Managing the library
He keeps the collection of the lodge in order, catalogues new acquisitions and sees to the lending and return of books.
Office of the lodge · Dutch Freemasonry
Bibliothecaris
Librarian
The keeper of the books: the lodge as a place of learning.
- Place in the lodge
- Among the brothers, and in the library
- Jewel of the office
- An open book
- In particular care of
- The books and documentation
The Bibliothecaris manages the books and documentation of the lodge. He keeps the library in order, advises brothers on what to read, and preserves the papers that brothers have given over the years.
Freemasonry is a path of self-knowledge, and reading is one of its oldest tools. The ritual gives the symbols; the books help to understand them, to place them in history and to discover what others have found in them. The Librarian opens that treasury for every brother who seeks it.
Origins
History of the office
From the eighteenth century onward lodges collected books: rituals, constitutions, histories and philosophical works. Freemasonry was a child of the Enlightenment, and the lodge was also a place where men educated themselves.
The Netherlands has a remarkable heritage in this field. The library of the Grand East in The Hague, today housed in the Cultural Masonic Centre Prince Frederik (Cultureel Maçonniek Centrum Prins Frederik), is one of the largest Masonic collections in the world. Its core is the collection of the German Masonic historian Georg Kloss, acquired in the nineteenth century under Prince Frederik of the Netherlands, who served as of the Order for more than sixty years.
Most lodges have a smaller collection of their own, built up by gifts from brothers and purchases over the years. Together with the papers given in the lodge, that collection forms the intellectual memory of the lodge.
Bibliothecaris
What the office involves
Advising on reading
He advises brothers, especially apprentices and , on books suited to the degree they are studying.
Preserving the papers
He keeps the papers (bouwstukken) given in the lodge, so that later brothers can read and build on them.
Acquisitions
He proposes new acquisitions, and accepts with gratitude the books brothers wish to give to the lodge.
A bridge to wider sources
He points brothers to larger collections, such as the library in The Hague, and to the many sources now available online.
In practice
How it works in a Dutch lodge
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Appointment
He is elected or appointed according to the custom of the lodge, usually a brother who loves books and knows the literature of the Craft.
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The library room
In many lodge buildings the library is a room of its own, where brothers can read before or after the work.
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Presentations
In some lodges he regularly presents a book, or introduces a theme from the literature of Freemasonry.
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Digital
Increasingly he also manages digital documentation, and helps brothers find their way in online sources.
What the office asks
- Love of books
- Curiosity
- Order
- Generosity with knowledge
- Patience with seekers
The lesson for every brotherThe is taught the seven liberal arts and sciences: knowledge as a way to shape the mind. The Librarian reminds every brother that study is work on the stone, and that no one finishes learning.
To reflect on
- Which book has changed the way you look at yourself?
- What are you studying now, and why?
- With whom do you share what you have learned?
Whether or not you hold this office, each office mirrors a task that every Freemason carries within himself.