Rare Book School
Preliminary Reading List
Advanced Seminar
in
Special Collections
Administration
Samuel A. Streit
and Merrily E.
Taylor
Preliminary Advices
We have been developing this reading list since we initially began teaching our RBS course a decade ago. The reading list consists of nearly everything available (there is not a great deal of published material on the administration of special collections), and hence not every article listed may be of equal value. The articles also cover more than fifty years of thought on the subject and indeed, some of the older articles are among the most interesting. Some of the works listed, such as Randolph Adams' "Librarians as Enemies of Books," reflect views and beliefs which underlie issues we will discuss in our seminar; others, such as Rosann M. Auchstetter's article, present an overview of administrative techniques and philosophies which may be useful to Special Collections administrators at a variety of levels. We have starred (*) those articles which you may find particularly useful, but nearly every item on the bibliography touches upon an issue, or a problem, which will be discussed during the seminar.
This year, because our institutions are going through an era of unprecedented change, we have included a list of articles on leading in a time of change. You will find these especially useful if you are experiencing, or contemplating, a library reorganization or other significant transformation in the way you do business.
The list is revised prior to each time we teach the course, so you will find recent publications of interest here, as well.
The reading list is presented as an additional resource, and it is not necessary to have read the articles prior to attending class.
*Adams, Randolph. "Librarians as Enemies of Books." The Library Quarterly 7: 317-31 (1937).
*Adams, Thomas R. "Librarians as Enemies of Books??" College and Research Libraries 45: 196-206 (May 1984).
Allen, Susan M. "Preventing Theft in Academic Libraries and Special Collections." Library and Archival Security 14: 29-43 (1, 1997).
______. "Rare Books and the College Library: Current Practices in Marrying Undergraduates to Special Collections." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 13: 110-119. (2, 1999).
Antonetti, Martin. "The Subtle Symbiosis: Rare Books and Manuscripts at Mills College." Library Trends 36: 171-178 (Summer 1987).
*Auchstetter, Rosann M. "The Role of the Rare Book Library in Higher Education: an Outsider Surveys the Issue." College and Research Libraries 51: 221-230 (May 1990).
Belanger, Terry. "Rare Book Librarianship: A Special Intensity." Wilson Library Bulletin 58: 96-119 (October 1983). A symposium which includes the following articles:
Bidwell, John. "Rare Books for Research: Separately Housed Collections."
Mortimer, Ruth. "Manuscripts and Rare Books in an Undergraduate Library."
Traister, Daniel. "Rare Book Collections: The Need for Interpretation."
VanWingen, Peter. "Rare Books in Large Libraries: The Library of Congress."
*Bengtson, Betty. "Navigating the Mainstream: Key to Survival." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 8: 92-96 (2, 1993).
Bradbury, D. J. "Seven Strategies for Effective Fund Raising," Bottom Line 2: 11-14 (1988).
Bradbury, D. J. "Barbarians within the Gate: Pillage of a Rare Book Collection?" Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 9: 8-16 (1, 1994).
Browar, Lisa. "An Oral Contract Isn't Worth the Paper It's Printed On." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 6: 100-107 (2, 1991).
Cave, Roderick. Rare Book Librarianship. 2d rev. ed. London, C. Bingley, 1982.
Cloonan, Michele Valeri. "Present and Future Issues for Special Collections." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 13: 89-94 (2, 1999).
Davis, Stephen Paul. "Bibliographic Control of Special Collections: Issues and Trends." Library Trends 36: 109-124 (Summer 1987).
Ferguson, Stephen. "Rare Books in University Libraries." Library Trends 36: 157-169 (Summer 1987).
*Franklin, Phyllis. "Scholars, Librarians, and the Future of Primary Records." College and Research Libraries 54: 397-406 (September 1993).
Gakobo, J. "The Role of Special Collections in the Academic Library." International Library Review 17: 405-418 (October 1985).
Graham, Peter. "New Roles for Special Collections on the Network." College and Research Libraries 59: 232-239 (May 1988).
Griffin, D. "Management and Leadership in Museums (Lessons Applicable to Libraries)." Australian Library Journal 40: 125-131 (May 1991).
Grigg, Susan. "Integration or Coordination? Reorganization for Special Collections Programs." The Journal of Academic Librarianship 26: 133-137 (March 2000).
Henderson, Cathy. "Negotiating New Borders for Special Collections." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 14: 9-17 (1, 1999).
Herring, Mark Youngblood. "Archival Treasures: blessing -- or burden in disguise?" American Libraries 31: 14-17 (August 2000).
Huston, Kathleen Raab. "How to Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth: Saying No to Donations." The Bottom Line 3: 14-17, 1989.
*Huttner, Sidney F. "Collecting Rare Books for a University Library." Library Acquisitions: Practice and Theory 6: 19-23 (1982).
*Joyce, William L. "The Evolution of the Concept of Special Collections in American Research Libraries." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 3: 19-29 (Spring 1988).
Koda, Paul. "Collecting Rare Books for a University Library." Library Acquisitions: Practice and Theory 1: 139-47 (1977).
*Leonhardt, Thomas. "The Place of Special Collections in the Acquisitions Budget." Library Acquisitions: Practice and Theory 6: 19-23 (1982).
Little, Paul L. and Sharon A. Saulmon. "Gifts, Donations and Special Collections." Public Libraries 26: 8-10 (Spring 1987).
Lundin, Anne. "Text and Context: Special Collections and Scholarship." College and Research Libraries 50: 553-556 (September 1989).
McCarthy, Paul H. "Overview: Essentials of an Archives or Manuscripts Program." Drexel Library Quarterly 11: 5-20 (January 1975).
McCorison, Marcus A. "Bibliography and Libraries at the Brink: a Jeremiad." Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 78, no. 2: 127-36 (1984).
*Martin, Rebecca R. "Special Collections: Strategies for Support in an Era of Limited Resources." College and Research Libraries 48: 241-246 (May 1987).
Morris, Leslie A. "Beyond the Books: Programs for Exhibitions." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 6: 89-99 (2, 1991).
Mosher, Paul. "Friends Groups and Academic Libraries," in Organizing the Library's Support: donors, volunteers, friends, ed. by D. W. Kummel (Allerton Park Institute 1979), University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science, 1980.
Neill, Desmond. "Defending Duplicates: the Value of Variant Copies." Wilson Library Bulletin 56, no. 9: 669-72 (May 1982).
Oram, Richard W. "The New Literary Scholarship, the Contextual Point of View, and the Use of Special Collections." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 8: 9-16 (1, 1993).
_____. "Current Professional Thinking on the Deaccessioning of Rare Books in Academic Libraries." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 12: 9-18 (1, 1997).
Pasternack, Howard. "Online Catalogs and the Retrospective Conversion of Special Collections." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 5: 71-76 (Spring 1990).
Pilette, Roberta and Carolyn Harris. "It Takes Two to Tango: A Conservator's View of Curator/Conservator Relations." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 4: 103-111 (Fall 1989).
Pyatt, Timothy D. "Cooperative Collecting of Manuscripts in the ‘Old South'." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 14: 19-25 (1, 1999).
*Ratclife, F. W. "Priorities in Rare Book Acquisition." Libri 27, no. 3: 221-37 (1977).
Roberts, A. F. "Volunteers and Reference Services with a Special Collection." The Reference Librarian 33: 207-209 (1991).
Rose, Robert F. and Susan J. Heron. "Disbanding a Special Collection: Methods and Labor Costs." Collection Management 11: 175-198 (nos. 1/2).
Rota, Anthony. "Collecting Twentieth Century Manuscripts." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 1: 39-53 (April 1986).
*Ryan, Michael. "Special Collections," in English and American Literature, American Library Association, 1987, 181-203.
Schottlaender, Brian E. C. "Something Wicked This Way Comes: Special Collections As Viewed by a Technocrat." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 8: 98-103 (2, 1993).
Shelton Caswell, Lucy. "Grief and Collection Development." Library Acquisitions: Practice and Theory 11: 195-199 (1987, 3).
Smith, Natalin and Helen R. Tibbo. "Libraries and the Creation of Electronic Texts for the Humanities." College and Research Libraries 57: 535-553 (November 1996).
Smythe, Elaine B. and Robert S. Martin. "Working with Friends of the Library to Augment Staff Resources: A Case History." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 9: 19-28 (1, 1994).
Spyers-Duran, Peter. "Revitalization of Academic Library Programs through Creative Fundraising." Austerity Management in Research Libraries, ed. John F. Harvey and Peter Spyers-Duran (Metuchen, N. J., Scarecrow, 1984), p. 105-108.
Stam, David H. "Prove All Things: Hold Fast that which is Good -- Deaccessioning in Research Libraries." College and Research Libraries 43: 5-13 (January 1982).
"Standards for Ethical Conduct for Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Libraries." College and Research Libraries News 48: 134-135 (March 1987).
*Steele, Victoria. "Of Sherpas and Mountain Climbers: The Special Collections Librarian in the Library Development Process." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 9: 77-85 (2, 1994)
Streit, Samuel A. "Research Library Deaccessioning: Practical Considerations." Wilson Library Bulletin 56, no. 9: 658-62 (May 1982).
*______. "All that Glitters: Fundraising for Special Collections in Academic Libraries." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 3: 31-41 (Spring 1988).
______. "Transfer of Materials from General Stacks to Special Collections." Collection Management, 7: 33-46 (Summer 1985).
______. "Acquiring Rare Books by Purchase: Recent Library Trends." Library Trends 36: 189-213 (Summer 1987).
*Taylor, Merrily E. "It's Hard to Make New Friends: What to Think About in Creating a Friends of the Library Group." Library Trends 48: 597-605 (Winter 2000).
Traister, Daniel. "Goodbye to All That: a Case Study in Deaccessioning." Wilson Library Bulletin 56, no. 9: 663-68 (May 1982).
*______. "The Rare Book Librarian's Day." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 1: 93-105 (Fall 1986).
______. "A Caucus-race and a Long Tale: the Profession of Rare Book Librarianship in the 1980's." Library Trends 36: 141-156 (Summer 1987).
*______. "What Good is an Old Book?" Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 7: 26-42 (1, 1992).
______. "Seduction and Betrayal: an Insider's View of Insider Theft of Rare Materials." Wilson Library Bulletin September 1994, 30-33.
______. "Is There a Future for Special Collections? And Should There Be? A Polemical Essay." RBM 1: 54-76 (1, 2000). Also available online.
Trinkaus-Randall, G. "Preserving Special Collections through Internal Security." College and Research Libraries 50: 448-54 (July 1989).
Wendorf, Richard. "Special Collections libraries: looking ahead by looking back." Libraries & Culture 37: 19-25, Winter 2002.
Wolf, Edwin II. "Creating an Image." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 1: 25-37 (April 1986).
Wyly, Mary. "Special Collections Security: Problems, Trends, and Consciousness." Library Trends 36: 241-256 (Summer 1987).
*Zeidberg, David S. "Setting the Course: the Role of Special Collections in the Library." Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 8: 106-111 (2, 1993).
Bennis, Warren and Burt Nanus. Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge. 2nd edition, N. Y., HarperBusiness, 1997.
Drucker, Peter F. "Change Leaders," INC, June 1999, pp. 65 - 72.
*Goleman, Daniel. Leadership That Gets Results, Harvard Business Review, March - April 2000, pp. 78 - 90.
*Kotter, John P. A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs from Management. N. Y., The Free Press, 1990.
Kouzes, James M. and Barry Z. Posner. The Leadership Challenge, 1995.
Nanus, Burt. Leading the Way to Organization Renewal. Portland, OR, Productivity Press, 1996.
Quinn, Robert E. and Gretchen M. Spreitzer. "The Road to Empowerment: Seven Questions Every Leader Should Consider," Organizational Dynamics, Autumn 1997, pp. 37 - 49.
Rees, Fran. How to Lead Work Teams: Facilitation Skills, 1991.
Scholtes, Peter R. The Leader's Handbook. N.Y., McGraw-Hill, 1998.
Senger, Peter M. et. al. The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization. N. Y., Doubleday, 1994.
*Wheatley, Margaret. "Goodbye, Command and Control" Leader to Leader, Summer 1997, pp. 21 - 28.