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DENNIS J DUGGAN, HON LIBRARIAN

I have been the Deerstalkers librarian since 2006, and in that time have seen the collection expand steadily – and it continues to do so.

The library is, of course, mainly concerned with Sherlock Holmes.  However some items relevant to the period are on the shelves, including a copy of the Bradshaw railway timetable and books about London and London life.

Over the years the canon has been published in numerous editions, varying only in presentation and appearance.  But the different versions are of interest. For example some have illustrations, or forewords by the editor.

The library contains several pastiches of the Holmes and Watson tales, thus amongst other things we have the duo on the Titanic, or fighting Dracula!  Some are quite readable, others less so.  And of course there seems to be a limitless supply of previously untold tales, these invariably coming to light in a bank vault.  Apparently they could not be published at the time because the contents were too sensitive!

But not only do we have books.  The collection includes a large selection of cassettes, CD’s, video tapes and DVD’s.  Thus we can watch films and TV series whenever we wish, from Basil Rathbone to Jeremy Brett.  Or listen to those stories originally heard on the radio.

Another section is concerned with Sherlock Holmes magazines, and newsletters from other societies at home and abroad.  And let us not forget computer games!

The library is available to all Deerstalkers free of charge.  Regrettably it is not open to members of the public, as this is felt to be impractical.

We consider the Deertalkers library to be a valuable addition to the Holmesian world, and I hope this will continue to be the case as more items are added.