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- Description
- Table of Contents
- About the authors
- Reviews
Once treated as exclusive spaces for valuable but hidden and under-utilized material, over the past few decades special collections departments have been transformed by increased digitization and educational outreach efforts into unique and highly visible major institutional assets. What libraries must now contemplate is how to continue this momentum by articulating and implementing a dynamic strategic vision for their special collections. Drawing on the expertise of a world-class array of librarians, university faculty, book dealers, collectors, and donors, this collected volume surveys the emerging requirements of today's knowledge ecosystem and charts a course for the future of special collections. Expanding upon the proceedings of the National Colloquium on Special Collections organized by the Kelvin Smith Library of Case Western Reserve University in October 2014, this timely resource for special collections librarians, administrators, academics, and rare book dealers and collectors
- recounts the factors that governed the growth and use of special collections in the past;
- explores ways to build 21st-century special collections that are accessible globally, and how to provide the expertise and services necessary to support collection use;
- gives advice on developing and maintaining strong relationships between libraries and collectors, with special attention paid to the importance of donor relations;
- provides critical information on how libraries and their institutions' faculty can best collaborate to ensure students and other researchers are aware of the resources available to them;
- showcases proactive, forward-thinking approaches to applying digital scholarship techniques to special collections materials;
- looks at how the changes in the way authors work—from analog to digital—increases the importance of archives in preserving the aspects of humanity that elevate us; and
- examines sustainable and scalable approaches to promoting the use of special collections in the digital age, including the roles of social media and crowdsourcing to bring collections directly to the user.
More than simply a guide to collection management, this book details myriad ways to forge the future of special collections, ensuring that these scholarly treasures advance knowledge for years to come.
Preface, by Arnold Hirshon
Introduction, by Robert H. Jackson
Part I Communities
Chapter 1 Reflections on the Meanings of Objects
E. Haven Hawley, Chair of the Special and Area Studies Collections Department at George A. Smathers Library at the University of Florida
Chapter 2 Affinities and Alliances: Thoughts on Acquisitions, Collection Development, and Donor Relations
Jim Kuhn, Joseph N. Lambert and Harold B. Schleifer Director of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation at the University of Rochester River Campus Libraries
Chapter 3 Where Does the Collector/Donor Community See Special Collections Today?
Jon A. Lindseth
Chapter 4 Collecting Communities: The Role of Special Collections Librarians and Archivists in Creating New Life for Community-Based Collections
Melissa A. Hubbard
Chapter 5 The Role of the Auction House
Selby Kiffer, Special Collections Library at the University of Michigan
Chapter 6 Forging into the Future: Facing Digital Realities and Forecasting Endeavors for Special Collections Librarianship
Athena N. Jackson
Part II The Enduring Object
Chapter 7 Lawrence Clark Powell Revisited: The Functions of Rare Books Today
Joel Silver, Director of the Lilly Library, Indiana University Bloomington
Chapter 8 Special Collections Libraries and the Uses of the Past (Apologies to Herbert Muller)
Paul Ruxin
Chapter 9 Everything Old Is New Again: Transformation in Special Collections
Alice Schreyer, Vice President for Collections and Library Services at the Newberry Library
Chapter 10 Special Collections and the Booksellers of Today
Tom Congalton
Chapter 11 Acknowledging the Past
Daniel De Simone, Eric Weinmann Librarian at the Folger Shakespeare Library
Chapter 12 Literary Archives: How They Have Changed and How They Are Changing
Ken Lopez
Chapter 13 Objects of Study: Special Collections in an Age of Digital Scholarship
Stephen Enniss, Director of the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas
Part III From Periphery to Center
Chapter 14 Considering the Present: Special Collections are the Meal, Not the Dessert
Jay Satterfield, head of Dartmouth College's Rauner Special Collections Library
Chapter 15 Teaching with Special Collections
Christoph Irmscher, Provost Professor of English at Indiana University Bloomington
Chapter 16 From Siberia to Shangri-La
Sarah Thomas, Vice President for the Harvard Library and the Roy E. Larsen Librarian of Harvard College
Chapter 17 The Once and Future Special Collections
Mark Dimunation, Chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
About the Editors and Contributors
Index
“A good balance of practical, theoretical, and philosophical writing for those with close ties to special collection departments. The essays are well-written, easy to understand, and come from those with good authority in their fields.”
— ARBA
”Recommended for archivists, special collections librarians, and administrators of the same, along with book collectors and sellers."
— Library Journal
"This compilation captures a valuable cross-section of perspectives on the state of special collections and their possible future directions. One valuable feature of the book is that many of the authors are leaders in their fields, including head curators, administrators, long-time collectors and booksellers, and faculty, who have seen broad changes in cultural heritage-related fields. Another appealing feature is that many of the chapters are brief, which helps busy professionals stay current in their profession. Also, the editors have performed a great service to the special collections field by documenting the thoughts exchanged at the colloquium and sharing them with the wider world."
— Technical Services Quarterly