S583: Rare Book Libraries and Librarianship Syllabus Spring 2012 Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Ellison Room, Lilly Library Instructor: Joel Silver (812-855-2452) e-mail: silverj@indiana.edu Books and Journals referred to in the Syllabus: Basbanes: Basbanes, Nicholas A. A Gentle Madness. New York: Henry Holt, 1995. Paperback edition, 1999. Carter, ABC: Carter, John. ABC for Book-Collectors. Eighth edition. New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Books, 2004. The assigned reading sections from Carter are available on e-reserve. A PDF of Carter s ABC is also available for free download at: http://www.ilab.org/eng/documentation/30-john_carters_abc_for_book_collectors.html Cave: Cave, Roderick: Rare Book Librarianship. Second revised edition. London: C. Bingley, 1982. Library Trends. Vol. 36, No. 1. "Recent Trends in Rare Book Librarianship," edited by Michéle Valerie Cloonan. Summer 1987. Library Trends, Vol. 52, No. 1. "Special Collections for the Twenty-first Century," edited by Barbara M. Jones. Summer 2003. Malaro: Malaro, Marie. A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections. Second edition. Washington, D.C. and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998. RBM: Rare Books & Manuscripts RBML: Rare Books & Manuscripts Librarianship The only required textbook is A Gentle Madness by Nicholas A. Basbanes, which is available for purchase from the Friends of Art Bookshop, Fine Arts 121. If you don't already have a copy, you may also want to purchase or download ABC for Book Collectors (it's quite useful beyond the limited required reading I've assigned for this course). All other assigned readings will be available on e-reserve. Grading: Grades will be based on a take-home midterm examination, a research paper, and a take-home final examination. 1
The weighting of the midterm examination, the research paper, and the final examination are as follows: Take-home midterm examination, to be distributed in class on Tuesday, January 31, due on Tuesday, February 21: 25% Research paper, on an aspect of rare book librarianship. The assignment will be distributed in class on Tuesday, January 17, and is due on Tuesday, April 24: 35% Take-home final examination (to be distributed in class on Tuesday, March 27), due by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1: 40% Class Schedule Please try to read the assigned selections prior to the appropriate class meeting. There will be additional readings assigned for some of the class sessions. There will also be guest speakers at several class sessions who will discuss various aspects of rare book librarianship, including cataloging and technical services, reference and public services, digital issues, conservation, and acquisitions and development. Tuesday, January 10 Introduction to the Course Tuesday, January 17: Book Collecting Basbanes, pp. 1-222 (it s not necessary to read all of this before class it may be read over the next couple of weeks) Carter, ABC: "Association copy," "Condition, "Dust-Jacket," "Ex-Library," Inscribed Copy," Presentation Copy," "Provenance," Rarity." Subscribe to Exlibris, an electronic news and discussion group for matters related to rare books and manuscript librarianship. Some of the issues debated on Exlibris will form the basis for class discussion. To subscribe to Exlibris, send the following message to the server: LISTSERV@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU SUBSCRIBE EXLIBRIS-L 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 identification, but the latter is helpful to the list Moderator and to others. You yourself must subscribe from the 2
address to which you wish Exlibris messages sent, both to assure proper usage and to assure that the subscription is under your control. The server will not acknowledge or successfully distribute mail to Bitnet addresses, other source routed addresses, or those originating from an open relay. You MUST give your real name to subscribe. The list does not allow pseudonyms or so-called "concealed" subscribers. The Moderator approves all subscription requests since that it about the only way to prevent spammers from subscribing." Tuesday, January 24: Rare Book Libraries Lawrence Clark Powell: "Functions of Rare Books." College & Research Libraries 1 (December 1939), p. 97-103. William L. Joyce. "The Evolution of the Concept of Special Collections in American Research Libraries." RBML, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring 1988), p. 19-30. The following articles are in Wilson Library Bulletin, October 1983: Ruth Mortimer. "Manuscripts and Rare Books in an Undergraduate Library," p. 107-110. William Keller. "Special Collections: The Museum Setting," p. 111-114. The following articles are in Library Trends, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Summer 1987): Stephen Ferguson. "Rare Books in University Libraries," p. 157-170. Terry Belanger. "Rare Books and Special Collections in American Libraries: Seeing the Sites," RBML 1, No. 1 (April 1986), p. 11-24. Susan M. Allen. "Special Collections Outside the Ivory Tower," Library Trends, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Summer 2003), p. 60-68. Gordon N. Ray. "The World of Rare Books Re-examined." Yale University Library Gazette, Vol. 49, No. 3 (July 1974), p. 77-146. Tuesday, January 31: Rare Book Libraries: Technical Services and Cataloging Guest speakers: Elizabeth L. Johnson, Head of Technical Services, Lilly Library, and Lori Dekydtspotter, Rare Book Cataloger, Lilly Library Beth M. Russell. Description and Access in Rare Books Cataloging: A Historical Survey. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 3/4 (2003), p. 491-523. 3
Tuesday, February 7: Collection Development and the Antiquarian Book Trade Tuesday, February 7: The Antiquarian Book Trade and Auction Market Carter, ABC: "Antiquarian Bookseller," "Auctions," "Bookseller's Catalogues," "Rings." Mark Singer. "Profiles: W. Graham Arader III." The New Yorker, Nov. 30, 1987, p. 44-97. Calvin Trillin. "American Chronicles: Knowing Johnny Jenkins." The New Yorker, October 30, 1989, p. 79-97. William S. Reese. "The Rare Book Market Today," a slightly modified version of a talk given by Reese at Brown University in 1999. http://reeseco.com/papers.market.htm Also, take a look at www.abebooks.com, and www.abaa.org. Tuesday, February 14: Rare Book Libraries: Use and Interpretation of Collections Guest speakers: Rebecca Cape, Head of Public Services, Lilly Library. Daniel Traister. "Rare Book Collections: The Need for Interpretation." Wilson Library Bulletin, October 1983, p. 115-119. -----. Public Services and Outreach in Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Libraries. Library Trends, Vol. 52, no. 1 (Summer 2003), p. 87-108. Browse the following site devoted to the first ten years of the Katherine Kyes Leab and Daniel J. Leab American Book-Price Current Exhibition Catalog Awards for Excellence: http://www.rbms.nd.edu/committees/exhibition_awards/first_ten_years/index.html Tuesday, February 21: Rare Book Libraries: Digital Issues Guest speaker: Erika Dowell, Public Services Librarian, Lilly Library. Erway, Ricky, and Jennifer Schaffner. 2007. Shifting Gears: Gearing Up to Get Into the Flow. Dublin, Ohio : OCLC Programs and Research. Available online at: http://www.oclc.org/research/publications/library/2007/2007-02.pdf (.pdf: 86K/ 11pp.). 4
Well intentioned practice for putting digitized collections of unpublished materials online OCLC Research http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/rights/practice.pdf Tuesday, February 28: Rare Book Libraries: Preservation and Security Guest speaker: Jim Canary, Head of Conservation, Lilly Library David S. Zeidberg. We Have Met the Enemy Collection Security in Libraries. RBML 2 (Spring 1987), p. 19-26. Guidelines for the Security of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Other Special Collections. http://www.rbms.org Basbanes, p. 465-519. Sherelyn Ogden. Security from Loss: Water and Fire Damage, Biological Agents, Theft, and Vandalism. RBML 11, No. 1 (1996), p. 43-47. Tuesday, March 6: Rare Book Libraries: Donor Development and Public Relations Readings to be assigned. Tuesday, March 13: Spring Break No Class Meeting Tuesday, March 20: Legal and Ethical Issues ACRL Code of Ethics for Special Collections Librarians: http://www.rbms.nd.edu/standards/code_of_ethics.shtml 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), p. 117-133. Malaro, Selections from Chapter IV, ( The Acquisition of Objects ), p. 60-84; p. 135-149. Tuesday, March 27: Rare Book Libraries: Organization, Management, and Public Relations Readings to be assigned. 5
Tuesday, April 3 Tuesday April 10: Topics to be Announced Tuesday, April 17: Rare Book Librarianship: The Development of a Profession 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), p. 141-156. Alice D. Schreyer. RBMS at 30: Growing Along with the Profession. RBML 3 (spring 1988), p. 3-18. Rollo Silver. The Training of Rare Book Librarians. Library Trends 9 (April 1961), p. 446-452. Cave: Chapter 11 (p. 139-147). The Training of Rare Book Librarians. Joel Silver. The Lilly Fellowship Program: Training for Rare Book Librarians. RBML 5, No. 1 (1990), p. 33-38. Tuesday, April 24: Current Issues in Rare Book Libraries and Librarianship Michéle Valerie Cloonan and Sidney E. Berger. Present and Future Issues for Special Collections. RBML, Vol. 13, No. 2 (1999), p. 89-94. RBMS Task Force Committee on Core Competencies in Special Collections Librarianship. Revised Final Document 7/1/08 http://www.rbms.nd.edu/committees/task_force/core_competencies/index.shtml Additional readings to be assigned. 6