The Role and Future of Special Collections in Research Libraries

The Role and Future of Special Collections in Research Libraries

Author: Sul H Lee

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-01-14

Total Pages: 107

ISBN-13: 1317939786

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What does the future hold for special collections in research libraries? Will special collections be an important feature in humanistic research or will technology make special collections irrelevant to research in the humanities? The Role and Future of Special Collections in Research Libraries explores the answers to these questions by examining special collections in British and American libraries and the changing trends in research and scholarship as they relate to special collections. This book examines the particular experience of a variety of special collections in British research libraries. By learning more about British experiences related to special collections, North American libraries will discover new ways to manage existing information resources in light of diminished funding. The topics cover this essential role of special collections in these areas: the British perspective on issues relating to access and preservation of manuscripts, reproduction from originals, confidentiality, and the development of collections a historical overview of changes in special collections technology and special collections balancing the collection and preservation of books and manuscripts with the acquisition of new materials in electronic format The Role and Future of Special Collections in Research Libraries brings together international perspectives on library programs to help librarians and library administrators understand the factors that influence special collections. With the help of this insightful book, librarians will learn how to develop and modify future programs and services to maintain excellent special collections.


Forging the Future of Special Collections

Forging the Future of Special Collections

Author: Arnold Hirshon

Publisher: American Library Association

Published: 2016-06-20

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13:

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Once treated as exclusive spaces for valuable but hidden and under-utilized material, over the past few decades special collections departments have been transformed by increased digitization and educational outreach efforts into unique and highly visible major institutional assets. What libraries must now contemplate is how to continue this momentum by articulating and implementing a dynamic strategic vision for their special collections. Drawing on the expertise of a world-class array of librarians, university faculty, book dealers, collectors, and donors, this collected volume surveys the emerging requirements of today’s knowledge ecosystem and charts a course for the future of special collections. Expanding upon the proceedings of the National Colloquium on Special Collections organized by the Kelvin Smith Library of Case Western Reserve University in October 2014, this timely resource for special collections librarians, administrators, academics, and rare book dealers and collectors recounts the factors that governed the growth and use of special collections in the past;explores ways to build 21st-century special collections that are accessible globally, and how to provide the expertise and services necessary to support collection use;gives advice on developing and maintaining strong relationships between libraries and collectors, with special attention paid to the importance of donor relations;provides critical information on how libraries and their institutions’ faculty can best collaborate to ensure students and other researchers are aware of the resources available to them;showcases proactive, forward-thinking approaches to applying digital scholarship techniques to special collections materials;looks at how the changes in the way authors work—from analog to digital—increases the importance of archives in preserving the aspects of humanity that elevate us; and examines sustainable and scalable approaches to promoting the use of special collections in the digital age, including the roles of social media and crowdsourcing to bring collections directly to the user.More than simply a guide to collection management, this book details myriad ways to forge the future of special collections, ensuring that these scholarly treasures advance knowledge for years to come.


The Role and Future of Special Collections in Research Libraries

The Role and Future of Special Collections in Research Libraries

Author: Sul H Lee

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-01-14

Total Pages: 137

ISBN-13: 1317939778

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What does the future hold for special collections in research libraries? Will special collections be an important feature in humanistic research or will technology make special collections irrelevant to research in the humanities? The Role and Future of Special Collections in Research Libraries explores the answers to these questions by examining special collections in British and American libraries and the changing trends in research and scholarship as they relate to special collections. This book examines the particular experience of a variety of special collections in British research libraries. By learning more about British experiences related to special collections, North American libraries will discover new ways to manage existing information resources in light of diminished funding. The topics cover this essential role of special collections in these areas: the British perspective on issues relating to access and preservation of manuscripts, reproduction from originals, confidentiality, and the development of collections a historical overview of changes in special collections technology and special collections balancing the collection and preservation of books and manuscripts with the acquisition of new materials in electronic format The Role and Future of Special Collections in Research Libraries brings together international perspectives on library programs to help librarians and library administrators understand the factors that influence special collections. With the help of this insightful book, librarians will learn how to develop and modify future programs and services to maintain excellent special collections.


Research Collections and Digital Information

Research Collections and Digital Information

Author: Sul H Lee

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-06-11

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 131795663X

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Learn how electronic texts can save you money! The new technologies that have revolutionized information storage and retrieval demand commensurate changes in librarianship. Research Collections and Digital Information explores the practical and theoretical impact of new information technologies on the libraries of today. It suggests new strategies for collecting, organizing, and accessing library materials and emphasizes the increasing importance of classification and bibliographic rigor in dealing with the riot of information available on the Internet. This helpful book provides a detailed case study of the advantages and disadvantages of an electronic text center. A thorough discussion of the possibilities of custom-tailored digital libraries includes information on the Alexandria Digital Earth Prototype, which offers geographers and other earth scientists electronic access to maps, aerial photographs, and texts. In addition, you will find proven guidelines for selecting ebooks and other electronic materials. Research Collections and Digital Information offers guidance on technology's impact on essential library services and concerns, including: budgets for library materials and staff copyright and licensing issues interlibrary loan vendor-library relations library buildings and equipment Research Collections and Digital Information provides a fascinating look into the practical ways that other librarians have risen to the challenges of this dramatic paradigm shift. It is an essential resource for library directors, collections managers, and students.


Envisioning Our Preferred Future

Envisioning Our Preferred Future

Author: Bradford Lee Eden

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2016-05-09

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 1442266937

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Volume 8 of the series Creating the 21st-Century Academic Library is focused on new services, directions, job duties and responsibilities for librarians in academic libraries of the 21st century. Topics include research data management services, web services, improving web design for library interfaces, cooperative virtual reference services, directions on research in the 21st-century academic library, innovative uses of physical library spaces, uses of social media for disseminating scholarly research, information architecture and usability studies, the importance of special collections and archival collections, and lessons learned in digitization and digital projects planning and management. Data management services are highlighted in the context of a consortium of smaller liberal arts and regional institutions who share a common institutional repository. Survey research plays a role in a number of chapters. One provides insight into how academic libraries are currently approaching web services, web applications, and library websites. A second survey is used to explore the role of librarians as web designers, and provides detailed information related to job titles, job duties, time percentages related to duties, and other duties outside of web design. Comments of those surveyed are included and make interesting reading and a deeper understanding of this new function in libraries. More generally, is a survey study exploring how librarians feel about the changes that are currently happening within the profession, as well as how these changes have personally affected their job duties and their current job assignments. Case studies are include one that features QuestionPoint in the context of a cooperative virtual reference service; another shows how research and scholarship can be disseminated using social media tools such as blogs, Twitter, ResearchGate and Google Scholar, among others; a other studies explore the importance of user engagement and buy-in before moving forward on digitization; and one shows how information architecture and usability emerge from the redesign of a public library website and whose successful completion involves user surveying, focus groups, peer site reviews, needs analysis, and usability testing. Two chapters deal with the changing legal context: the importance and understanding of copyright and author rights in the 21st-century academic library, and the basics Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). It is hoped that this volume, and the series in general, will be a valuable and exciting addition to the discussions and planning surrounding the future directions, services, and careers in the 21st-century academic library.


Taking Our Pulse

Taking Our Pulse

Author: Jackie M. Dooley

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 9781556533877

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A report of an OCLC Research survey of library special collections holdings and practices at selected institutions in the United States and Canada. Numerous charts and tables summarizing responses are included. Recommendations for best practices are also provided.


The Value of Academic Libraries

The Value of Academic Libraries

Author: Megan J. Oakleaf

Publisher: Assoc of Cllge & Rsrch Libr

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 211

ISBN-13: 0838985688

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This report provides Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) leaders and the academic community with a clear view of the current state of the literature on value of libraries within an institutional context, suggestions for immediate "Next Steps" in the demonstration of academic library value, and a "Research Agenda" for articulating academic library value. Its focus is to help librarians understand, based on professional literature, the current answer to the question, "How does the library advance the missions of the institution?" This report is also of interest to higher educational professionals external to libraries, including senior leaders, administrators, faculty, and student affairs professionals.