The Annual General Meeting 2015

The one hundred and twenty-third Annual General Meeting was held at The Stationers’ Company, Stationers’ Hall, Ave Maria Lane, London ec4m 7dd, on Tuesday, 20 October 2015. The President, Professor Henry Woudhuysen, was in the Chair. The minutes of the previous Annual Meeting (which had been printed in The Library for June 2015) were taken as read, seconded by Miss Robin Myers, and confirmed.

In giving an overview of past year, the President noted that the Society has granted c. £18,000 in support of bibliographical research through its Fellow ships and Bursaries programme; it has an active publishing programme in both hard- and e-format; it has launched a new scheme to attract legacies to support the work of the Society; and G. Thomas Tanselle has been chosen as the Gold Medallist. The date for the presentation of the Gold Medal has not been set yet and members were advised to consult the website in the spring.

The President then read out the names of members who have died over the past year.

Professor Woudhuysen proposed the adoption of the Annual Report for 2014–15 as circulated in advance of the Annual Meeting; it was seconded by Professor Mirjam Foot and carried.

The Treasurer presented the Accounts for 2014. They are the first set of accounts made by independent examination rather than full audit; this new way of examining the accounts had been recommended by our auditors. The accounts show a healthy balance sufficient for the Society’s activities. Subscription income is stable; investment had increased; and income from sales of The Library on-line through OUP remains strong, resulting in income of just over £75,000. The Society remains aware of the potential instability of the OUP income and budgets accordingly. Expenditure on Fellowship and Bursaries and new publications remained at about the same levels. There were no questions from the floor, and the Treasurer proposed the adoption of the Accounts. This was seconded by Dr David Pearson, and carried. The proposal to re-appoint the firm Thornton Springer as Auditor for 2015 was also passed, after being seconded by Dr David Pearson.

The President explained that as a result of changes to terms of office some years ago, no members of Council are due to rotate off this year, and therefore no new members are to be elected.

All existing officers were willing to serve in their respective positions for another one-year term; their election was proposed, seconded by Professor Foot, and carried.

The President asked for any other business and a question from the floor enquired about forthcoming publications. Dr David Pearson, Chairman of the Publications sub-committee, outlined publications in progress. A mono graph on the life and library of Geste by David Selwyn which should appear in 2016 and, over the next 3–4 years, publications will include a census of 15th- and 16th-century printers’ and booksellers’ catalogues by Chris Coppens and a dictionary of the 19th-century Dublin booktrade by Charles Benson. The Society is also actively expanding the book trade databases hosted at Oxford. A question was asked about the Society’s response to the threatened closure of the St Bride’s library, and the President stated that the matter was being considered by the Society and that David Pearson had written to St Bride’s on behalf of Council but had not yet received a reply.

At the close of the Annual Meeting Miss Robin Myers gave a brief history of the Stationers’ Company and invited members to see the exhibits laid out.

Annual Report 2014–15

Officers of the Society

• President: H. Woudhuysen; Past Presidents: J. Barnard; D. R. S. Pearson; C. Y. Ferdinand; Vice-Presidents: K. Jensen, M. L. Ford, J. Raven; R. A. Linenthal; Hon. Secretary: M. L. Ford; Hon. Treasurer: R. A. Linenthal; Hon. Librarian: R. Myers; Hon. Editors of The Library: W. Poole and J. Willoughby; Hon. Editor of Monographs: D. J. Shaw.

• Council: G. Bergel, M. Curran, C. Dondi, C. Fletcher, J. Ing Freeman, J. Hinks, K. Limper-Herz, M. Payne and D. McKitterick.

Membership

• The membership of...