Rare Book School
Preliminary Reading List

Special Collections Librarianship

Alice Schreyer

Preliminary Advices

Please read/become familiar with the following before coming to Charlottesville. The first and last titles are reference works of sufficient importance to special collections librarianship to merit rote memorization.

1. Carter, John. ABC for Book Collectors. 8th edn, by John Carter and Nicolas Barker. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004. Also available directly from Oak Knoll Books.
2. “Competencies for Special Collections Professionals.” ACRL Guidelines. ACRL, 2008.
3. Celebrating Research: Rare and Special Collections from the Membership of the Association of Research Libraries. Introduction by Nicolas Barker. Washington, DC: ARL, 2008. Also available online. Read the introduction; browse the contents.
4. Dimunation, Mark. “Red Wine and White Carpets: What We Didn’t Learn in Library School, or When the Dog and Pony Goes Bad.” RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage 7, No. 1 (2006): 73-84.
5. “Special Collections in ARL Libraries: A Discussion Report from the ARL Working Group on Special Collections.” ARL, March 2009.
6. Your Old Books. RBMS Publications Committee, 2005 Revision.