This March 7, 2013, webcast presented by ARL and Ithaka S+R provides an overview of the recent report of the same name as well as community responses to the findings. Speakers include Judy Ruttenberg (ARL), Nancy Maron (Ithaka S+R), Lisa Carter (Ohio State University), Anne Kenney (Cornell University), Ann Thornton (New York Public Library), and Sarah Pickle (Ithaka S+R).
While many research libraries have begun to digitize their collections and share best practices around the steps required to create digital content, much less is known about what happens post-launch. Building on previous research by Ithaka S+R that defined key aspects of sustainable digital content, Appraising our Digital Investment: Sustainability of Digitized Special Collections in ARL Libraries offers a first look at the practices, attitudes, costs, and revenues associated with caring for digitized special collections. The report shares results from a survey conducted on the sustainability of digitized special collections at ARL member institutions.
Poster presented at the LCDP Luminary Class, June 2012. The decisions that academic libraries and special collections make today, in a context of rapid technologicaland other change, will shape the research of historians of the future. Certain types of primary sources of special interest to historians of science and technology—including scientific texts, journal literature, archival documents of research institutions, and manuscript papers of scientists and engineers—are often stewarded by academic libraries, with particular responsibility assumed by science- and technology-focused institutions. Recent trends in collection development and management will have major implications for tomorrow's scholars. What does it mean for both current and future historians of science and technology that more and more sources are full-text searchable online, and that more and more print sources are stored off-site? Will scholars be affected by libraries licensing rather than owning digital content? Will today's born-digital counterparts to yesterday's paper publications, documents, and images be accessible? Are research libraries and special collections currently capturing and preserving the same kinds of primary sources that historians of science and technology have relied on, and are there other kinds of sources we should be preserving?
Poster presented at the LCDP Luminary Class, June 2012. How have research libraries chronicled the lives of African American students on campus? What are the subject headings and finding aids for student organizations, dissertations, sororities and fraternities, or oral histories? What factors (procedure, personnel, Alumni groups) have impacted the inclusion of materials in library collections?
SPEC Kit 329 explores the tools, workflow, and policies special collections and archives staff use to process, manage, and provide access to born-digital materials they collect. It also looks at which staff process and manage born-digital materials and how they acquire the skills they need for these activities, and how libraries have responded to the challenges that managing born-digital materials present. It includes documentation from respondents that describe digital specialists’ job responsibilities, collection policies, gift/purchase agreements, format policies, and workflows.
This publication is available for purchase in both online and print versions. Download the spec-kit-purchase-options-2013.pdf for complete pricing and purchase options information.
Link to the online SPEC Kit 329on the ARL Digital Publications website.
SPEC Kit 317 examines exhibits, events, instruction, and other activities that are targeted to engage students, faculty, and other scholars/researchers with special collections for research and education. It investigates who coordinates these activities, where they are held, how they are promoted, and how they are evaluated. It includes documentation from respondents in the form of policies and procedures, class request procedures, descriptions of class assignments and resources, job descriptions, and exhibit and event promotional methods.
This publication is available for purchase in both online and print versions. Download the spec-kit-purchase-options-2013.pdf for complete pricing and purchase options information.
Link to the online SPEC Kit 317on the ARL Digital Publications website.
Charge developed in collaboration with the Chairs of TRL Steering Committee and of the Working Group, and with input from the Executive Committee. Endorsed by Executive Committee Feb 11, 2010
SPEC Kit 314 examines the current policies and practices for processing manuscript and archival collections in Special Collections. It is organized around four general areas: personnel, job responsibilities and training; processing policies, procedures, and priorities; impacts on processing decisions; and management tools. It includes documentation from respondents in the form of processing policies and procedures, processing worksheets, statistics, and job descriptions.
This publication is available for purchase in both online and print versions. Download the spec-kit-purchase-options-2013.pdf for complete pricing and purchase options information.
Link to the online SPEC Kit 314on the ARL Digital Publications website.
SPEC Kit 305 explores the state of records management in ARL member institutions. The survey results also show which staff manage records and how much time they spend on this activity; how staff are trained; who pays for records management; who makes policy decisions; what types of materials are included; where these materials are stored; procedures for adding and discarding materials; who may retrieve records from storage; and more. This SPEC Kit includes documentation from respondents in the form of records management unit Web pages, policies, retention schedules, job descriptions, transfer, retrieval, and destruction forms, and management of electronic records.
This publication is available for purchase in both online and print versions. Download the spec-kit-purchase-options-2013.pdf for complete pricing and purchase options information.
Link to the online SPEC Kit 305on the ARL Digital Publications website.
Philip N. Cronenwett, Kevin Osborn, Samuel A. Streit, eds. • 2007 • ISBN 978-1-59407-769-2 • 312 pp., 402 illus., index
This compendium includes 118 special collection profiles, each from a different ARL member library. Each profile is illustrated with color photographs and tells a story of a single collection, recounting how the resources were acquired and developed. Also included is an introductory essay by British rare book expert Nicolas Barker and an appendix that provides a broad description of each library's special collection holdings and pertinent contact information. The book contains a detailed index; the companion Web site provides a search engine.
Print copies are also available for $135 ($115 ARL members) plus shipping & handling.
SPEC Kit 296 explores public service staffing, reference and public services offered, methods of patron access, types of intellectual access tools used, patron registration, the reference interview process, and public service evaluation and promotion methodsin Special Collections. In addition, respondents were asked to comment on significant changes in reference and public services in the last few years, particularly those related to outreach, instruction, and learning. It includes documentation from respondents in the form of service policies, patron registration forms, job descriptions, and service prices.
This publication is available for purchase in both online and print versions. Download the spec-kit-purchase-options-2013.pdf for complete pricing and purchase options information.
Link to the online SPEC Kit 296on the ARL Digital Publications website.
Until this 1998 survey, no systematic data had been collected on special collections in ARL libraries for nearly 20 years. The results of this survey provide a snapshot of these collections at the end of the twentieth century and identify areas for further investigation.
Presentation at the 2009 ARL/CNI Fall Forum, "An Age of Discovery: Distinctive Collections in the Digital Age." Article appeared in RLI 267 (Dec. 2009).
digitizing-special-collections-report-21feb13.pdf
