Sir Anthony Panizzi

Figure 1: Sir Anthony Panizzi

Gaya

October 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Life and Career of Sir Anthony Panizzi 3 References 10 Appendix A – Annotated Bibliography 12 Appendix B – Reference Interview 13 Appendix C - Timeline 14

Sir Anthony Panizzi, AKA Antonio Genesio Maria Panizzi, was a highly honored librarian of 19th Century England, who was responsible for compiling the Ninety-one Cataloging Rules, based on the rules which he had created with his assistants in 1839, and for the construction of a new library building with the world famous Round Reading Room at the British Museum Library. Panizzi felt that a large catalog needed a consistent manner in which to serve the reader. “The larger the library is, the more you must distinguish the books from each other, and consequently the more fully and more accurately you must catalogue them…When I come to a great and national library, where I have those editions or works of “Abelard,” I have a right to find those editions and works so well distinguished from each other that I may get exactly the particular one which I want.” – Sir Anthony Panizzi. [Coyle, 2010]
Figure 2

Sir Anthony Panizzi (Watts, Circa 1847)
The cataloging system that he set up was the foundation for modern cataloging systems of the 19th and 20th centuries. The ISBD or International Standard Bibliographic Description, and digital cataloging elements such as Dublin Core have their origins in the rules that were set up by Panizzi. Panizzi had a major role in enforcing the Copyright Act of 1842, by which British publishers had to submit a copy of every book printed in England, to the British Museum Library. This enabled the library to increase its collection by not being dependant solely on donations or gifts.
Panizzi is known mostly for the design and construction of the Round Reading Room which to this day is a popular destination for readers and tourists alike. The construction of the Reading Room vastly increased the shelf space needed to accommodate the influx of new books into the collection. Panizzi is also known for his vision of making the library equally accessible to rich and poor alike. Panizzi was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1869, because of his extraordinary career and his many endeavors to improve the British Museum Library.
Panizzi was born in Brescello, located in the duchy of Modena, Italy, on September 16th, 1797. He was born to parents from distinguished families. His father and his grandfather were both lawyers, and his mother came from a prominent family of lawyers as well. Panizzi spent his early scholarly years in Reggio Emilia and later in Parma, pursuing a degree in law. He graduated with a Doctoral degree in Law from the University of Parma in 1818. For the next few years, he practiced being an Advocate until he became the Inspector of Public Schools in Parma in 1821. It was said that he owed his position as Inspector of Public Schools, to the Duke of Modena, Francis IV.
In spite of his indebtedness to Francis IV, Panizzi was a true patriot at heart. He joined the Association of Carbonari whose main motive was to unify the many states of Italy as one independent country by removing Austrian control over the land and people. The activities of this society brought about a spate of arrests. Fearing that he would be next, Panizzi escaped to Switzerland. While he was there, he wrote and published a book that exposed the atrocities of the government in Modena under Francis IV, against the arrested and accused citizens. In the months following the publication of this book, Panizzi was tried and condemned to death in absentia in a Modena court of law. In order to avoid a messy political situation, the Swiss government expelled him from the country. Panizzi was destined to live a life outside his native Italy. After his expulsion from Switzerland, he moved to Liverpool, England in 1823 to start a new life. The next few years were spent learning English and giving lessons in the Italian language and literature to support him. In 1831, he was offered the position of Assistant Keeper in the Department of Printed Books at the British Museum Library. His acceptance of this position launched his thirty-five year career at the British Museum Library. In 1832, Panizzi became a citizen of England.
Figure 3

Historical photo, British Museum
Panizzi maintained his position as Assistant Keeper until 1837, when he was appointed as Keeper of Printed Books. He held this position until 1856. He had many tasks that he had to achieve while he held this position. With the exception of the King’s Library, the entire collection was to be moved from Montague House to a new building. Panizzi also judiciously worked to improve the dismal condition of the Museum Library. In 1845, he published his famous report on the state of the library, in which he clearly stated the Museum’s deficiency in general literature. This report resulted in the increase of the annual grant to the library to purchase new books to £10,000. Hon. Thomas Grenville’s extremely valuable library was bequeathed to the British Museum Library in 1847 because of the friendship and influence between Panizzi and Grenville. Grenville’s library was valued at £50,000 even in those days. This increase in the collection made the British Museum Library the world’s largest library of the time. With the increase in its collection and an already existing shortage of space, there was a need for a larger building. Between 1851 and 1861, the collection of foreign materials rose when John Watts personally ordered 80,000 books within the decade. In a letter to Panizzi, Watts wrote: “Every future student of those literatures will find riches where I found poverty.” [James, 1998] In 1852, Panizzi set his eyes on the vacant quadrangle within the walls of the museum in which he proposed to construct a new Reading Room. In 1852, he submitted a basic sketch to Sir Sidney Smirke, who had designed the King’s Library. Smirke created a design with a round reading room with a circular cupola that would be able to accommodate 300 readers at one single time, surrounded by galleries that could house a million books.
Figure 4 Figure 5 The British Museum An aerial view of the British Museum in Bloomsbury
This new design was submitted to and accepted by the Museums Trustees. The Treasury granted £86,000 in January 1854 for the construction of the Round Reading Room. The final cost of the Round Reading Room was £150,000 and was opened to the public in 1857. The new building had the capacity to house 1,300,000 volumes stacked on shelves that were 25 miles long.
In 1856, Panizzi succeeded Sir Henry Ellis and became the Principal Librarian of the British Museum Library, a position he held until 1866, when he retired. Due to his distinguished career and his vast accomplishments in the field of librarianship, Panizzi was awarded a pension that equaled the full amount of the salary that he made at the time of retirement. After retiring, he took up residence close to the library, and stayed active in its affairs until his death on 8th April, 1879. He was buried at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green (London), England. Figure 6 Figure 7 Grave of Anthony Panizzi (MacFarlaine, 2004)
Throughout his career at the British Museum Library, Panizzi was faced with abject criticism and problems because of his Italian nationality. His appointment as Principal Librarian brought the tension to the surface. This was evident in a letter sent to Panizzi by Lord Palmerston to Panizzi, on 13th March, 1856, in which he had enclosed a letter written by Bolton Corney.
"My dear Panizzi,
The enclosed, which has been sent to me, will interest you.
Yours very sincerely,
Palmerston." The British Museum.

I protest against the advancement of Mr. Antonio Panizzi to the office of Principal Librarian of the British Museum, vacant by the retirement of Sir Henry Ellis, K.H.
1. Because the appointment, the said Antonio Panizzi being a foreigner, is an act of injustice towards English candidates; a satire on the character of the Nation; and a discouragement to the pursuit of its antiquities and literature.
2. Because as the office involves the chief "care and custody" of a National repository of objects of inestimable value, the appointment is a manifest incongruity, and a most inauspicious precedent.
3. Because the office confers the power of granting admission to the Beading-Room of the Museum, or of refusing it; and it is not fit that National favours, or the refusal thereof, should be received at foreign hands.
4. Because the said Antonio Panizzi has had the audacity to propose the dismemberment of the Museum, in opposition to the express provision of the Act of the twenty-sixth year of George II.—a provision which received the approval of more than fifty members of various scientific societies in 1847.
5. Because the said Antonio Panizzi on account of the failure of his engagements with regard to the Catalogue of printed books, and the fictions and absurdities of the only fragment thereof hitherto published, appears to have deserved reprehension rather than promotion.
6. Because it removes the said Antonio Panizzi from an office in which, under the guidance of common sense, his erudition, energy, and activity might have been serviceable, to a station for which he appears to be unfitted by his arrogance and irritability, as patent in certain blue books, and by the notorious verbosity of his composition.
&c., &c, &c,
Bolton Cornet. The Terrace, Barnes." (Fagan, 1880)

In spite of lack of approval by many on his appointment, Panizzi was able to overcome this adversity and surge on to become one of the most distinguished librarians of his time, mainly due to his prowess as a good administrator and visionary. Even though he was an Italian by birth, he showed his devotion to his adopted nation by making the British Museum Library as a shining beacon of the times. During his years in England, he stayed patriotic to Italy. Using his influence with English ministers, he helped his mother nation, Italy, during her struggle for independence from Austria. He also gave a lot of his personal money in charity to exiled Italians living in England. He was offered a senator-ship in Italy and frequented Italy later in his life.
In conclusion, it can be said that Sir Anthony Panizzi came to be one of the most important appointments to head the British Museum Library. Due to his hard work and visionary leadership, Panizzi was able to bring about many changes in a flawed and biased organization, thereby opening up the library in an equitable manner to all patrons, as well as laying the foundations for a systematic cataloging system in modern libraries.

REFERENCES
Watts, George Frederic (Painter). (Circa 1847). Sir Anthony Panizzi [Oil on Canvas]. Retrieved
October 22, 2010, from: http://www.npg.org.uk/
Coyle, K. (2010). Library Data in a Modern Context. Library Technology Reports, 46(1), 5-
13, 2. Retrieved October 22, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1968825591).
James, S. (1998). Moving the British Library. Library Review, 47(3), 183-186. Retrieved
October 22, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID: 116357274).
Fagan, L. (1880). The life of Sir Anthony Panizzi, K.C.B., late principal librarian of the British
Museum, senator of Italy [V 2]. Retrieved October 22, 2010, from http://books.google.com/books McCrimmon, B. (1994). Public relations, Panizzi-style. British Library Journal,
20(2), 214-221. Retrieved October 22, 2010, from Library, Information Science &
Technology Abstracts with Full Text database.
Reidy, D. (1979). Some hitherto unpublished Panizziana from Italy. British
Library Journal, 5(1), 37-46. Retrieved October 22, 2010, from Library, Information
Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text database.
Glasgow, E. (2001). Sir Anthony Panizzi. Library Review, 50(5), 251 – 254. Retrieved October
22, 2010, from http://www.emeraldinsight.com
[Historical Photo, British Museum, Photograph]. Retrieved on October 25, 2010, from: http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgibin/gbi.cgi/The_British_Museum.html/
[The Round Reading Room, Photograph]. Retrieved on October 29, 2010, from: http://www.britishmuseum.org/ [Aerial view of British Museum Library, Photograph]. Retrieved on October 24, 2010, from: http://www.yellow-springs.k12.oh.us/ys-mls/_borders/British_Museum.jpg

[Grave site of Anthony Panizzi, Photograph]. Retrieved on October 26, 2010, from: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8502903

APPENDIX A
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anthony Panizzi was an avid writer and editor of his time. He exchanged letters with many political dignitaries from England, Italy and France. He put together the Ninety-one Rules to Cataloging with the help of his assistants during his tenure at the British Museum Library. These rules were the foundations for modern cataloging rules and have been adopted by many libraries. He also had a regular correspondence with Prosper Merimee, a French writer. All the letters except for one that Panizzi wrote to Merimee were destroyed in a fire at Merimee’s residence in 1871. The letters that Merimee wrote to Panizzi were collected into a multi volume book. All other letters, pictures, sketches and etchings made or written by Panizzi were collected in Louis Fagans two-volume book, The Life and Correspondence of Sir Anthony Panizzi, K.C.B., late principal librarian of the British Museum, senator of Italy [V 1 & 2]. Many of Panizzi’s writings were in Italian and translations are not available for them.

APPENDIX B

REFERENCE INTERVIEW

Reference chat with Cindy Batman, University of North Texas, on September 23, 2010. Recommended resources: netLibrary, RefWorks, Ebscohost, ILL for distance learners, accessing electronic resources, and using the library catalog to maximize research resources.

APPENDIX C
Panizzi was born on 16th Sept. 1797
GRAPHICAL TIMELINE FOR SIR ANTONIO PANIZZI’S LIFE
1797
1818
1823
1823-1831
1831
1832
1837
1845
1852
1854
1856
1857
1866
1879

Graduates from the Univ. of Parma with a Doctoral degree in Law

Sir Anthony Panizzi dies on Apr. 8th, 1879
Retires from service as Principal Librarian
Round Reading Room is opened to the public
Becomes Principal Librarian at the British Museum Library
Treasury approves the construction of the Round Reading Room
Submits basic sketch for new Reading Room to Smirke
Publishes famous report on the state of the library, focusing on its deficiencies
Becomes Keeper of Printed Books at the British Museum Library

Becomes a citizen of England
Becomes Asst. Keeper of Printed Books at the British Museum Library
Panizzi takes up residence in Liverpool and makes a living teaching Italian
Panizzi arrives in England to start a new life
1823-