"Humanity will one day need all of the good examples of small scale it can find." -- Wes Jackson
E. F. Schumacher Society Capital Campaign
As stewards of Fritz Schumacher's personal library and papers, we at the E. F. Schumacher Society recognize that we have in our care an archive every bit as important to the sustainable development movement as Dr. Martin Luther King's library and papers are to the civil rights movement. Schumacher was a pioneer in his integrated thinking about environmental issues. His work offers a clear and compelling vision for a new course of action. Properly stewarded and made more publicly accessible, his library and papers will inspire development and implementation of effective community responses to our current environmental crisis.
In order to make the library and papers of E. F. Schumacher more publicly known and available for research purposes, the E. F. Schumacher Society is undertaking a one million dollar funding initiative: $115,000 for each of two years to hire a staff person to steward and bring forth the collection; $750,000 to build the capacity of the organization through expanding the library and office building; $20,000 for staff to work with the board of directors to complete the funding goal.
Library History
In 1991 the Society launched the E. F. Schumacher Library, a premiere collection of books and pamphlets that provide an academic resource on the history, theory, and practice of developing sustainable communities based on economic, social, and ecological principles. The jewel of this collection is the personal library and archives of E. F. Schumacher, donated in 1995 by his widow, Vreni Schumacher. In August of 2007, Schumacher's daughter, Barbara Wood, contacted the E. F. Schumacher Society to say that she wished to donate the remaining books and personal letters of her father so that a complete archival collection would be available for research purposes.
To accommodate the library collection, in 1990 the Society began renovation of the upper 2,000 square feet of its office building, acquired a library computer cataloguing system, developed a subject index to reflect the specialized nature of the collection, and began the cataloguing process. Since the launch of the library, Schumacher Society staff has catalogued over 11,000 books and pamphlets. The electronic catalogue is available on the Society’s website (www.smallisbeautiful.org), where it can be accessed and searched by scholars around the world.
The wood-framed building housing the library, designed and built by Schumacher Society founding president Robert Swann, is beautifully situated on the side of Jug End Mountain in the Berkshire region of Massachusetts. This space has served well, but as the Society's programs and library collection continue to grow, additional room and modifications are necessary to manage programs more efficiently and professionally. In anticipation of our growing needs some work on the first floor level—including site work, waterproofing of foundation, upgrading of electric service, and placing utilities underground—has been done.
Need for Expansion
Along with Fritz Schumacher, Jane Jacobs was the person who best articulated a strategy for sustainable production. She called for renewal of regional economies with strategies of import-replacement--meaning looking for ways to produce locally what was imported from outside the region. In two later books, Systems of Survival and Dark Age Ahead, she specifically names local economic projects of the E. F. Schumacher Society as ones to be emulated. Jane Jacobs was a good friend to the Society and her passing in 2006 meant the loss of an important voice for responsible change. But before her death she wrote a letter of support for completion of the E. F. Schumacher Library:
. . . The project is enormously worthwhile. Serious demand (in fact sheer need) for local, decentralist economic initiatives is on the rise, hence also need for a facility that both collects and disseminates pertinent information. The E. F. Schumacher Library’s definition of “pertinent,” including both practice and theory, and linking local economic initiatives with environmental, social and regional concerns, is excellent: vital to constructive, long-term results.
Beyond the Schumacher Collection
Part of influencing new thinking and envisioning model programs is having a well-organized and accessible body of fundamental research. In addition to Fritz Schumacher's library and papers, the E. F. Schumacher Society houses important other collections focused on worker ownership, community supported farming, appropriate technology, intentional communities, small schools, and community economics—further elaborating the ideas in Small Is Beautiful.
To date these resources have been well cared for but have not been actively developed as a point of reference for those working in the sustainable development field. An additional 1,800 square feet of space, partly funded by your generous donation, would make the library more accessible to visitors, increase the efficiency of Schumacher Society staff, and provide a functional location for convening Society conferences and seminars.
Expanding Capacity and Influence
The 1,800 square feet first floor of the Library building offers the perfect place for the organization to grow its activities. Over the past few years, with donations from members, additional work has been done on the building in preparation for renovation of this space.
- A new septic system was installed to accommodate future use of the building;
- The foundation of the building was cleaned, sealed, waterproofed, and insulated to secure the ground level ahead of renovation work;
- Underground electric and phone services were upgraded;
Visitors to the library often spend long periods just browsing the collection. The depth of ideas contained on the shelves are at once inspiring and intimidating. New staff devoted to developing the collection would lead researchers through the material with personal interaction at the library and a series of annotated bibliographies. Through constant stewardship and dissemination the ideas within the library would be enlivened and presented more practically to visitors.
Please join with others to help the E. F. Schumacher Society meet its Capital Campaign Goal of $1,000,000.
The Board of Directors thanks you for your contribution.
Please make your tax-deductible gift to:
E. F. Schumacher Society, 140 Jug End Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230 USA
Go to the secure online donation form (Visa/Mastercard) or use the printable donation form and send by mail.
To arrange a donation of stock or securities, please contact Susan Witt at the Society's office: (413) 528-1737, efssociety@smallisbeautiful.org
