Class today was spent talking about Special Collections and Exhibits. I found it interesting that the class seemed to find it easier to describe what Special Collections aren't, rather than what they are. I hate to be obvious, but I think the easiest way to describe Special Collections is to say that they are a collection of Specialty items, sometimes based on theme, author, or time period. I felt that was a little obvious....I guess it was one of those times when the question seemed like a trick. Anyway, I liked that we went over what exactly the issues with a special collection would be when it comes to repairs. I appreciated that we went over what types of items would be included and how most special collections won't be your generic books. I liked that there were various resources we went over for these items like Minnetech and OCLC.
I also found the discussion and reading on Exhibits to be interesting. I had no idea that there were lengths of time to how long things should be on display. I remember the library I went to growing up had the same things on display constantly....I am happy to say that since then they have built two new buildings and have much better display practices. Maybe they got new librarians as well? Anyway...I also found it interesting that some places have you work on your displays so far in advance! I mean the idea that you think about something you want to display 2 years before you actually do anything! It does make sense that there would be people whose only job was to figure out and coordinate displays from that moment on. I'm sure there are bunches of people working on college campuses all over the world that have that job exactly.
Chapter 11: Exhibition Policy and Preparation
What really stood out to me in this chapter was how the policy really makes the standards for exhibition and for loaning of items. I had not really thought about contracts between libraries, but it makes me think about insurance policies that would need to go with these contracts. In fact this very much reminded me the policies that museums have regarding their items. Of course, there are libraries that have museum-worthy pieces. Look at the MN historical society! They have a lot of items that could go into their various museums (like the James J. Hill House). It was interesting to me that the book comments on how you need to have it in your contract the very specific guidelines that you need them to follow, but you need to pay attention to what is too much. If the requirements are to extravagant, then it is possible that no one will borrow those items from your collection. For some this may be their goal, but it seems rather selfish to me.
Chapter 16: Special Collection Conservation
I appreciated that the book pointed out that a special collection may not contain only textual items. I also liked that the book explained that you need to look at an item as something that a researcher may wish to look at, perhaps for its artifactual value, or perhaps for its content. In class we discussed how some of the serials for Sherlock Holmes were being looked at for the ads in them, not just for the stories. Which makes me think of how important it is the preserve the original item, even if you don't think the entire thing is what is needed at the time. Think of all the cultural information that is in periodicals, that in the future may be exactly what a researcher is looking for!
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