SW0123 Unsung, Shush-less Librarians Organize Foundation’s Books into Central Access Repository

<p> The 1500+ book collection comprises the cornerstone of research materials at the Frank Laumer Center for the Study of the Seminole Wars. Other items include hundreds of paper files that supported Frank Laumer's accounts of the Dade Battles, microfilm, tens of thousands of print and digital images, thousands of digital records, and assorted comic books and movie posters that put Seminole front and center.  </p> <p> </p> <p>At the time of his death in late 2019, Frank Laumer had amassed a library of roughly 350 Seminole Wars-related books. In addition, his compendium contained another 450 books on American presidents and American history related in some way to these wars. This included donations from the late Dr. John Mahon, author of The History of the Second Seminole War. </p> <p>These legacy books are the cornerstone for the Seminole Wars Foundation’s Frank Laumer Center for the Study of the Seminole Wars. Since Frank Laumer’s passing, and through aggressive, savvy canvassing, the Foundation has doubled its collection, to nearly 1,600 with some ties or references to the Seminole Wars. Some of the books are in-house purchases, but the vast majority are donations from members and friends of the Foundation, which provides a professional permanent home for the titles. </p> <p>Today, the Frank Laumer Center features scores of non-fiction, biographical and historical books on the Seminole – including dozens more with Osceola as a central character. It also carries shelves of titles on the Seminole Wars, Black Seminoles, the U.S. Army of the time, crackers, pioneers, militia, and even Florida’s environment. This library also carries many adventure novels -- featuring boys or girls avoiding, encountering, or working with Seminoles – as well as adult stories with a war setting that includes mystery and passion as key components. There are even several manuscripts of poetry with a Seminole Wars theme.</p> <p> </p> <p>   The Seminole Wars Foundation media collection includes a separate antiquarian book section wi