Special collections outside the Ivory Tower - Independent Research Library Association

Library Trends, Summer, 2003 by Susan M. Allen

ABSTRACT

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS MATERIALS are not only to be found in academic libraries; they can be found in museum, public and national, and independent research libraries as well. The focus of this paper is on independent research libraries, especially those who are members of the Independent Research Library Association (IRLA).

IRLA members are eighteen private, nonprofit research and education institutions. Their focused collections are developed to support research rather than an academic curriculum. They serve scholars and researchers internationally with their eminent collections. They provide access on-site and increasingly online. They will be challenged in the future by the need for increased financial support, changes in scholarship and scholarly communications, and the need for increased visibility.

WHERE CAN SPECIAL COLLECTIONS BE FOUND OUTSIDE OF COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES?

It is a mistake to assume that special collections of rare materials are only to be found on college or university campuses in the United States. Some of our richest sources of rare books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, prints, and other rare materials are to be found in at least three other types of libraries: museum libraries, public and national libraries, and independent research libraries. Museum libraries such as the Frick Art Reference Library and the library of the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York, and the National Gallery of Art Library in Washington, D.C., house and make accessible, among other materials, rare books, extensive photo study collections of art objects, rare art exhibition catalogs, rare photographic collections, and important institutional archives relating to museum collecting since the nineteenth century. Some American public libraries are world famous for their extraordinary special collections. For example, the New York Public Library (NYPL) collections are as extensive as those of many national libraries. The Boston Public Library has many rare collections and is known for its Americana imprints, early children's books, and Frankliniana, to name three. The Detroit Public Library holds the Burton Historical Collection of material on the Northwest Territory. The San Francisco Public Library has called its Special Collections Department "The City's Museum of the Book." (1) There one can find collections on printing, binding, typography, and papermaking.

Our national libraries house significant rare materials as well. The Library of Congress has separate divisions for rare books and special collections, geography and maps, manuscripts, music, films and recorded sound, and prints and photographs. All of these divisions hold rare materials. The Smithsonian Institution Libraries' collections include 40,000 rare books and 1,800 manuscript groups. Even the National Library of Medicine has special collections of manuscripts and oral histories.

Independent research libraries as a category and as a group of North American special collections libraries are often less well known and less understood than special collections in academic libraries, museum libraries, and public and national libraries. Therefore, the remainder of this paper will be devoted to removing the "bushel," so to speak, from these libraries so that their "light" may shine for all to see. To do this, I will address the following five questions: 1. What and who are independent research libraries? 2. How is collection development different in independent research libraries? 3. Whom do these collections serve? 4. How have these libraries approached access, especially digital access? 5. What new risks do independent research libraries and their special collections face?

WHAT AND WHO ARE INDEPENDENT RESEARCH LIBRARIES?

Independent research libraries are just that: independent. They have no ties to federal or state governments. They are not a part of a state educational system. They are not a part of any college or university. They are private and independent and have their own charter or act of incorporation. In the eyes of the I.R.S. they are designated not-for-profit institutions. Gifts they receive are tax deductible. They derive major financial support from endowments and often must seek addition funds and gifts-in-kind to survive and prosper. They are governed by boards of trustees, and their chief executive officers report directly to these boards.

Their collections are of national or international significance and are not merely local or regional in character. They are "research collections of such depth and breadth as to be capable of supporting sustained research in a variety of interrelated subjects and fields" (IRLA, 1987, p. 2). They have collections of the quality necessary to attract scholars and researchers from all over the world. They are committed to making these resources available to this extramural community even if they have an internal community to serve as well. All qualified readers will be served with "the kinds and amounts of service expected of major [academic] research libraries" (IRLA, 1987, p. 2). In general terms one would say independent research libraries are "organized research and education" institutions (IRLA, n.d., p. 1). Scholars are served not only by collections. They are also "served through fellowships, seminars, conferences, and institutes, as well as through such publications as catalogs, guides, monographs,journals, and books."