, plus $1.00 per requested item, however, the basic fee is our minimum fee that goes toward the media mail postage expense which will cover almost all requests. If the request is for a number of heavy books, the media-mail postage fee may be higher but will be charged at cost. The member will be informed before items are sent. Members living abroad should contact the library first for postage expenses.

* In the event an item is unavailable, an appropriate portion of the fee will be refunded.

* Fees can be only be paid by check, made out to W. David Ripley, or by PayPal as a gift to wdrip3@gmail.com. Note that PayPal can only be accepted as a gift because the library cannot pay the PayPal fee. Do not send cash.

* All requests must include a completely filled out Library Checkout Request Form, which includes the member’s GPS membership number. The form is available for download at the link at the bottom of this page and it is also available on request free of charge from the librarian. Additional copies of the form will be included with items checked out.

* The member must pay return postage and must pack the items securely to ensure return to the library in good condition. This cannot be over emphasized! Pack carefully and securely. Use media mail to minimize postage expense and return to W. David Ripley, III, c/o GPS Research Library, P.O. Box 384, Beltsville, MD 20704, USA.

* Xerox copies of library items may be obtained for 20 cents per page with a minimum fee of $2.40. The maximum number of copies that may be requested is at the librarian’s discretion. In some cases, where the requested item is only 1 or 2 pages long, the librarian may choose to send copies instead the actual item free of change. Xerox copies need not be returned.

* A fine of 20 cents per day per item is chargeable for all library items kept longer than 30 days without being renewed.

* The member is fully responsible for all library items while in his/her possession and will be expected to replace or make suitable restitution for all items lost or damaged while in his/her possession.

* Grounds for suspension of library privileges include: o Failure to remain a GPS member in good standing o Failure to pay library fines o Failure to replace lost library items o Failure to make suitable restitution for damaged library items o Failure to respond to official library correspondence.

* The library also acts as a repository for GPS study group bulletins. This means that each study group that publishes a bulletin is expected to mail a hard copy to the library.

* The vast majority of library items are written in either English or German. However, some items are in French, Italian, Polish or Croatian. If in doubt of the item’s language, be sure to inquire first.

* Donations of German philatelic literature are always welcomed, with few exceptions, and will be acknowledged in the German Postal Specialist. Only certain auction catalogs before 1955 can be accepted. Please inquire first. Because the society is incorporated as a non-profit, educational organization, all donations can be claimed as a deduction for federal income tax purposes.

 

Section 4: The Catalog System

The catalog system is loosely based on the set up of the MICHEL Deutschland-Spezial catalog, Volumes 1 & 2. There are 17 sections (A to S) containing 57 subsections. See Section 5 for a complete listing. All items are cataloged in a basic logical time order beginning with Old German States through Post WWII Germany with additional sections for Catalogs, Periodicals and ending with Remainder (material that may be too broad to fit into any one specific section, topic or category). Each item is listed using an alpha-numeric format as shown below.

 

BOOKS AND PERIODICALS

Example: A01.01

A = Old States

A01 = Baden

A01.01 = Alt-Deutschland unter der Lupe by Mueller Mark,

Vol. 1 – Baden.

A14 = Saxony

A14.05 = Die Alte Sachsenpost by H. Milde and E. Schmidt

 

CLIPPINGS

All the clippings are keep in separate folders and the listings will be found at the end of each subsection. They begin with .500 following the section id and are followed by CL.

Example: B01.500CL

B = Deutsche Reich (1872-1945)

B01 = 1872-1918

B 01.500CL = The “Germania Stamps with Overprints” issued by the

Republic of Poland, 1918 to 1919 by H. Hinz, clipping from

Germania, 5 pp.

 

After selected section listings appears the sub heading “Miscellaneous [non-topic specific]”. This means that the items listed are a compilation of topics within the specific section that contain material relating to two or more areas within that section.

 

 

Section 5: List of Sections

Library Request form —> Click here to download

Library Catalog – (118 page listing of all library materials) – download .5 meg PDF fileClick here