Popular at the libraries

While I was online ordering a loan book from my local library, I took the opportunity of searching for St Albans' Own East End.  I established that there are reference copies at Marshalswick and St Albans Central, which, of course can be consulted at any time.  What interested me more was that all of the loan copies at Harpenden, St Albans and Marshalswick are with readers, and not on the shelves.  News is obviously circulating and Hertfordshire Libraries' (HL) decision to purchase so many copies was clearly justified.

The Carnegie former library, Victoria Street

While on the subject of HL's online ordering website database, I was disappointed about one issue: the entry is listed as St Alban's Own East End, rather than St Albans' Own East End.  Fortunately, entering the title without any apostrophe still finds the book, but it confirms one piece of advice I was given at the start of the book project – and which I ignored – which was not to include apostrophes in the title!

Which is fine, except that if the title you really want has an apostrophe, do you show an apparent ignorance of its correct use and leave it out, or include it and live with continual mis-use when others use the misrepresented title in their communications?

Many names have long since lost their apostrophes in common use.  Hands up how many people write St Peter's Street?  What about St Alban's?  Both have now lost this punctuation.  In fact, the house style in the book does use St Peter's, St Michael's and St Stephen's, but simplifies the city to St Albans.  If that were not the case, the book title would have been St Alban's' Own East End!  Better, maybe to have none than too many.  It seems to me that we have to make a firm decision; either to leave apostrophes out altogether, or, if we include them we include them correctly.  To place them in the wrong position is probably as incorrect as to spell a word incorrectly.  Anyway Im off to the shop's to buy a few potatos'.  Just joking.

You may have tried to visit the website earlier in the week without success.  For the past four years the site has been hosted without charge, but this period has now come to an end, and I took the opportunity to move it to another server (for those who understand these things).  Having never carried out this task before, I had to learn a few tricks speedily.  Fortunately, the down-time was only a matter of hours and so far there have been no glitches.  

Do check the photograph on the Welcome page of the website, which came from the collection held by Fleetville Infants' School.  It is the football team of 1948/49 with new head teacher Mr R Dawe and teacher Mr Griffiths.  Although the copy on the front page is rather small for identification of faces, click on the image to reveal a larger version.  Is there someone in the team you recognise?