Rare Book Librarian ship

LSC 565, Spring 2009

Syllabus

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books and Journals referred to in the Syllabus:

 

Archer, H. Richard, editor.  Rare Book Collections.  (ACRL Monograph 27).  Chicago:

            ACRL, 1967.

 

Baker, Nicholson.  Double Fold:  Libraries and the Assault on Paper.  New York:

            Random House, 2001.

 

Basbanes, Nicholas A.  A Gentle Madness:  Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes and the Eternal

            Passion for Books.  New York:  Henry Holt, 1995.  Paperback edition, 1999.

 

Carter, John.  ABC for Book-Collectors.  New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Books, 1994.

            Seventh edition.

 

Cave, Roderick.  Rare Book Librarianship.  London:  C. Bingley, 1982.  Second revised

            edition.

 

Library Trends, Vol. 36, No. 1, “Recent Trends in Rare Book Librarianship,” edited by

            Michele Valerie Cloonan, Summer 1987.

 

*Library Trends, Vol. 52, No. 1.  Summer 2003.

 

Malaro, Marie.  A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections.  Washington, D.C.

            and London:  Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998.  Second edition.

 

Peters, Jean, editor.  Book Collecting:  A Modern Guide.  New York:  Bowker, 1977.

 

RBML:  Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship.  (journal)

 

 

* Available full-text in electronic format

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class schedule:

Please read the assigned selections prior to the appropriate class meeting.  Since there is no textbook for this course, all readings assigned will be on “paper” reserves by the second class meeting.  Please be aware that electronic reserves may not be possible in all cases, but have been requested.

Monday, 22 January:  Overview of Course, and Introduction to Book Collecting

Monday. 29 January:  Book Collecting (continued)

            Basbanes:  Over the course of the next two weeks read pp.1-222.

 Carter:  “Association Copy;” “Condition;” “Dust-Jacket;” “Ex-Library;” “Inscribed Copy;” “Presentation Copy;” “Provenance;” “Rarity.”

 Cave:  Chapter 2, “The nature of the rare book.”

 William Matheson.  “What Book Collecting Is All About.”  Peters, 1-25.

You should also subscribe to ExLibris, an electronic news and discussion group for matters related to rare book and manuscript librarianship.

“To subscribe, send the following in the message area to LISTPROC@LIBRARY.BERKELEY.EDU

 SUBSCRIBE EXLIBRIS [yourfirstname yourlastname, institution]

 Be sure the message is contained in a single line in the message area; the subject line should be blank.  You need not include the comma and institutional information, but the latter is helpful to the list moderator and others.  You yourself must subscribe from the address to which you wish ExLibris messages sent, both to assure proper usage and to assure that the subscription is under your control.”

Monday, 5 February:  The Antiquarian Book Trade and the Book Auction      Market

Allen and Patricia Ahearn.  “Pricing Scarce and Rare Books and Manuscripts.”        RBML 9,  No. 1 (1994),  pp. 31-38.

Anthony Brandt.  “The Baron of Rare Books.”  Connoisseur, September 1982, pp. 132-139.

“                          “Rare, Rarer, Rarest.”  Town and Country, March 1999, pp. 47- 50.

Carter:  “Antiquarian Bookseller;” “Auctions;” “Booksellers’ Catalogues;” “Rings.”

             Robert Rosenthal.  “The Antiquarian Book Market.”  Peters, pp. 58-77.

Israel Shenker.  “Profiles:  The Greatest Sport (Christopher De Hamel).”  The New Yorker, May 29, 1989, pp. 48-68.

 Mark Singer.  “Profiles:  W. Graham Arader, III.”  The New Yorker, November 30, 1987, pp. 44-97.

 Calvin Trillin.  “American Chronicles:  Knowing Johnny Jenkins.”  The New Yorker, October 30, 1989, pp. 79-97.

 Robert A. Wilson.  “Buying at Auction.” Peters, pp. 38-57.

 Browse Trussel’s book collecting web site at http://www.trussel.com/f_books.htm

 Also, take a look at abebooks.com and abaa.org.

Monday, 12 February:  Rare Book Libraries

            Basbanes, pp. 312-354.

Terry Belanger.  “Rare Books and Special Collections in American Libraries:      Seeing the Sites.”  RBML 1, No. 1 (April 1986), pp. 11-24.

Christopher Hemphill.  “The Morgan Succession.”  Town and Country,    December 1987, pp. 194-197 & 266-268.

William L. Joyce.  “The Evolution of the Concept of Special Collections in American Research Libraries.”  RBML, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring 1988), pp. 19-30.

 The following articles are in Library Trends, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Summer 1987):

Martin Antonetti.  “The Subtle Symbiosis:  Rare Books at Mills College.” pp.171-178.

 Stephen Ferguson.  “Rare Books in University Libraries.”  pp. 157-170.

 Laura Linnard.  “Special Collections in the Public Library.”  pp.  179-188.

 

Bruce Porter.  “Touch of Genius.”  Connoisseur, June 1990, pp. 80-86 & 126-127.

 Lawrence Clark Powell.  “Functions of Rare Books.”  College & Research Libraries 1 (December 1939), pp. 97-103.

S. Schoenbaum.  “The world’s finest Shakespeare library is on this side of the   Atlantic.”  Smithsonian, April 1982, pp. 118-127.

 The following articles are in Wilson Library Bulletin, October 1983:

 John Bidwell. “Rare Books for Research:  Separately Housed Collections.”  pp. 102-106.

William Keller.  “Special Collections:  The Museum Setting.”  pp. 111-114.

Ruth Mortimer.  “Manuscripts and Rare Books in an Undergraduate Library.”  pp.107-110.

Peter Van Wingen.  “Rare Books in Large Libraries:  The Library of Congress.” pp. 97-101.

Edwin Wolf, 2nd.  “The Development of Rare Book Collections in the United States.”  Archer, Chapter II (pp. 11-25).

 Marjorie Wynne.  “The Nature and Importance of Rare Books.” Archer, Chapter I (pp. 4-10).

Gordon N. Ray.  “The World of Rare Books Re-examined.”  Yale University Library Gazette, Vol. 49, No. 3 (July 1974), pp. 77-146.

William S. Reese.  “The Rare Book Market Today,” a slightly modified version    of a talk given by Reese at Brown University in the Fall of 1999.  http://www.reeseco.com/papers/market.htm

Monday, 19 February:  No class

Monday, 26 February:  Rare Book Libraries:  Processing, Interpretation and Acquisitions

Marcus A. McCorison.  “The Routine Handling of Forgeries in Research  Libraries: or, Can Dishonesty Ever Be Routine?”  In:  Forged Documents: Proceedings of the 1989 Houston Conference, edited by Pat Bozeman (New Castle, Delaware:  Oak Knoll Books, 1990), pp. 49-53.

 

Michael T. Ryan.  “Shopping Around.”  RBML, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Spring 1989),  pp.43-52.

 Daniel Traister.  “Rare Book Collections:  The Need for Interpretation.”  Wilson Library Bulletin, October 1983, pp. 115-119.

 Additional reading from Malaro to be assigned.

Monday, 5 March:  Rare Book Libraries:  Preservation and Security

Association of College and Research Libraries Guidelines for the Security of Rare  Books, Manuscripts, and other Special Collections.

http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ACRL/Standards_and_Guidelines/Guidelines_for_the_Sec

            Basbanes, pp. 465-519.

Sherelyn Ogden.  “Security from Loss:  Water and Fire Damage, Biological  Agents, Theft, and Vandalism.”  RBML 11, No. 1 (1996), pp. 43-47.

 Mary P. Wyly.  “Special Collections Security:  Problems, Trends and  Consciousness.”  Library Trends, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Summer 1987), pp. 241-256.

Marilyn Wurzburger.  “Current Security Practices in College and University    Special Collections.”  RBML Vol. 3 (Spring 1988), pp. 43-58.

David S. Zeidberg.  “’We Have Met the Enemy’… Collection Security in  Libraries.”  RBML 2, (Spring 1987), pp. 19-26.

Monday, 12 March:  Introduction to Rare Book Librarianship

Michéle Valerie Cloonan and Sidney E. Berger.  “Present and Future Issue for Special Collections.”  RBML, Vol.  13, No. 2 (1999), pp. 89-94.

 Alice D. Schreyer.  “RBMS at 30:  Growing Along with the Profession.”  RBML 3 (Spring 1988), pp. 3-18.

Daniel Traister.  “A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale:  The Profession of Rare Book  Librarianship in the 1980s.”  Library Trends, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Summer 1987), pp. 141-156.

Monday, 19 March:  No class

Monday, 26 March:  Tour of Redwood Library and Athenæum with Lisa Long, Ezra Stiles Special Collections Librarian, 6:30 p.m.

 

Monday, 2 April:  Rare Book Librarianship (continued)

            Nicholson Baker.  “Discards.”  New Yorker 70, No. 7 (April 4, 1994), pp. 64-86.

Daniel J. Bradbury.  “Barbarians within the Gate:  Pillage of a Rare Book Collection.”  RBML 9, No. 1 (1994), pp. 8-16.

 Cave:  Chapter 11 (pp. 139-147).  “The training of rare book librarians.”

 Nancy E. Douglas.  “Debating ‘Discards:’  A Response to Nicholson Baker.” RBML 9, No. 1 (1994), pp. 41-47.

 Daniel Traister.  “The Rare Book Librarian’s Day.”  RBML 1, No. 2 (Fall 1986),  pp. 93-106.

 Joel Silver.  “The Lilly Fellowship Program:  Training for Rare Book Librarians.” RBML 5, No. 1 (1990), pp. 33-38.

 Rollo Silver.  “The Training of Rare Book Librarians.”  Library Trends 9 (April 1961), pp. 446-452.

Monday, 9 April:  Ethics and Current Issues in Rare Book Librarianship

ALA.  Standards for Ethical Conduct for Rare Book, Manuscript and Special Collections Librarians, with Guidelines for Institutional Practice in Support of the Standards, 2nd edition, 1992.

http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ACRL/Standards_and_Guidelines/Standards_for_Ethical_

 Read Baker, Double Fold.

Joseph L. Sax.  “Access to Library and Museum Collections,” in Playing Darts with a Rembrandt:  Public and Private Rights in Cultural Treasures (Ann Arbor:  University of Michigan Press, 1999), pp. 117-133.

Monday, 16 April:  Rare Book Librarianship:  Legal Issues

Edward F. Clark.  “Law Enforcement and the Library.”  Journal of Library Administration Vol. 25, No. 1 (1998), pp. 33-47.

John R. Payne.  “A Closer Eye on Appraisals.”  C&RL News 46 (February 1985), pp. 52-56.

IRS pub. 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property. 

http://www.irs.gov

 Be aware also of IRS pub. 526, Charitable Contributions.

 Additional readings from Malaro to be assigned.

Monday, 23 April:  Rare Book Librarianship:  Public Relations

            Presentations:  Numbers 1-6

Nicholas A. Basbanes.  “Collectors and Libraries:  Some Studies in Symbiosis.” RBML 8, No. 1 (1993), pp. 37-48.

 Laurel G. Bowen and Peter J. Roberts.  “Exhibits:  Illegitimate Children of  Academic Libraries?”  C&RL 54 (September 1993), pp. 407-415.

 Lucy S. Caswell.  “Building a Strategy for Academic Library Exhibits.”  C&RL  News (April 1985), pp. 165-168.

 Cave, Chapter 10.

 “Guidelines for Borrowing and Lending Special Collections Materials for  Exhibit.”  Draft revision, 1999.

http://www.rbms.nd.edu/standards/borrowing_lending.htm

Peters, Chapter 10.

Sandra Powers.  “Why Exhibit?  The Risks Versus the Benefits.”  American Archivist 44 (July 1978), pp. 297-306.

Elaine B. Smyth and Robert S. Martin.  “Working with Friends of the Library to Augment  Staff Resources:  A Case History.”  RBML 9, No. 1 (1994), pp. 19-28.

Monday, 30 April:  Presentations of Term Papers (papers due)  Presentations: 7-13

Monday, 7 May:  Review and Take Home Exam

Friday, 11 May:  Exam due by e-mail attachment by midnight

 

 

 Grading

Grading for the course will be based on a written assignment relating to book collecting; a term paper relating to an aspect of rare book/special collections libraries or librarianship; and a take-home final exam.

 Short paper is due 26 February (20%)

 Term paper is due, and will include a presentation to the class 23 and 30 April (30%)

 Final exam is due by e-mail attachment Friday, 11 May by midnight EDT (50%)