I'm heading out on the road again in a few minutes. This time my destination is Manchester, New Hampshire. I'm attending a family wedding. It will be great to see friends and family again. My husband and I are driving so it should be a great, but very long, road trip. I love the scenic route and I've packed plenty of cds.
Mulling over my post on archives last night I realized I'd failed to mention an important article that is driving archives these days. Greene/Meisner's More Product, Less Process is definitely on my archives reading list. I can download a copy once I return to the library next week. This article will provide a good background for the current archives environment.
This article may also provide a prospective from the archives viewpoint on hidden collections; a hot topic these days no matter which side of the aisle you're on. I'm looking forward to reading it.
I'll be posting again on Monday. Have a great weekend!
Showing posts with label Hidden Collections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hidden Collections. Show all posts
Friday, August 1, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The RBS week begins
As I write this, night descends upon the UVA campus. The sky is still illuminated, backlit by the sun's fading light. The clouds are a deep, evening shade of blue, the sky a paler one. A pick up game of touch football continues at the base of Jefferson's Rotunda. The humidity is low and it will be a good night for sleeping. I'm staying on The Lawn this week. The lack of air conditioning in my shuttered room will not bother me tonight.
I look forward to attending Rare Book School all year. This is my third year and I hope to attend for years to come. When I arrived at Alderman Library for the opening reception this evening I was greeted by familiar faces from past years. I was delighted to renew old aquaintances and meet others for the first time. It's going to be a great week!
Tonight I had dinner with two catalogers from large institutions. My education for the week began with my dinner companions. As I had the opportunity to chat with catalogers I asked them to share their experiences regarding hidden collections as well as any thoughts they might have about the preliminary record format.
Both catalogers stressed that hidden collections at their institutions are problematic. One cataloger said she had just completed cataloging a collection of medical theses from the 16th - 19th centuries that was purchased in the 1960's. Our companion was in support of the preliminary record format. While the drawback may be that the preliminary record is not as full, one of the crucial benefits of this format was the security factor. That is a facet I had not considered. It is certainly a compelling argument for preliminary records.
Last week I had a discussion with an administrator on the subject of hidden collections who refered to the preliminary record format as a kind of "triage." I found this to be a good way of looking at the issue. These conversations have greatly enlightened me. As I mentioned earlier, my institution does not have big issues with hidden collections so my experience in this area is limited.
But that's why I'm here at RBS, to learn, to see, to grow, and most importantly, to connect with people in all fields and learn from their experiences. That's what makes RBS so proiceless. That's why I keep coming back.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Rare Book School. During Terry Belanger's address following dinner he announced his retirement as RBS Director in July, 2009. The search for his replacement is underway. It will be difficult for many to picture RBS under the direction of someone other than Terry Belanger, but thanks to the stewardship under his capable hands, RBS will go forward with confidence.
The RBMS Pre-Conference will be in Charlottesville next year and RBS is in full planning mode in order to make the most of this event. As Terry said tonight, the pre-conference held its first meeting here in Charlottesville in 1958. Sounds like a good time to return to Rare Book School!
I look forward to attending Rare Book School all year. This is my third year and I hope to attend for years to come. When I arrived at Alderman Library for the opening reception this evening I was greeted by familiar faces from past years. I was delighted to renew old aquaintances and meet others for the first time. It's going to be a great week!
Tonight I had dinner with two catalogers from large institutions. My education for the week began with my dinner companions. As I had the opportunity to chat with catalogers I asked them to share their experiences regarding hidden collections as well as any thoughts they might have about the preliminary record format.
Both catalogers stressed that hidden collections at their institutions are problematic. One cataloger said she had just completed cataloging a collection of medical theses from the 16th - 19th centuries that was purchased in the 1960's. Our companion was in support of the preliminary record format. While the drawback may be that the preliminary record is not as full, one of the crucial benefits of this format was the security factor. That is a facet I had not considered. It is certainly a compelling argument for preliminary records.
Last week I had a discussion with an administrator on the subject of hidden collections who refered to the preliminary record format as a kind of "triage." I found this to be a good way of looking at the issue. These conversations have greatly enlightened me. As I mentioned earlier, my institution does not have big issues with hidden collections so my experience in this area is limited.
But that's why I'm here at RBS, to learn, to see, to grow, and most importantly, to connect with people in all fields and learn from their experiences. That's what makes RBS so proiceless. That's why I keep coming back.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Rare Book School. During Terry Belanger's address following dinner he announced his retirement as RBS Director in July, 2009. The search for his replacement is underway. It will be difficult for many to picture RBS under the direction of someone other than Terry Belanger, but thanks to the stewardship under his capable hands, RBS will go forward with confidence.
The RBMS Pre-Conference will be in Charlottesville next year and RBS is in full planning mode in order to make the most of this event. As Terry said tonight, the pre-conference held its first meeting here in Charlottesville in 1958. Sounds like a good time to return to Rare Book School!
Friday, July 18, 2008
ARL Addendum and Recommendations
The concept of "hidden collections" as I see it, is basically another term for due process. Donors deliver books and archival material, booksellers deliver purchases. In turn, librarians fill carts and boxes with this uncataloged bounty.
The problem with "hidden collections" is that they're a lot like a pirate's treasure chest. Scholars, like treasure hunters, know the books, pamphlets, papers, and manuscripts exist, they may even know where they're stashed, but they can't get to them until they've been unearthed from the box they came in, examined, catalogued, and shelved appropriately. It can be frustrating for scholars, for cataloguers, librarians and just about anybody else who'd like a peek at the goods.
I don't have much experience when it comes to dealing with hidden collections. At my institution, there isn't much of a backlog. And from what I've read that makes us one of the lucky ones. Other institutions have longer waiting lists.
What is termed hidden collections are a fact of life. This is due process in action, even if it seems periously close to inaction. The recommendation of the Task Force is for testing and use of a "preliminary record" format in order to make collections visible to scholars and the public. An alternative idea is to develop grant proposals to assist in this aim.
At the moment I'm rooting for the alternative idea. Although initial applications were not granted, there is still hope for future funding. Rather than the creation of a preliminary record format which will lead to an item going through the system twice to be properly cataloged, funding for catalogers whose sole purpose is to bring hidden collections to light seems like a viable alternative.
Lastly, recommendations are in the works for a working group concerned with special collections issues. Recommendations include planning for the collection of 19th and 20th century materials and developing strategies for collecting born-digital as well as other new media material. The goal is to provide leadership for collecting activities which include collection analysis, identification gaps and other areas. I've had the opportunity to fill these roles at times at our institution. Realizing a need, planning and coordinating efforts to fill the need and organizing materials is an important function within special collections.
Other recommendations include educational opportunities within special collections. This is another area where I have had the opportunity to participte. I had the good fortune to work with an English professor who had received a grant to develop a rare book pedagogy unit, http://clc.as.wvu.edu:8080/clc/projects/Rare%20Book%20Pedagogy%20Unit/. The module was designed as a means to integrate primary source material into course work for both faculty, who may have never included special collections materials in class and for students, who may have never been exposed to special collections.
The task force recomendations close with more thoughts on "new ways of measuring collections" and education and training.
There is much food for thought in this final status report. The resulting committees will have their hands full negotiating these difficult and challenging issues. But that's why we're librarians, right? We love to identify issues, solve problems and share our materials with others!
The problem with "hidden collections" is that they're a lot like a pirate's treasure chest. Scholars, like treasure hunters, know the books, pamphlets, papers, and manuscripts exist, they may even know where they're stashed, but they can't get to them until they've been unearthed from the box they came in, examined, catalogued, and shelved appropriately. It can be frustrating for scholars, for cataloguers, librarians and just about anybody else who'd like a peek at the goods.
I don't have much experience when it comes to dealing with hidden collections. At my institution, there isn't much of a backlog. And from what I've read that makes us one of the lucky ones. Other institutions have longer waiting lists.
What is termed hidden collections are a fact of life. This is due process in action, even if it seems periously close to inaction. The recommendation of the Task Force is for testing and use of a "preliminary record" format in order to make collections visible to scholars and the public. An alternative idea is to develop grant proposals to assist in this aim.
At the moment I'm rooting for the alternative idea. Although initial applications were not granted, there is still hope for future funding. Rather than the creation of a preliminary record format which will lead to an item going through the system twice to be properly cataloged, funding for catalogers whose sole purpose is to bring hidden collections to light seems like a viable alternative.
Lastly, recommendations are in the works for a working group concerned with special collections issues. Recommendations include planning for the collection of 19th and 20th century materials and developing strategies for collecting born-digital as well as other new media material. The goal is to provide leadership for collecting activities which include collection analysis, identification gaps and other areas. I've had the opportunity to fill these roles at times at our institution. Realizing a need, planning and coordinating efforts to fill the need and organizing materials is an important function within special collections.
Other recommendations include educational opportunities within special collections. This is another area where I have had the opportunity to participte. I had the good fortune to work with an English professor who had received a grant to develop a rare book pedagogy unit, http://clc.as.wvu.edu:8080/clc/projects/Rare%20Book%20Pedagogy%20Unit/. The module was designed as a means to integrate primary source material into course work for both faculty, who may have never included special collections materials in class and for students, who may have never been exposed to special collections.
The task force recomendations close with more thoughts on "new ways of measuring collections" and education and training.
There is much food for thought in this final status report. The resulting committees will have their hands full negotiating these difficult and challenging issues. But that's why we're librarians, right? We love to identify issues, solve problems and share our materials with others!
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