Charles William Frederick Goss (1864–1946) was an English librarian, polemicist and cataloguing innovator. He worked in English public libraries at the turn of, and the early, twentieth century, and was prominent among opponents of open access libraries in the UK.
Goss was born in Denmark Hill, in South London, in 1864. He worked in Birkenhead and Newcastle public libraries, before becoming the first librarian in Lewisham (beating 300 other applicants to the post). He was forced out of this post, and left to become the librarian at the Bishopsgate Institute until he retired.[1][2] While there, he campaigned to raise the status and pay of library staff. He retired in 1941, and died five years later.[3] Whilst there, he established some of their special collections in London history, labour history, freethought and humanism.[4]
Open access controversyEdit
Goss was a vocal opponent of the move to open access libraries (as opposed to closed access, where staff would fetch titles requested by readers, from the stacks)[2][5] In 1898 he obtained an apology from James Duff Brown in the course of their heated debate in the pages of the library press after threatening him with a libel action. Duff Brown had been at the forefront of introducing open access.[3]
Descriptive cataloguingEdit
Goss preferred the printed dictionary catalogue to the card catalogue.[3] He further attempted to improve the usefulness of catalogues as a search tool, by adding a short description, close to what would now be considered an abstract of the text. This extra description of books was intended to complement and assist in closed access collections.[6] One such catalogue he produced was A Descriptive Bibliography of the Writings of George Jacob Holyoake for the Bishopsgate library.
WorksEdit
Crosby Hall: a chapter in the History of London (1908)
The London Directories, 1677-1855 (1932)
A Descriptive Bibliography of the Writings of George Jacob Holyoake (1908).
Further readingEdit
The public librarian in modern London (1890–1914): the case of Charles Goss at the Bishopsgate Institute. Michelle Johansen. (unpublished thesis), University of East London, 2006
ReferencesEdit
^"Bishopsgate Institute – Charles Goss". Home › Library › Library and Archive Collections › London History › Goss, Charles. Bishopsgate Institute. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
^ abJohansen, Michelle (2003). "A fault-line in library history: Charles Goss, The Society of Public Librarians, and 'the Battle of the Books' in the Late Nineteenth Century". Library History. 19 (2): 75–91. doi:10.1179/lib.2003.19.2.75. ISSN 0024-2306. S2CID 143572448.
^ abc Harris, C. W. J. (1970). "Charles Goss (1864–1946): Portrait of a Reactionary". Library World.
^"Special collections in the heart of the city: Bishopsgate Library". Copac. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
^Skelton, Val. . Information Today Europe. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
charles, goss, american, clergyman, author, charles, frederic, goss, charles, william, frederick, goss, 1864, 1946, english, librarian, polemicist, cataloguing, innovator, worked, english, public, libraries, turn, early, twentieth, century, prominent, among, o. For the American clergyman and author see Charles Frederic Goss Charles William Frederick Goss 1864 1946 was an English librarian polemicist and cataloguing innovator He worked in English public libraries at the turn of and the early twentieth century and was prominent among opponents of open access libraries in the UK Charles William Frederick GossBorn1864Denmark Hill London EnglandDied1946London EnglandNationalityEnglishOccupation s BibliographerLibrarianKnown forPolemics against open access libraries Contents 1 Life and career 2 Open access controversy 3 Descriptive cataloguing 4 Works 5 Further reading 6 ReferencesLife and career EditGoss was born in Denmark Hill in South London in 1864 He worked in Birkenhead and Newcastle public libraries before becoming the first librarian in Lewisham beating 300 other applicants to the post He was forced out of this post and left to become the librarian at the Bishopsgate Institute until he retired 1 2 While there he campaigned to raise the status and pay of library staff He retired in 1941 and died five years later 3 Whilst there he established some of their special collections in London history labour history freethought and humanism 4 Open access controversy EditGoss was a vocal opponent of the move to open access libraries as opposed to closed access where staff would fetch titles requested by readers from the stacks 2 5 In 1898 he obtained an apology from James Duff Brown in the course of their heated debate in the pages of the library press after threatening him with a libel action Duff Brown had been at the forefront of introducing open access 3 Descriptive cataloguing EditGoss preferred the printed dictionary catalogue to the card catalogue 3 He further attempted to improve the usefulness of catalogues as a search tool by adding a short description close to what would now be considered an abstract of the text This extra description of books was intended to complement and assist in closed access collections 6 One such catalogue he produced was A Descriptive Bibliography of the Writings of George Jacob Holyoake for the Bishopsgate library Works EditCrosby Hall a chapter in the History of London 1908 The London Directories 1677 1855 1932 A Descriptive Bibliography of the Writings of George Jacob Holyoake 1908 Further reading EditThe public librarian in modern London 1890 1914 the case of Charles Goss at the Bishopsgate Institute Michelle Johansen unpublished thesis University of East London 2006References Edit Bishopsgate Institute Charles Goss Home Library Library and Archive Collections London History Goss Charles Bishopsgate Institute Retrieved 31 July 2012 a b Johansen Michelle 2003 A fault line in library history Charles Goss The Society of Public Librarians and the Battle of the Books in the Late Nineteenth Century Library History 19 2 75 91 doi 10 1179 lib 2003 19 2 75 ISSN 0024 2306 S2CID 143572448 a b c Harris C W J 1970 Charles Goss 1864 1946 Portrait of a Reactionary Library World Special collections in the heart of the city Bishopsgate Library Copac Retrieved 2 August 2012 Skelton Val The first open access debate Information Today Europe Archived from the original on 2 January 2014 Retrieved 2 January 2014 Brown James Duff December 1895 The Library a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Missing or empty title help Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles Goss amp oldid 1121873183, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
