C-30. Developing Collections: Donors, Libraries & Booksellers

Tom Congalton, Johan Kugelberg, and Katherine Reagan

This course is aimed at librarians, booksellers, collectors, scholars, and others who seek an introduction to theoretical and practical approaches to building and stewarding modern collections.  The course will cover the changing landscape for locating and selecting historically significant cultural material of the 19th and 20th centuries, including books, archives, ephemera, photographs, art, sound and video recording, and other materials. Special attention will be paid to non-traditional materials and obsolete formats, such as texts reproduced on home/office equipment, and sound and video recordings on vinyl and tape.  Topics will include institutional stewardship; navigating the antiquarian marketplace for cultural materials; how to  assess the aesthetic, market, and research value of potential acquisitions; and the roles of dealer, donor and collector in the enterprise of collecting and preserving historical documentation. The week will feature a combination of lectures, discussions, case-studies, research exercises, and hands-on practical evaluation of materials.

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Course History