Research Catalog

Title

Rare books and special collections / Sidney E. Berger.

Author

Berger, Sidney E.

Publication

Chicago : Neal-Schuman, An imprint of the American Library Association, 2014.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xxii, 537 pages : illustrations; 28 cm

Summary

From cuneiform, coins, and codices to prints, drawings, photographs, and maps, departments of rare books and special collections are the premier repositories of significant printed and manuscript works and artifacts. Entrusted with the responsibility of preserving the records of history and culture, these institutions enable access to millions of source materials. Berger, a veteran of rare book and special collections, offers a landmark examination of this field, aimed at practitioners in the library field, instructors teaching courses on the subject, booksellers, private collectors, historians, bibliophiles, and others involved in rare and unique materials. Showing readers everything they need to know about rare books and special collections, this wide-ranging book offers coverage of such key topics as: the profession's history and its relevance in the face of an increasingly digital world; archives' relationship to the special collections department and their role in the wider institution; collection development, cataloging, processing, physical layout, and other operational functions, with coverage of acquisition sources and methods; what everyone needs to know about the physical materials in their care, including preservation, conservation, and restoration, storage, handling, and security; reference and outreach services, including a look at exhibitions and tours; fundraising and financial management; legal and ethical issues; forgeries, fakes, and facsimiles; bibliography and its impact on the rare book world, including a look at booksellers, donors, and auctions; the present state of books in our digital environment; the vocabulary of the trade. Rare Books and Special Collections presents a meticulous and systematic understanding of this growing field.

Subject

• Libraries > Special collections
• Libraries > Special collections > Administration
• Rare book librarianship
• Libraries > Special collections > Nonbook materials
• Nonbook materials > Collectors and collecting
• Libraries > Special collections > Rare books
• Bibliothèques > Fonds spéciaux > Livres rares
• Bibliothèques > Fonds spéciaux > Administration
• Bibliothèques > Fonds spéciaux > Non-livres
• Bibliothèques > Fonds spéciaux
• Non-livres > Collectionneurs et collections
• Bibliothéconomie appliquée aux livres rares
• Nonbook materials > Collectors and collecting
• Bibliothek
• Alter Druck
• Spezialsammlung
• Vermittlung

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Foreword / by Joel Silver -- Introduction -- Some practical realities -- Running a rare book department -- Archives -- The physical materials of the collection -- Physical layout and operations -- Fund-raising -- Security -- Legal issues -- Bibliography -- Book collecting and handling -- Outreach -- Preservation, conservation, restoration, and disaster planning -- Special collections departments today -- Other issues -- Afterword.

ISBN

• 9781555709648
• 1555709648

LCCN

• 2014006055
• 9781555709648

OCLC

• 873828975
• SCSB-12405142

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library