RBMS Newsletter - No. 33 / Fall 2000

RBMS Newsletter is a publication of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611 (312-944-6780. Editors: Daren Callahan, Morris Library, Southern Illinois University, 618-453-7681, dcallaha@lib.siu.edu; Manon Théroux, Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University, 203-432-8376, manon.theroux@yale.edu. Asst. Ed.: Jeffrey Makala, Olin Library, Wesleyan University, 860-685-3863, jmakala@wesleyan.edu. Typesetting and layout done by Daren Callahan. The type is True Type® Times New Roman and Shelley-Allegro Script. RBMS Chair: Mark Dimunation, Library of Congress, 202-707-2025, mdim@loc.gov.

©American Library Association, 2000
ISSN 0743-1481 (paper)
ISSN 1098-4291 (electronic)

CONTENTS

From the Chair

The inaugural issue of RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage posed the question "What's so special about Special Collections?" It is not a new question for us. Certainly as a profession we periodically reassess the nature and function of our operations, and as an ACRL section, RBMS has devoted considerable time to pondering how others see us and how we can best serve our audience and the collections under our charge.

It appears as if once again that cycle has been launched. The cover of American Libraries recently featured the same question, and although the stance of the featured articles was less comprehensive, the journal nevertheless signaled that special collections are being reviewed from several vantage points. As a measure of the importance of this strategic question, ARL is proposing a conference regarding the role of special collections in research libraries. With the objective of developing an action agenda, the conference will look to recommendations to reaffirm the importance of special collections and encourage a collaborative approach to long-standing issues. Special collections have returned to the center of the conversation

Past RBMS Preconferences have delved into these issues, examining strategic initiatives and reminding us of the challenges inherent in the special nature of our holdings. The 1998 meeting raised nineteenth-century materials as an area of concern, and the invigorating 2000 Preconference in Chicago put forward the visual image as a matter to contend with. The 2001 San Francisco Preconference promises to do the same, this time addressing the theoretical and logistical issues central to collecting and documenting the twentieth century. Coping with multiple-format collections, incorporating new technologies into collection-building efforts, and grappling with the now ubiquitous digital library are some of the concerns to be addressed.

There are strong indications that the section is successfully conveying what is special about special collections. The Membership and Professional Development Committee has made great strides in expanding outreach to new members, especially in their coordination of awarding Preconference scholarships. In response to the increasing presence of Internet exhibitions, the Exhibition Catalogue Awards Committee is for the first time including the category of online exhibitions. The recent renewal of liaison relationships with other professional groups and the book trade has sparked some new possibilities. Certainly there is more to do. The Executive Committee looks forward to building on these ventures and working with RBMS members to expand outreach activities and to explore those issues that are key to the ongoing conversation about special collections.

-- Mark Dimunation

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Preconference Scholarships

A new RBMS scholarship program was inaugurated at the Chicago Preconference. For the first time, scholarships were awarded to RBMS members who had not previously attended a Preconference. Four full scholarships consisting of the cost of registration plus a $500 travel stipend were awarded to: Peggy Price, McCain Library & Archives, University of Southern Mississippi; Sarah Goodwin Thiel, Kansas City Public Library; Eileen L. Smith, John Carter Brown Library; and Ruthanne D. Vogel, Archives and Special Collections, University of Miami. Partial scholarships (registration costs only) were awarded to: Teresa M. Morris, Special Collections, University of Delaware; Caroline Duroselle-Melish, Historical Collections, New York Academy of Medicine; Sarah L. Schmidt Fisher, Morris Library, University of Delaware; Steve Lawson, Ransom Center Library, University of Texas at Austin; Shanon Lawson, Ransom Center Library, University of Texas at Austin; and Kevin L. Glick, SUNY Albany.

Truly a team effort, the scholarship program was proposed to the Budget and Development Committee by the Education and Professional Development Committee, with the support of the Membership Committee. Funding for the scholarships came from surplus revenues generated by the 1998 Preconference. At the Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio last January, the Executive Committee approved the scholarship proposal and enlisted Rachel Howarth, Mike Kelly, and Member-at-Large Peter Hanff to administer the program. Due to a short timeframe, the scholarship program was announced solely through discussion lists and the Preconference website, but a healthy number of applications were received. Winners were selected based on a personal statement of interest, a statement of financial need, and professional references.

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RBMS Midwinter Meeting Schedule

Washington, D.C., January 13-15, 2001

This is the schedule RBMS has requested. Check the final conference schedule for changes.

SATURDAY, January 13 

8:30-11:00a         2001 Preconference Program Planning
    
8:30a-12:30p        Bibliographic Standards I
                    Exhibition Awards I (Closed)

11:30a-12:30p       2002 Preconference Program PlanningMaterials
                    Nominating (Closed)
    
11:30a-12:30p       2001 Conference Program Planning
                    2002 Preconference Program Planning
        
2:00-4:00p          Budget and Development
                    Membership/Professional Development
                    Publications
                    Seminars

SUNDAY, January 14 

8:30-11:00a         Bibliographic Standards II
                    Conference Development
                    Curators and Conservators Disc.    
                    Exhibition Awards II
        
9:30a-11:00a        2001 Conference Program Planning

2:00-4:00p          Manuscripts and Other Formats
                    MARC for Special Collections
                    Public Services
                    RBM Editorial Board
                    Security
    
4:30-5:30p          Information Exchange

MONDAY, January 15 

8:30-11:00a	        Executive

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Guidelines Revision

The Ad Hoc Committee charged to draft a revision of the ACRL Guidelines for Borrowing and Lending Special Collections Materials for Exhibition has finished its work and mounted a draft document, complete with appended model loan agreement form, on the RBMS website at http://www.rbms.info/borrow.htm. All section members are invited to review the document and send comments to the Committee's chair, Jennifer B. Lee (jbl100@columbia.edu).

Message From the Archivist

As the new RBMS Archivist, I would like to remind all Committee chairs, past and present, that any official records in their files should be deposited in the ALA Archives at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. These files should be weeded to include only the kinds of documents required in the Transfer Guidelines for Records of Educational and Professional Associations, found at: http://www.library.uiuc.edu/ahx/transfer.htm.

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about the preparation of your files for transfer to the Archives or about referring to material which has already been deposited. You may contact me by telephone (217-265-0636), email (abregman@uiuc.edu), or fax (217-333-2214). Once your files are ready for transfer, you may send them to me at the following address:

Alvan Bregman
RBMS Archivist
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
346 Library
1408 W. Gregory Dr.
Urbana, IL 61822

Committee News

Bibliographic Standards

The Committee sponsored two workshops at the Preconference in Chicago. Jane Gillis and Juliet McLaren presented a repeat of the popular workshop on cataloging rare serials first given at the Montreal Preconference in 1999. Gregory Pass conducted a new workshop on codex manuscript cataloging designed to introduce the forthcoming publication, Descriptive Cataloging of Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, and Early-Modern Manuscripts (AMREMM). These rules are expected to be published by ACRL once the ALCTS Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access (CC:DA) has completed its review.

The Committee met in two sessions at the Annual Conference. Work on the revision of DCRB continued; the new serials section is nearly ready. Several new terms and revisions to existing terms in the RBMS thesauri were approved. The Committee is looking into reviving a group that met several years ago to reconcile conflicts among form/genre terms in various thesauri. Finally, the results of the Rare Recon Survey, taken two years ago, are available on the web, as is a new page, "The Rare Materials Cataloger's HelpNet," designed to connect volunteers with catalogers needing help. All projects and resources are available at http://www.lib.byu.edu/~catalog/people/rlm/bsc/home.htm.

Conference Development

The Committee has done preliminary planning for several future Preconferences. The 43rd RBMS Pre-conference will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, also the site of the ALA Conference, from June 12-14, 2002. The program chair is Nora Quinlan and the Local Arrange-ments Committee co-chairs are Steve Enniss and Laura Micham. The 44th Preconference will be held in Toronto, Canada, also the site of the ALA Conference, in June 2003. Anne Dondertman of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto, is the chair of the Local Arrangements Committee. The 2004 ALA Conference will take place in Orlando, Florida. The Committee has already received one proposal for hosting the 2004 Preconference; additional proposals are welcome and should be sent to the Committee chair, Nora Quinlan (nora@nova.edu).

The Committee website is located at http://www.nova.edu/library/cdc.manual.htm and is also accessible through the RBMS website. It includes the Preconference Planning Manual (required reading for all Preconference planner wannabes); a list of all RBMS Preconferences; a record of published lectures and papers given at the Preconferences; Preconference statistics dating back to 1993; and links to information about past, present, and future Preconferences.

Curators and Conservators

At the Annual Conference, the first topic on the discussion group's agenda was the transfer of items from general to special collections. Participants noted the space implications of large-scale transfer projects, the need to consider both artifact and content in identifying transfer candidates, and the better processing and handling that transferred items generally receive. Discussion then moved to the remote storage of special collections materials, especially the question of how to best barcode individual items. Three barcoding methods were identifed and the pros and cons of each method were reviewed. Finally, the group's discussion turned to issues relating to the care and use of photographic collections. Topics included various institutional policies on the photocopying and scanning of materials and the question of whether gloves should be required during handling. All section members are cordially invited to participate in our next discussion at the upcoming Midwinter Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Exhibition Catalogue Awards

At the Annual Conference in Chicago, the Committee held an awards ceremony for this year's winners of the Leab Awards, announced in the last issue of the RBMS Newsletter. Professor Donald W. Krummel of the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign gave a charming talk filled with wit and insight on "The Poetics of Exhibition Catalogues" in honor of the occasion.

At the Committee's business meeting, plans were discussed for the upcoming 2001 Awards competition. Because the scope of the Leab Awards has now expanded beyond print catalogs to electronic exhibitions, the Committee proposed to rename itself "The Exhibition Awards Committee" and to rename the awards as "The Katharine Kyes Leab & Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Awards." The charge of the Committee is also being redrafted and updated. These changes are pending approval by the RBMS Executive Committee, which will be reviewing the proposal at the upcoming Midwinter Conference.

By late September, shortly before the entry deadline for the 2001 Leab Awards competition, approximately thirty printed exhibition catalogs and thirty electronic exhibitions had been submitted for consideration. A new third category of exhibition guides or brochures had also been solicited in hopes of opening up the competition to a broader range of institutions, but few entries were received, probably because there had not been enough time to publicize this category properly.

Manuscripts and Other Formats

The primary topic for the meeting at the Annual Conference was a discussion of the effects, both positive and negative, the Internet has had on the way archivists and manuscript librarians do their work. The discussion centered around five general subtopics: privacy and confidentiality; exhibitions and publications; processing and cataloging; reference; and collection development. Although participants presented a wide variety of experiences, it is clear that the Internet has had -- and continues increasingly to have -- a profound effect upon the work of manuscript curators, particularly in the area of access and reference.

Following this discussion, Tim Murray (University of Delaware) and Cathy Henderson (University of Texas, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center) facilitated a discussion on competition and cooperation between institutions in the area of collection development, using a specific case study as a catalyst for discussion.

Membership and Professional Development

At the Annual Conference in Chicago, the RBMS Executive Committee agreed to merge the Education and Professional Development Committee with the Membership Committee to form a new Membership and Professional Development Committee. One of the goals of the new Committee will be to continue maintaining Educational Opportunities: A Directory, an electronic resource that provides a listing of coursework relevant to special collections librarianship currently offered through graduate library degree programs. The directory is available through the RBMS website at http://www.rbms.info/rbmsed/rbms-edr1.htm .

The two constituent committees were active at the Chicago Preconference before their official merge. The Membership Committee sponsored an orientation session for new members and first-time attendees which attracted nearly sixty people. The orientation provided information about the section and offered an opportunity for new and more experienced members of the section to socialize. Many thanks to all who participated and helped to make this such a successful event; it will be repeated at future Preconferences. The new Pre-conference scholarship program, sponsored jointly by the Education and Professional Development Committee and the Budget and Development Committee, was inaugurated in Chicago with four full scholarships and six partial scholarships offered to first-time attendees. It is expected that this program will continue in the future, whenever there is a Preconference surplus. An-nouncements about the scholarship program will be made on the RBMS electronic discussion list and on the Preconference website. Other events sponsored by the two committees during the Preconference included a seminar analyzing the results of the RBMS Membership Survey and a seminar on the education of special collections professionals, both of which were well-attended and generated interesting discussion.

The newly formed Membership and Professional Development Committee will continue to sponsor the buddy program. In Chicago, eleven buddy pairs de-monstrated the continued success of this program, which seeks to demystify RBMS and welcome new members to the section. Anyone interested in participating in the buddy program at the 2001 Midwinter Meeting in Washington, D.C., either as a new or an experienced member of the section, should contact the Committee chair, Henry Raine, at henry.raine@nyu.edu or 212-595-3036. An announcement about the buddy program and a call for participants will be posted on the RBMS electronic discussion list prior to the meeting. The Committee wishes to thank all of those who are helping to make this such a successful program.

Public Services

The meeting at the Annual Conference in Chicago generated a lively, standing-room-only discussion of handling materials in the reading room, the impact of the web on public services, and the scheduled revision of the Guidelines for the Loan of Rare and Unique Materials. Katherine Reagan, founding chair of the Public Services Discussion Group, finished her four-year term and turned the meeting over to the new co-chairs, Rachel Howarth, Head of Public Services at the Houghton Library, and Mike Kelly, Assistant Curator of the Fales Library at NYU. Questions or comments can be sent to either Rachel (rhowarth@fas. harvard.edu) or Mike (mike.kelly@nyu.edu).

Publications

A redesign of the RBMS website is underway, with a view to making it easier to navigate and more attractive. The address of the website has changed to http://www.rbms.info.

The Committee has three new members: Diana Smith (Yale University), Abby Tallmer (Forbes Magazine Collection), and Judy Harvey Sahak (Claremont Colleges), and three new ex-officio members: Manon Théroux (Yale University) and Daren Callahan (Southern Illinois University), the new co-editors of the RBMS Newsletter, and Christian Dupont (University of Notre Dame), the new RBMS webmaster. The new assistant editor of the Newsletter is Jeffrey Makala (Wesleyan University).

Work on an RBMS logo and brochure continues, with hopes of submitting sample designs for the Executive Committee to review in the next few months. The RBMS-L electronic discussion list is holding steady at about 500 subscribers.

Security

The Committee was the subject of scrutiny in the recent RBMS Executive Committee's restructuring plan, wherein it was proposed that the Committee be disbanded. As shocking as Committee members found this recommendation, they did agree that perhaps the Committee had come to be known as the perpetual reviser of guidelines and that a better explanation of all the services and duties it performed was in order. At the Chicago Annual Meeting, a presentation, including a revised charge, was made to the Executive Committee, who agreed that the Committee should continue in existence.

Despite its close brush with extinction, the Committee must nevertheless revise again, and has begun the process of revising the RBMS/ACRL Guidelines Concerning Thefts in Libraries. Sections of the present document have been distributed to various Committee members for review and possible rewriting under the guidance of a general editor. Section members with concerns about the present document or who have suggestions for revisions should contact one of the co-chairs (see below). It is hoped that the revision process will proceed quickly and not completely distract the Committee from its other work, such as helping with the LSO list, the state laws project, and perhaps a video on security procedures in libraries.

The Chicago Annual Meeting was Everett Wilkie's last one as chair. The new co-chairs are Anne Marie Lane (amlane@uwyo.edu) and Dan Slive (djslive@library.ucla.edu).

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2001 RBMS Preconference

The next RBMS Preconference will take place on June 12-15, 2001, in San Francisco. "The Twentieth Century" will explore the challenges and opportunities we face as builders of 20th-century research collections. The program will examine 20th-century collecting practices, formats, and constituencies, together with the cultural and technological changes that bear upon the nature of 20th-century recorded information. Topics will include: the history of computer science and technology; changes in the patterns of literary collecting; the challenge of managing multiple formats and media; intellectual property and copyright; and the relationship between collection building and scholarship. Seminar presentations will provide a forum for discussing: online manuscript finding aids; the experience of outsourcing the OPAC; oral history programs and collections; ethical and legal issues involved in donor relations; and subject access to Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts.

The Preconference will be held at The Fairmont, one of San Francisco's historic, world-renowned hotels. Centrally located atop Nob Hill, the hotel offers pan-oramic views of the city and bay and has recently been restored to its original early 20th-century beaux arts design. We hope that this spectacular setting will make next year's Preconference extra special. Unfortunately, the deep pockets of Silicon Valley are currently driving the rates for downtown hotels. While we have worked closely with ACRL and ALA to obtain the best possible rates, single room rates are currently projected at $186 and double room rates at $199 per night. A more economical dorm option will be available at the University of San Francisco, a 20-minute bus ride away.

Registration fees will be $195 for ACRL members and $230 for non-members. A printed brochure and registration form will be mailed to members in March, 2001. Additional information about the Preconference is available on the RBMS website. Questions may be sent to the program chair, Katherine Reagan (kr33@cornell.edu), or the local arrangements co-chairs, Theresa Salazar (tsalazar@library.berkeley.edu) and John Hawk (hawkj@usfca.edu).

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"Beyond Words in Chicago": The 2000 RBMS Preconference

"A memorable conference in a striking setting!" commented one attendee, evaluating the 41st annual RBMS Preconference held in Chicago from July 5-7, 2000. Surrounded by remarkable architecture, notable libraries and museums, and world-class dining and shopping, 267 attendees nevertheless maintained concentration through two tightly-scheduled days. Among them were 64 first-time registrants, including 10 recipients of the first-ever RBMS Preconference scholarships.

The opening night reception at the Newberry Library gave attendees the opportunity to view the exhibition "Florentine Humanism and the Church Fathers," including manuscripts and printed books from the Medici-Laurentian Library supplemented by materials from the Newberry's world-renowned Renaissance collections. Keynote speaker Professor George Roeder opened the Preconference with "Beside Words: The Impact of Things Unseen on American Lives." Noting that scholarship has gone beyond words to include the visual, Roeder pointed out that if a picture is worth a thousand words, it often takes a thousand words beside it to put it in context. Roeder outlined three important areas of scholarly use of the visual from his study of the "unseen" in American life from 1839-2000: censorship, visual conversions, and alternative visions. Turning discussion to the challenge of what we will save, Roeder acknowledged the difficulty of the task -- the vastness of materials to select from and financial and practical barriers to preservation -- and urged us to recognize the largest possible constituency for our collections as a means of increasing the inclusiveness of the collections themselves.

The second plenary session focused on maps. In "Losing the Way: Visual Culture and the Forgotten Role of Maps," Professor David Woodward lamented the popular misperception that maps are for way-finding. Having persuasively asserted that maps tell us not where we are going but rather where we have come from, Woodward closed with a cautionary note regarding current mapmaking: if preservation issues are not addressed and resolved, the instability of digital files may make this turn of the century a dark age of cartography as files are lost and corrupted. Following Woodward's talk, Ronald E. Grim gave us a tour of "Maps and Map Making: Historical Maps on the World-Wide Web," highlighting the Library of Congress's work in this area.

In the third plenary, Professor Peter Hales and archivist Amy Rule touched on authenticity and context as big issues in twenty-first century photographic research. Rule questioned whether librarians will have the time and resources to devote to these issues when they run contrary to the "sexy" themes of remote access and knowledge management, and asserted we must develop criteria for deciding what we can't see and for illuminating what we can. Professor Tom Gunning's talk on moving pictures, in an entertainingly illustrated disquisition on their history, preservation, and scholarly use, was complemented by Sid Huttner's discussion of the University of Iowa's commitment to a new library for television and film studies, a summary of its holdings, and some thoughts on the pitfalls and problems of preservation versus recreation.

The closing plenary featured Helena Zinkham's "Bridges and Whirlpools: Best Access Practices for Photographs, Prints, and Drawings," which offered a wonderful mix of practical and philosophical guidance to those wrestling with the issues of providing access to visual materials using verbal systems. In closing, Susan Allen summarized the plenaries and offered some cautionary counsel in "I Should Live So Long: The Myths, the Issues, and the Future for Images in Special Collections," chief among the issues being the need to generate funding for the huge task of preserving visual materials.

Workshops on cataloging rare serials and medieval manuscripts were offered before the Preconference. The Local Arrangements Committee provided an array of more than twenty tours and open houses for participants to enjoy. On Thursday evening, attendees enjoyed a reception at the Chicago Historical Society, and the gala closing reception at the Center for Book and Paper Arts, Columbia College Chicago, featured a book fair and open house with demonstrations of papermaking, printing, and bookbinding.

Half of the attendees completed the evaluative survey distributed at the end of the Preconference. For 66%, theme and speakers were the most important factor in choosing to attend; 94% thought the theme was appropriate to the concerns of the profession. An even higher percentage, 96%, agreed or strongly agreed that the Preconference adequately addressed the theme. Similarly, 96% felt that local arrangements were well organized and met attendees' needs, with special kudos accorded to the handy pocket-sized "vademecum." Seminars and short papers also garnered approval, with 89% (seminars) and 82% (short papers) opining that they contributed positively to the overall quality of the Preconference. As an overall rating, 96% gave the Preconference a positive rating of good or very good (the highest rating).

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Executive Committee 2000-2001

Mark Dimunation, Chair
Rare Book and Special Collections Division
The Library of Congress
202-707-2025; Fax: 202-707-4142
mdim@loc.gov

Suzy Taraba, Vice-Chair/Chair Elect
Special Collections and Archives
Olin Library
Wesleyan University
860-685-3375; Fax: 860-685-2661
staraba@wesleyan.edu

Eric Holzenberg, Past Chair
The Grolier Club
212-838-6690; Fax: 212-838-2445
ejh@grolierclub.org

Thomas L. Amos, Secretary
Special Collections
Dwight B. Waldo Library
Western Michigan University
616-387-5221; Fax: 616-387-5077
tom.amos@wmich.edu

Jean Ashton, Member-at-Large
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Butler Library
Columbia University
212-854-2232; Fax: 212-854-1365
ashton@columbia.edu

Mary Lacy, Member-at-Large
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
202-707-8799; Fax: 202-707-6336
mlac@loc.gov

Theresa Salazar, Member-at-Large
Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
510-643-8153; Fax: 510-642-7589
tsalazar@library.berkeley.edu

The complete RBMS committee roster for 2000-2001 is available on the website at http://www.rbms.info/committee_roster.html.

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Transitions

Margaret Butterfield Andrews, former head of rare books and special collections at the University of Rochester, has died. Anne Anninger has retired as Philip Hofer Curator of Printing and Graphic Arts in the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Paul N. Banks, pioneer in the field of library and archives conservation and education, has died. Sidney E. Berger, former head of special collections at the University of California, Riverside, has been named director of the California Center for the Book, headquartered at UCLA. Charles Boxer, historian, bibliophile, and consultant to the Lilly Library at Indiana University, has died. William E. Brown Jr. is now coordinator of research and instructional services in the Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley. Herbert T.F. Cahoon, curator emeritus of the department of literary and historical manuscripts at the Pierpont Morgan Library, has died. Daren Callahan, former special collections cataloger at Southern Illinois University has been promoted to head of cataloging. Dr. Erik D. Carlson is now director of special collections at the McDermott Library at the University of Texas, Dallas. Beth Doyle is the new conservator for special projects in the Preservation Center at the Harvard University Library. John Espey, professor of English at UCLA and co-author of a bibliography of the bindings of Margaret Armstrong, has died. Vivian Fisher has been named head of the new African American and Special Collections Department at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. Ralph Franklin, director of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, has announced his retirement. Donald Gallup, bibliographer and former curator of the Yale Collection of American Literature, has died. Jane Garner has retired as head of manuscripts and archival processing at the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas, Austin. Lila Goff, assistant director of library and archives at the Minnesota Historical Society, has died. Julie Graham has been appointed arts librarian for special collections at the UCLA Arts Library. Ellen Griffin was appointed historical collections cataloger at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Laura Gutiérrez-Witt has retired as head librarian of the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas, Austin. Neal Harlow, historian, librarian, and former president of ACRL, has died. Ann Hartness has been named acting head librarian of the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas, Austin. Cameron Hollyer, co-founder and former curator of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection at the Toronto Public Library, has died. Ann Hyde has retired as manuscripts librarian in the department of special collections in the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas. Heather Lloyd, former head of special collections and university archives at Oklahoma State University, has retired. Jan Longone has been named curator of American culinary history at the Clements Library at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Tim Mahoney is the new manuscript librarian in the Baker Library at Harvard University. Michael North has been appointed rare book cataloger at the National Library of Medicine. Tom Owen, former library assistant in the Rare Books Department of the Los Angeles Public Library, has died. Maggie Powell is the new head of Yale University's Lewis Walpole Library in Farmington, Connecticut. Alan E. Puglia has been named conservator in the Houghton Library at Harvard University. Carla Rickerson is now head of the manuscripts, special collections, and archives division at the University of Washington in Seattle. Elizabeth Robinson has been appointed leader of the rare book team at the Library of Congress. Beth Russell has been named special collections cataloger at Ohio State University in Columbus. Rita Smith, curator of the Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature at the University of Florida/Gainesville, has been promoted to associate university librarian. Geoffrey Steele, bookseller specializing in fine arts and architecture, former president of the ABAA, and associate of Princeton University Library, has died. Elizabeth Sudduth has been named special collections catalog librarian at the Thomas Cooper Library at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Elizabeth Ann Swaim, former special collections librarian and archivist at Wesleyan University, has died. Evelyn Walker has been appointed project cataloger for printing and graphic arts in the Houghton Library at Harvard University. Jae Williams is the new curator of the Arts of the Book Collection at Yale University. Tanya Zanish-Belcher has been appointed head of the special collections department at Iowa State University in Ames.