THE ROLE OF THE MASONIC
RESEARCH “E-LIBRARY”
By Ralph W. Omholt
In the first
decade of the 21st Century, the world cultures are facing the
requirement of a new discipline – “Information Management.” Freemasonry is
as challenged in that regard, as any institution. But, where does one even
begin?
As W. Brother
Mark Tabbot illustrates, there is a certain demand/mandate for the
electronic archiving of Masonic records; an ambitious and laudable task,
to be certain. With the marvels of the computer age, such a monumental
task is achievable. Yet there is a more immediate demand – primary Masonic
education. In modern times, that task mandates the formation of Masonic
“E-Libraries;” accessible through the Internet. The immediate question
goes to the priority of such material.
As has been said in so
many ways, few members know very much about the Craft, beyond the routine
of the ‘ritual.’ The Craft is losing both participation and membership, as
“Masonry” is typically identified by rather routine ritual and the conduct
of Lodge ‘business.’ The term “boring” is often employed in that regard.
Where is the excitement which once crowded Masonic events of all types?
That excitement has to be resurrected; fitted to a nearly radically
evolved society.
Freemasonry is desperate
for a renaissance – but, what would that look like? If one knows nothing
of what once created a world-class excitement, what ‘change’ can be
anticipated?
Too few members
appreciate the magnitude of Masonic ignorance; and its role in the
declining membership. Unfortunately, that ignorance is typical of all the
Masonic bodies. Consider the price; count the empty seats in the typical
Masonic meeting – of any Masonic body! The problem is easily quantified.
The answers to
the more popular questions point to the relative non-availability of
pertinent Masonic information, compounded by a prominent apathy toward any
particular Masonic culture. That, of course illustrates the demand for
Masonic education – add entertainment and the cultural features of the
Craft. Masonry has its art, poetry, music, entertainment and certainly its
history. Where is it to be readily discovered? There’s the challenge.
History is vital to any
group, in terms of
“He who knows and understands the past; knows the future.”
The constancy of human nature dictates that truth. The technology and
monuments to history change; the importance of history does not. Recombine
the culture and history of the Craft; and you have a winning combination –
with appropriate adjustments for social alterations, such as the prejudice
against smoking and drinking; add the ‘substitutive’ nature of modern
television and the Internet.
The mandate is to leave
anyone in contact with the Craft with the persuasion, “I go there, because
I feel so good when I leave!”
The value of Freemasonry
is to be discovered in its past. With regard to the successful fraternity
of Freemasonry, the descriptor “…. Back to the future” is a vital concept.
Masonic history betrays a success formula; if it can be discovered.
Yet there is an
impending dilemma – the information is contained within a broad expanse of
libraries, which are typically locked up, with few local members or
officers in possession of significant Masonic education. There is where
electronic access to Masonic history truly becomes a “mandate.”
History and its
functioning knowledge are that important. Add intuition to knowledge, one
then encounters what is routinely referred to as
“wisdom.”
The Masonic fraternity
brags of tens of thousands of books, yet few know the approximate quantity
of books, let alone the topics and titles of such works – add ignorance of
the contents!
Imagine trying
to make Freemasonry attractive to a doctor, lawyer or professor. What can
be employed as the critical message, within an anticipated 20-second
attention span? Think to the enticement of offering to E-mail him the
appropriate book(s). Imagine that, “E-Mailing” a person a book – we’ve
come that far!
Freemasonry
even offers ‘Hollywood” excitement in such movies as
“The Man Who Would be
King” and
“National Treasure.”
The movie, “The
DaVinci Code,” prominently illustrated some of the Masonic
history. No doubt, the upcoming movie,
“Angels and Demons,”
will increase the interest in Masonic history. Masonic
history should be a nearly infinite source of excitement for Masons, in
particular – add potential members. As of late, it’s not. The ‘peak
experience’ of Masonic excitement should be discovered in a Lodge room,
not a commercial theater or from a DVD of fiction.
The upcoming
movie, “Angels
and Demons,” will be addressing the association of the
“Illuminati” to the Craft. There is hardly enough association in history
to talk about, yet, who is prepared to authoritatively answer the obvious
questions? And, those questions will arise. How many Masons are remotely
prepared to offer accurate information?
If there is a
single ‘treasure’ to be had in Freemasonry, the element of “passion” is
that treasure; the history books clearly leave that legacy. Yet, without
access and investment into the Masonic literature, the Lodge and Chapter
meetings are nominally beyond a structured and boring business meeting.
‘Excellence in ritual’ is one source for that passion, education, research
and ‘discovery’ add to the experience. In that process, the element of
“fellowship” must be there.
Studying the
past will yield the future; no information + no study = no future! It’s
that simple.
Read Masonic
history! The Craft used to be a major source of entertainment, excitement,
social opportunity, career opportunity, public recognition and personal
pride. People threw major percentages of their income into the Craft – the
payback was worth the investment. Then, over time, something changed.
In the modern
world of high-quality television and the Internet, Freemasonry competes
for the discretionary time of an entire populace. The Craft can still be
an exciting and entertaining place – but how would anyone know?
Masonically,
the color “blue” is associated with ‘fidelity.’ Why do they call a Lodge
of Master Masons a “Blue Lodge?” Nobody knows – they didn’t bother looking
for the answer! (Coil’s Encyclopedia for starters.) Except for the general
non-availability of the historical literature, the situation could be
called “incredibly absurd.” Yet, if nothing changes, the situation will
continue to be “undeniably absurd.”
In a world of
PC-induced social catatonia (shutting down), what of Masonic fellowship?
No one seems to even have an operating definition of “fellowship,” with
the solution being in the history of Freemasonry, begging re-discovery and
adaptation to modern cultures.
(“Fellowship” – The giving and sharing of tangible and intangible ‘gifts’,
as well as resources, among a number of people.”)
{One viable definition.}
As the greatest of
Masonic books literally decay in locked libraries and book cases, there is
a fear, nigh unto threat, of a permanent loss of Freemasonry’s literary
and fraternal greatness. Now, given the wonders of computers, it is
possible to re-print those same books, on fresh paper. Much is yet to
be done. The Craft can recover; all it takes is a set of adaptation
measures for the current culture. It starts with researching the past – if
one can!
Being both responsible
and objective, it must be acknowledged that there is that certain “gray
shield,” which slows the progress of the Craft into the 21st
Century. In the last three years, advance copies of the E-Library, listed
below, have been given to Grand Masters of the U.S. and Canada – but, who
has heard of these files? Among Masons, ‘change’ is regarded as almost a
reference to an obscenity. Ironically, the Masonic academicians know that
the Craft has been in a constant state of ‘change,’ since its beginning.
Perhaps the adaptations of the Craft have occurred so slowly, that the
‘change’ is little noticed; and not regarded in the stereotypical
perspective of ‘change.’ Given modern technology, the required educational
adaptation is both necessary and easy.
It is highly doubtful
that computer screens will ever be an effective substitute for
‘hard-copy.’ (That’s what the ‘print’ button is for!) As it stands, when
it comes to Masonic literature, the availability of the hard-bound volumes
is limited by the quantitative survival of the oldest of the Masonic
books; and their physical access. The good news is that, slowly, the
electronic availability of Masonic books is increasing. The obvious
immediate advantage to electronic information is that the content can be
very easily printed. Many of the ‘key’ texts are available as re-prints,
however lacking in quality and somewhat expensive.
“More” electronic
conversion is needed. Most importantly, more “access” is needed; be it
research computer stations, or books downloadable from the Internet.
It is academic that the
‘modern’ generation of Masons demands ‘Point-‘n-Click” access to Masonic
information. Beyond raw ‘convenience, electronic files can be converted to
any form, including language translation and ‘text-to-speech’ conversion,
for the sight impaired. Eventually, that can be translated into a human
voice production, on par with regular audio E-Books.
It must be mentioned
that the enterprise of scanning of books into text-files (not PDF files)
has its share of ‘secrets.’ They are few and easy – but powerful. It is
possible to easily scan 150 pages per hour – assuming a hymnal sized book;
versus a 12” X 18” book. The key resource is the element of manual labor
and the associated persistence and/or devotion.
The currently available
electronic files represent some of the best volumes available; ranging
from Anderson’s Constitutions through, Preston, Webb, Cross, the Mackey
Encyclopedia and Mackey’s history. Add some of the works of modern British
writers, such as Bernard Jones and Harry Carr. The range of topics extends
into the concordant bodies, as well.
The electronic files,
listed below, have been produced in the hope of a higher quality
environment for the modern Craft; certainly the future of Freemasonry
demands it!
It must be mentioned
that in the USA, material used for legitimate research (not for commercial
sale) is free of copyright protection, regardless of its copyright date.
Certainly, the pre-1923 books are long free of copyright restrictions.
The following list is a
reasonably complete account of Masonic books, which have been scanned into
‘MS Word’ files. In all, there are approximately 80 titles, composed of
approximately 120 volumes. The selection of the titles was made on the
basis of the most historically prominent texts of the Craft.
Most of these titles are
‘research’ quality, meaning that they are in raw-text form, containing a
small percentage of spelling and formatting errors. They are highly
valuable for electronic ‘searching’ and ‘cut-‘n-paste’ citation. With
patience, they are reasonably easy to bring up to
‘near-perfect-reproduction’ standard. (Volunteers welcome!)
Such titles as Mackey’s
Encyclopedia and his 7-volume history have been taken to a
‘near-perfect-reproduction’ standard. The various Monitors have also been
taken to a ‘near-perfect-reproduction’ standard.
It should be
mentioned that along with the ‘text’ of these files, much of the finest
historic Masonic art has been restored, not just ‘included.’ The
Craft is typified by its artwork being largely ‘pen-and-ink,’ versus
color. Much of the art is found in the various ‘Monitors,’ of various
titles. It is appropriate to comment that few Masons know the history of
the evolution of the modern Monitor, let alone that the history - with
associated personalities - is intriguing.
Admittedly,
there are thousands of Masonic books in print; these electronic files are
only a small percentage. Again, many of the hard-bound titles are so aged,
that their physical survival is in question. Certainly access to such
titles is quite limited, whether a Grand Lodge Library, or a limited Lodge
collection of titles. Usually, such volumes are located – and kept -
behind locked doors; or in locked book cases. Still, the currently
available electronic files represent several lifetimes of Masonic
education, and certainly a valuable research platform. Most importantly,
they represent “availability.”
A handful of
these titles are to be found on the Internet, however, those are generally
in PDF (locked-up) format. The available Internet text-files are usually
‘raw’ scanned-only. There are a few titles which approach “near perfect
reproduction;” in text-file format. Those are on the increase, but it
takes great persistence at the keyboard to discover them.
It must be
noted that with the increase of Masonic electronic information,
traditional research is transforming from time-consuming keyboard labor to
“research guidance.” There is a current demand for a book, essentially
titled, “The
History of the History of Freemasonry.” Given what is
available, where would a new Mason begin his education; how should he
proceed? Where would an ‘outsider’ researcher begin and proceed?
It must also
be addressed that the typical mindset quickly goes to the value of these
electronic files. Beyond inherent ‘data’ content, the key value is that of
time; cash-value is a
distant third. Estimating the probable time span, which a committee would
require, the value is self-evident - instant results versus _____ .
As to monetary value, a
conservative estimate of these files is 24,000 pages. At the ‘Kinkos’ rate
of five dollars per page, the ‘scanning’ value starts at
$120,000.00! Add a labor estimate for editing, considering that the text
scanning takes approximately 12 seconds per page. Next, consider the
cash-value of the restoration and insertion of the artwork. Again, it’s
not the monetary value; it’s the
instant availability which makes such files truly a treasure.
Most importantly, where
should the Craft proceed, from this point? That trail is yet to be broken!
SCANNED VOLUMES
(The “NPR” notation in the list, below,
reflects the work
being in the “near-perfect-reproduction”
standard.)
Gould’s History (6 vols)
Mitchell’s History (2
vols.)
Mackey’s Encyclopedia (3
vols.) [NPR]
Mackey’s
“Jurisprudence”
[NPR]
Anderson’s
“Constitutions – 1723”
[NPR]
Mackey’s
“Manual of the Lodge”
[NPR]
“The Prestonian Lectures”
(1921 – 1987) [5 vols]
Clausen’s
“Commentaries on
Morals and Dogma”
Kleinknecht’s
“Forms and Traditions
of the Scottish Rite” [NPR]
“History of the Supreme Council 1801 - 1861”
“History of the Supreme Council 1861 - 1891”
“Illustrated History of freemasonry”
Manly P. Hall
“The Secret Teachings
of All Ages” [NPR – Color Version]
Coil’s
“Freemasonry Through
Six Centuries” (2 vols)
Coil’s
“Conversations on
Freemasonry”
Coil’s
“Encyclopedia”
AQC
“Genesis of
Freemasonry”
Claudy’s
“Master’s Handbook”
Carr’s
“World of Freemasonry”
[NPR]
“Parade to Glory”
(Shrine History) [NPR]
Hutchens
“Bridge to Light”
[NPR]
Robinson’s
“Born in Blood”
“Little Masonic Library”
(6 vols)
“Duncan’s”
[NPR]
“Roynan’s”
[NPR]
Mackey’s
“Principles of
Freemasonry”
Lightfoot’s
“Manual of the Lodge” [NPR]
Jones’
“Freemason’s Book of
the Royal Arch” [NPR]
Morris’
“Freemasonry in the
Holy Land”
[Graphic Format + Text Format]
AQC -
“Genesis of
Freemasonry”
Carr’s -
“Freemasons at Work”
[NPR]
Jones’
“Freemason’s Guide and
Compendium” [NPR]
Macoy’s
“Monitor”
Cartwright’s -
“Commentary on Ritual”
Pritchards
“Masonry Dissected”
[NPR]
Oliver’s
“Antiquities of
Freemasonry”
Sickles’
“Ahiman Rezon”
[Monitor]
Robinson’s
“A Pilgrim’s Path”
Hutchinson’s
“Spirit of Masonry”
Moore’s
“The Craftsman, and
Freemason's Guide”
Ihling Bros. & Everard
“Masonic
Catalog” [NPR]
De Moulin Bros.
“Masonic Catalog”
[NPR]
E.R. Johnson’s
“Masonry Defined”
(Q&A book)
Duncan’s
“Ritual” [NPR]
Knight & Lomas’
“The Hiram Key”
Morris’
“Lights and Shadows of Freemasonry”
Mackey’s
“Symbolism of Freemasonry”
Michaud’s
“History of the
Crusades” [2 vols – Rare Books!]
Engle
“The Order of the
Eastern Star” [NPR]
Voorhis
“Eastern Star”
[NPR]
Baigent & Leigh
“Holy Blood, Holy Grail”
Burman’s
“Templars – Knights of God”
Burman’s
“The Inquisition”
“History of Freemasonry and Concordant Orders”
Howarth’s
“The Knights Templar”
Robinson’s
“Dungeon, Fire & Sword”
Macoy’s
“Masonic Dictionary”
Mackey’s History (7
vols.) [NPR]
“Masonic history of the Northwest”
[Graphic Format + NPR
Text Format]
“History of Freemasonry and Concordant Orders”
Upton’s
“Light on a Dark
Subject” [Prince Hall recognition treatise]
Pike’s
“Morals and Dogma”
[NPR]
Baigent & Leigh
“The
Temple & the Lodge”
Hall’s
“Freemasonry of the Ancient Egyptians”
“MONITOR HISTORY”
Preston’s
“Monitor” [NPR]
Webb’s “Monitor”
[NPR]
Cross’s “Monitor”
[NPR]
Moore’s “Monitor”
[NPR]
Mackey’s
“Monitor” [NPR]
Macoy’s “Monitor”
[NPR]
Wright’s
“Woman and
Freemasonry” [NPR]
Morris’
“The Poetry of Freemasonry”
[NPR Text & Graphic]
Austin’s
“The Well Spent Life”
(2 Vols – Text & Graphic)
[NPR]
Zoercher’s
“Our Heroines”
[EASTERN STAR] [NPR]
Macoy’s
“Adoptive Rite”
[Eastern Star] [NPR]
Macoy’s
“Amaranth Degree”
[Early Eastern Star] [NPR]
Randall’s
“A Century and More of the Order of the Amaranth” [NPR]