RBMS Newsletter - No. 37 / Fall 2002

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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, 800-545-2433, x2523. Editor: Jeffrey Makala, Olin Library, Wesleyan University, Middletown CT, 06459, 860-685-3863, jmakala@wesleyan.edu. Asst. Eds.: Jeff Barton, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York NY, 10027, 212-633-6097, jeffbarton@earthlink.net; Michael Forstrom, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven CT, 06520, 203-432-7215, michael.forstrom@yale.edu. Typesetting and layout by Jeffrey Makala using PageMaker 6.5 for Windows. Typefaces used are Lucida Sans and Times New Roman. Printed in the USA. RBMS Chair: Daniel J. Slive, Young Research Library, UCLA, 310-206-0568, djslive@library.ucla.edu.

©American Library Association, 2002
ISSN 0743-1481 (paper)
ISSN 1098-4291 (electronic)

CONTENTS

From the Chair

The members of RBMS have reason to be proud of the work the section is accomplishing, both in its continuing projects and new initiatives, all contributing substantively to the practice of rare book and manuscript librarianship.

In reviewing the activities and successes described in this newsletter, I am continually reminded of the tremendous energy and commitment that RBMS members bring to the tasks of defining and refining their roles and responsibilities as special collections librarians. The breadth and depth of the achievements summarized in the following pages--as well as of much additional work not represented in this newsletter--give clear testimony to the collegiality and dedication of the section's members.

The RBMS mission statement notes in part that the section "works to prepare special collections libraries and librarians to better serve the needs of users by creating opportunities for professional growth in special collections librarianship." In pursuit of its mission, the section is responsible for developing and disseminating guidelines. As is evident in these pages, this is a particularly productive time for RBMS in this regard. The Bibliographic Standards Committee has announced the upcoming publication of Descriptive Cataloging of Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, and Early Modern Manuscripts (AMREMM) and an invitational conference on the revision of Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Books (DCRB).

In addition to organizing a seminar on diversity at the 2002 Preconference, the Membership and Professional Development Com-mittee presented the RBMS Statement on Diversity, which was unanimously approved by the Executive Committee at the Annual Conference in Atlanta. An ad hoc Committee on Diversity will continue to explore this issue, particularly in regard to membership and participation in the section. The Security Committee completed its revisions of Guidelines Regarding Thefts in Libraries, which have been forwarded to ACRL for final approval.

The section's commitment to guidelines and standards continues unabated. In addition to the Committee on Diversity, two additional ad hoc committees are in the process of revising Standards for Ethical Conduct for Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Librarians and the Guidelines for the Loan of Rare and Unique Materials. The Exhibition Awards Committee continues to evaluate and develop guidelines for judging electronic exhibitions, and the Security Committee is beginning to compile a manual on special collections security.

The entire section can take pride in these endeavors and accomplishments while also acknowledging the work of all the committees, discussion groups, and liaisons whose efforts advance the role of RBMS as a leader in local, national, and international special collections communities. The upcoming Midwinter Meeting provides an opportunity for section members to participate and contribute to the diverse work of RBMS. The Executive Committee looks forward to working with the membership to advance the goals of the section and the state of special collections librarianship.

--Daniel J. Slive

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2003 RBMS Preconference

The 44th annual RBMS Preconference will be held from June 17-20, 2003 in Toronto, Canada, and will explore the theme, "TRUE/FALSE: Facsimiles, Fakes, Forgeries, and Issues of Authenticity in Special Collections." Plenary sessions will consider case studies of historical and contemporary forgery, how the use of facsimiles and digital surrogates has influenced scholarship, the impact of fakes and forgeries on the market, the cultural values we assign to "authentic" documents, and the culture of the copy.

Speakers will include: David Levy, author of Scrolling Forward: Making Sense of Documents in the Digital Age; Stephen Rhind-Tutt of Alexander Street Press; Richard Landon of the University of Toronto's Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library; Bruce Whiteman of UCLA; Peter Graham of Syracuse University; Jennifer Larsen, bookseller; historian Keith Arbour; and others. A number of seminars and short papers will also be presented.

Tours and workshops will be offered on Tuesday, June 17th, and much of the afternoon of June 19th will be left open for conference attendees to take advantage of tours available at many of Toronto's libraries and cultural institutions. The conference hotel is the InterContinental, located in a vibrant area of Toronto, just minutes from the University of Toronto campus. Almost all of the Preconference sessions will take place at St. Michael's College on the UT campus, and dormitory accommodations will be available on campus. An opening evening reception will be held at the InterContinental, with other receptions planned for several different locations.

A Preconference website will soon be linked to the RBMS website. This site will be updated regularly as plans for the Preconference take shape and it will provide the most complete source of information about the Preconference. A conference registration form will be available on the site in the spring, and printed registration materials will be mailed to RBMS members in March. Preconference questions may be directed to Program Chair Lynda Claassen (lclaassen@ucsd.edu).

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RBMS Midwinter Meeting Conference Schedule

Philadelphia, January 23-27, 2003

FRIDAY, January 24

2:00-5:30pm Bibliographic Standards, Thesaurus Subcommittee
8:00-10:00pm Committee to Revise Standards for Ethical Conduct (ad hoc)

SATURDAY, January 25

8:30-11:00am 2003 Preconference Program Planning
Membership and Professional Development
Public Services Discussion Group
8:30am -12:30pm Bibliographic Standards I
Exhibition Awards I (Closed)
11:30am -12:30pm 2003 Conference Program Planning
2004 Preconference Program Planning
Nominating (Closed)
2:00-4:00pm Budget and Development
Interlibrary Loan of Rare and Unique Materials (ad hoc)
Publications
Seminars
8:00-10:00pm Diversity (ad hoc)
Security

SUNDAY, January 26

8:30-11:00am Bibliographic Standards II
Conference Development
Curators and Conservators Discussion Group
Exhibition Awards II
Manuscripts and Other Formats Discussion Group
9:30-11:00am 2004 Conference Program Planning
9:30am -12:30pm RBM Editorial Board
11:30am-12:30pm MARC for Special Collections Discussion Group
2:00-4:00pm ACRL no conflict time
4:30-5:30pm Information Exchange

MONDAY, January 27

8:30am-12:30pm Executive Committee

This is the schedule RBMS has requested. Be sure to check the final conference schedule for any changes.

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The Effects of 9/11 on Special Collections Libraries

Approximately 30 special collections librarians and archivists met on Saturday morning during the ALA conference in Atlanta to discuss the impact of the events of September 11 on special collections libraries. Although representatives of a number of libraries that were near or close to the zones of attack were present, the focus of the discussion was on critical issues raised by the events rather than individual or institutional experiences.

One question raised was how to document the context and impact of the tragedy so that researchers in the future would have adequate resources for understanding and reconstructing the events. Librarians from the New York and Washington areas spoke about documentation activities in their communities, but there was also discussion of local efforts on college campuses and smaller communities, many of which have begun to develop important collections of ephemera.

Another problem, less easy to resolve, was the pressure to balance security with the traditions of free inquiry. When, for example, researchers demand access to potentially sensitive materials such as building plans, government officials may attempt to impose restrictions or request information usually deemed private.

Because the scheduled session time was brief, there was time for little more than information sharing. Issues for continued future discussion, participants agreed, include the problem of preserving, cataloging and perhaps digitizing the vast quantities of memorial and ephemeral material currently being collected, and the determination of how such material can be used in a classroom setting.

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Committee News

Bibliographic Standards

Descriptive Cataloging of Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, and Early Modern Manuscripts (AMREMM), the work of Gregory Pass with collaboration by the committee, will be available in the near future. A conference for revision of Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Books (DCRB) is now in the works. Although conference attendance is by invitation only, much of the success of the conference will depend on preliminary dissemination and discussion of key documents and proposals, and all are welcome to participate in this discussion. Please communicate your interest to the chair, Deborah J. Leslie, at djleslie@folger.edu.

Bruce Tabb and his team of lexicographers continue to put forth new form, genre, and relator terms for use in rare materials and special collections cataloging. The committee is pleased to offer a seminar at the 2003 Preconference on "Authority Records in Special Collections Cataloging," with special attention given to creation of national-level authority records. The chair would like to remind everyone that visitors are welcome to attend and participate in committee meetings during the Annual and Midwinter ALA conferences.

Conference Development

The RBMS Conference Development Committee continues to refine and develop its mission to support planning of section conferences, to solicit ideas, and to sponsor events outside the section to raise the profile of RBMS. Early this year Co-chairs Elaine Smyth and Eric Holzenberg called for volunteers and received a gratifying number of responses. Please welcome new members Nicole Bouché, Pat Bozeman, Judy Harvey Sahak, Susan Stekel and Caroline Weaver, and new intern Richenda Brim. For the past year the committee has been at work revising its charge, and an amended text was approved by the RBMS Executive Committee at the Annual Conference in Atlanta. The committee spent a good part of this meeting, as we do every year, conducting a detailed 'post-mortem' of the recent Preconference--what worked, what didn't, how we did on the budget, and so on. This is also the time to touch base with organizers of future Preconferences, and we believe we can promise RBMS members an interesting and challenging meeting in Toronto in 2003 and New Haven in 2004. The 2005 ALA Annual Conference will be held in Chicago, and the next task of the committee is to choose a Preconference site from a number of solid proposals submitted by Midwestern institutions--a tough choice, the results of which will be announced at Midwinter.

Exhibition Awards

The Exhibition Awards Committee presented the Katharine Kyes Leab & Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Awards for 2002 at a ceremony at the ALA Annual Conference in Atlanta, where committee chair Claudia Funke gave a presentation highlighting the merits of the winning and commended submissions. This was the second year that the committee gave an award in Division 4 (brochures) and the second that it commended electronic exhibitions (as part of its three-year pilot project to evaluate electronic exhibitions). All printed catalog and brochure submissions were available for perusal at the RBMS Preconference and, for the first time, electronic exhibitions could be consulted at the Preconference viewing session on computers provided by the host, Emory University.

At its business meeting the committee worked on refining the judging criteria for electronic exhibitions. The committee will move to make electronic exhibitions a permanent category at the RBMS Executive Committee meeting at ALA Midwinter in Philadelphia. The committee also reviewed a mockup of an online exhibition, prepared by committee member John Pull, on the first ten years of Leab Award winners. It is anticipated that this will be mounted on the RBMS website within the coming year.

MARC for Special Collections

At this year's annual conference, the MARC for Special Collections Discussion Group considered a wide range of topics, with over twenty-five people in attendance. Our first topic was a discussion of cataloging issues related to the storage of special collections material in off-site facilities. Among the issues discussed: the process of selecting; how and where an item is barcoded; and the optimal level of cataloging that off-site material should receive.

We also discussed education and training for special collections catalogers. This discussion focused on how one learns rare book cataloging, especially if one cannot attend Rare Book School. Several good suggestions were made. Knowledge of the major cataloging tools (AACR2 and DCRB) was mentioned, as well as familiarity with the standard texts on bibliography (McKerrow, Bowers, and Gaskell). One interesting suggestion was that money for training be included when applying for cataloging grants. One institution, awarded a grant to catalog its incunables, was also provided with funds to organize a workshop on incunable cataloging.

Another important point made was to make certain that catalogers understood the context within which their work occurs. What are the purposes and needs of the institution? What is the context of when, why, where, etc., an item was printed? Several people supported the idea of creating an electronic discussion list for rare book cataloging where specific cataloging questions could be raised. Another idea was the use of mentors, to whom new catalogers could send questions or records for feedback. Finally, it was proposed that a portion of each MARC for Special Collections Discussion Group meeting be set aside for participants to bring specific problems or issues for group discussion.

Please join us in Philadelphia if you have an interest in special collections cataloging. To follow up on the Atlanta meeting, we will reserve a portion of our meeting time for discussion of specific problems relating to special collections cataloging. The group will also consider how catalogers label material--the mundane but important practice of how and where libraries physically mark items. If you have additional topics for discussion, please contact the group's chair, E.C. Schroeder (edwin.schroeder@yale.edu).

Manuscripts and Other Formats

The Manuscripts and Other Formats Discussion Group met during the ALA conference in Atlanta. News from individual repositories included announcement of the "Web Gateway to Irish Collections," a Delmas Foundation grant awarded to Emory University and Boston College that will support both EAD standards for collection descriptions and the development of a searching interface to facilitate access to important Irish literary collections held by the two institutions. EAD description is also a component of another Web-based endeavor, the North Carolina Exploring Cultural Heritage Online (NC ECHO) project, which provides access to special collections in libraries, archives, and museums across the state.

The group discussed a number of general issues related to digitization projects, such as involvement of faculty and teachers in selecting and developing projects, the strategy of creating consortia for effective funding initiatives, and the increased visibility of special collections in public libraries resulting from digital postcard or photo projects.

Someone asked for current, practical advice on the use of micro-embossers for manuscript materials, and Tim Murray relayed information from Ed Oetting about the Manuscript Society. Details will be forthcoming about relocation of the Society's database of holdings for 7,000 private manuscript collectors; the database was formerly maintained by Arizona State University. The topics of document identification, the risk of acquiring forgeries from private collectors, and acquisition of manuscript or archival material via eBay were all combined in a lively discussion reflecting current trends for manuscript curators.

Membership and Professional Development

As part of its ongoing focus on the issue of diversity in the section and in the profession, the Membership and Professional Development Committee sponsored a seminar at the RBMS Preconference entitled "A Dialogue on Diversity: Issues Raised by the RBMS Non-Member Survey." The seminar, which was moderated by Julie Grob, included a panel of six individuals who are involved in diversity issues in various organizations, including RBMS. They contributed valuable insights and offered suggestions on how RBMS might become a more diverse organization. As a result of this discussion, the committee recommended the creation of an RBMS Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity and presented a Statement on Diversity to the Executive Committee at the Annual Conference, which was approved and appears below.

Other ongoing work of the committee includes a survey of librarians and archivists who are not members of RBMS, and Educational Opportunities: A Directory, maintained by committee member Ellen Ellickson and available on the RBMS website. The Directory lists courses related to rare books and special collections currently offered through ALA-accredited library schools. The committee also coordinated a successful orientation session to welcome new members and first time attendees to the Preconference.

Approximately 50 members were there and heard committee chairs and section officers talk about RBMS and how to get involved in the section. In addition to the Preconference orientation, the committee sponsors a buddy program at every Midwinter Meeting, Preconference, and Annual Conference. This program matches new members or first-time attendees of RBMS with more experienced members of the section. If you are new to RBMS and would like to be matched with a buddy who can give you an overview of the section, introduce you to other members, and help you plan your conference schedule, please contact committee chair Henry Raine at henry.raine@nyu.edu or 212-595-1036.

Thanks to surplus revenues generated by the 2001 Preconference, scholarships were awarded to eight RBMS members to subsidize their attendance at the 2002 Preconference in Atlanta. Full scholarships of $695, including a waiver of registration fees, were awarded to: Jessica S. Holada, UCLA student and Library Assistant, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library; Holly Silvers, ALF project Cataloging Specialist, Lilly Library; and Susana Tejada, Head Librarian, Albright Knox Art Gallery, G. Robert Strauss, Jr. Memorial Library & Archives, Buffalo, NY. Partial scholarships of $195, including a waiver of registration fees, were awarded to: Lewis A. Armstrong, Special Collections Librarian, Emporia State University; Eileen M. Heeran, Associate Archivist, The Biltmore Company; Megan E. Lewis, Rare Materials Copy Cataloger, Duke University; Kate Rehkopf, Associate Conservator, Biltmore House; and Karen Rasmussen, Library Science Student, University of Pittsburgh.

Public Services

A crowd of twenty-five people gathered for the Public Services Discussion Group meeting in Atlanta. We spent the first half of the session talking about statistics. How do we track the use of our collections and, perhaps more importantly, to what end? We discussed the use of reading room head counts versus tours and exhibition visitors, how to accurately track circulation statistics, and what use to make of hits on websites. We also talked about the statistics that ARL requests--and what they don't request--as well as manual and automated systems for gathering statistics and the advantages of registration databases and automated circulation.

The second half of the meeting was devoted to a discussion of the role of public services in teaching. Some group members are involved in more general BI, while others are providing in-depth courses about collection materials. Still others are creating teachers' guides to their collections and exhibitions. We talked about strategies for collaborating with both faculty and curators, and a lively discussion took place about whether or not academic libraries have a responsibility to serve K-12 students.

The third item on the agenda, the impact of off-site storage on public services, was postponed until the next meeting at Midwinter.

Publications

The RBMS Publications Committee dealt with a range of issues in Atlanta. Christian Dupont reported on the new RBMS logo. He has been working on it for the past year with designer Tom Brocker. There are no official colors for RBMS, so the design needs to be suitable for both black-and-white and two-color printing. Several factors must be considered, including compatibility, the ability to make reproductions, and the ability to adjust the size if needed. Dupont will see about having the logo applied to official stationery, publications, etc. At the Midwinter meeting, it was agreed to recommend the design to the Executive Committee after some modifications were made, and the Executive Committee has now approved the use of the logo. The Exhibition Awards Committee used the logo for the first time on its certificates and at the awards ceremony in Atlanta.

Dupont announced that he had postponed the redesign of the RBMS website until the logo was approved and he presented various designs for the individual web pages to the committee. The committee came to a consensus about design preferences. Dupont will mount an updated site and send a notice that the new logo has now been made available. Dupont also distributed examples of a new RBMS Newsletter masthead, and the committee made several recommendations.

Lisa Browar reported on the latest issue of RBM, which came together well. The next issue is in production and will offer a discussion of the availability of personal papers of U.S. Presidents, based on a series of papers delivered at a New York University seminar on the subject last spring. Also included in the next issue will be an additional interview and an increase in advertisements.

Everett Wilkie reported that there are currently 550 subscribers to Exlibris, the electronic discussion list. He offered several reminders for list users: use plain text messages (turn off html mail editors); when posting minutes, etc., do not try to format your message with tabs, since the system only honors hard space bar and return keys; don't add attachments to emails to the list, as there is a limit to the size of postings that the system can accommodate; don't add the address for posting messages to the entire list (i.e. exlibris@library.berkeley.edu) to your e-mail address book in order to prevent viruses and worms from spreading to the list.

Abby Tallmer reported on the work of the subcommittee selected to update the text of Your Old Books to reflect current trends in the field and technological developments involving the book trade; this group (Tallmer, Creider, & Dupont) continues its work to make the publication reflect recent electronic advancements, while maintaining the tone and spirit of the original. Tallmer reported that the subcommittee very much respects Your Old Books as a pivotal text and reiterated that any updates would simply be a matter of modernizing the content to reflect the book trade today. The last revision of Your Old Books was the second edition in 1994, before the impact of websites, online book information, and other recent developments in the field. The consensus of the committee was to keep both electronic and hard copy versions of the publication available.

Jeffrey Makala, incoming Editor of the RBMS Newsletter, reported that there are two new Assistant Editors: Jeff Barton and Michael Forstrom.

The 2002 Annual Meeting was the last for Margaret Nichols as chair. Abby Tallmer is the incoming chair for 2002-2004. New members of the Publications Committee include Larry Creider and Martha Lawler.

Security

Everett Wilkie has agreed to be the committee's next chair, replacing Anne Marie Lane and Isaac Gewirtz, whose terms as co-chairs expired at the end of the Conference. Alvan Bregman reported on Incidents of Theft. The RBMS website contains a page for Reports of Incidents of Theft at: http://www.rbms.info/committees/secu rity/theft_reports_2002.shtml. Eleven new entries have been added, and several have been updated. Bregman and webmaster Christian Dupont will explore the possibility of adding a search engine. The Committee passed a motion to send the Guidelines Regarding Thefts in Libraries, as published in the May 2002 C&RL News, to the RBMS Executive Committee for approval. (Later in the Conference, the Executive Committee approved it and sent it to the ACRL Standards Committee for final approval.)

Wilkie reported on the State Laws Project, which is a compilation of summaries of state laws on library theft. He has surveyed all the states (some of which have no theft laws specifically related to libraries), though not any local jurisdictions. Committee members will assist in researching and entering data, and Wilkie will report on the status of the project at the 2003 Midwinter meeting. Wilkie proposed that instead of producing a library security video (a project that was determined to be too expensive), the Committee write a manual on special collections security. This document would contain practical advice for institutions, such as specifications for security cameras, sign-in sheets, cataloging security, and call slips (i.e. issues not addressed by the Guidelines Regarding Thefts in Libraries). The committee will begin work on the manual during the coming year.

Alvan Bregman offered to work with Christian Dupont in establishing a link between the RBMS website and the LIBER Security Network of the League of European Research Libraries, a closed discussion list subscribed to by those interested in library security. Wilkie suggested that a similar list be established by the Security Committee, which he offered to moderate, noting that the Library Security Officer (LSO) list is not intended for discussion. Committee members moved to thank the outgoing co-chairs for their services to and on behalf of the Committee.

Seminars

Nine seminars were offered at the 2002 RBMS Preconference in Atlanta on a wide range of topics: On the Other Side of the Image: K-12 Use of Digital Collections; The Future of Outreach in Special Collections: Reaching Out to Non-Traditional Users; Building Emory's Poetry Portal: From Special Collections to Metadata; Changes Second Generation Library Management Systems Have Made in Cataloging; Off-Site Storage Facilities; A Dialogue on Diversity: Issues Raised by the RBMS Non-Member Survey; It's Not Virtual: Teaching the Book; Collecting Rare Afro-Americana; When Worlds Collide: Redefining Services for Archives, Manuscripts and Rare Books.

At its Midwinter meeting the Seminars Committee will be finalizing plans for the seminars to be offered in Toronto. It is not too early to consider submitting proposals for the 2004 RBMS Preconference in New Haven, Connecticut.

For information about what to include in a proposal, please see the electronic form available on the RBMS website at http://www.rbms.info/committees/seminars/index.shtml. You may also contact the chair, Elizabeth Johnson, at johnson1@indiana.edu or 812-855-2452. It is not necessary that you be a member of the Seminars Committee to make a proposal.

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RBMS Statement on Diversity

The Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of ACRL/ALA is committed to diversity in its membership, in rare books and special collections librarianship, and among users of rare books, manuscripts and special collections. RBMS encourages participation in the section by people of any race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, and physical ability; it supports its members in serving the broadest possible population; and it seeks to represent the concerns and interests of rare books and special collections librarians at a variety of institutions, including academic libraries, public libraries, research libraries, special libraries, and historical societies.

Some of the specific ways by which RBMS encourages diversity include: offering a scholarship program for first-time attendees at its annual preconference; pairing new members with more experienced members of the section at preconferences and conferences; and conducting surveys of its members and non-members, the results of which inform the section's membership initiatives and program planning. RBMS fully supports diversity, which is identified as a Core Value in ACRL's Strategic Plan 2005, and which is also one of the five ALA Key Action Areas defined in the ALAction 2005 planning document.

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ARL Special Collections Task Force

The recently-formed ARL Task Force on Special Collections invites input as it moves forward with its work. It has been charged with a number of tasks including: enhancing access to collections and backlogs; coordinating planning for 19th and 20th century materials; coordinating information sharing on digitization projects; defining core competencies for special collections librarians and creating training opportunities; gathing data on special collections operations; and incorporating these issues into the agendas of ARL and other professional associations. Input is welcomed from the library and scholarly community. For more information, go to: http://www.arl.org/collect/spcoll/index.html.

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2002 Preconference

The 43rd RBMS Preconference took place in Atlanta, Georgia on June 11-14, 2002. Entitled "New Occasions, New Duties: Changing Roles and Expectations in Special Collections," the Preconference examined different aspects of change and their implications and presented ways in which special collections librarians can take advantage of change for their own use and development. The Preconference theme was addressed through a combination of plenary sessions, short papers, and seminars.

In a series of plenary sessions over three days, librarians and scholars explored the changing world of scholarship and librarianship. The first day's events were held at the Georgian Terrace, the Preconference hotel. Carla J. Stoffle, Dean of Libraries and Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona Library, examined the financial realities and priorities of academic institutions and their effect on libraries in her talk, "The Ripple Effect: Economics, the University and Special Collections." "The Revolution is Not Dead: Sedition and the Myth of Unisized Library Education" was the title of a paper delivered by Professor James Vinson Carmichael, Jr., Department of Library and Information Studies at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. He examined how social change has influenced library school curricula and students and the resulting effects on libraries. The afternoon was devoted to a series of seminars echoing the Preconference theme.

On Thursday the Preconference moved to Emory University. Michael Lomax, President of Dillard University in New Orleans, and Deborah Lipstadt, Director of the Institute for Jewish Studies and Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University, spoke on the changing needs of researchers and discussed their work. Afternoon activities included seminars, short papers, and a tour of the campus.

On Friday the Preconference returned to the Georgian Terrace. Robert L. Byrd, Director of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library at Duke University, reviewed the effects of change on rare book and manuscript librarians in his paper: "The Future Ain't What It Used to Be." A closing panel led by Joe Hewitt, Associate Provost for University Libraries at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Chair of the Association of Research Libraries Task Force on Special Collections gave an informative presentation on the work of the Task Force.

Before the start of the Preconference, some conference attendees had an opportunity to tour the University of Georgia library in Athens, while others attended a workshop at the Foundation Center's Atlanta library. Also given were tours of the Auburn Library and the Williams American Museum of Paper-making. Receptions were held nightly and included an evening at the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum.

Overall, the conference was well-received. While attendance was down, those who did participate appreciated the opportunity to step back and look at the direction in which the profession is moving.

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Executive Committee, 2002-2003

Daniel J. Slive, Chair
Department of Special Collections
Charles E. Young Research Library
UCLA
310-206-0568; Fax: 310-206-1864
djslive@library.ucla.edu

Margaret F. Nichols, Vice Chair/Chair-Elect
Division of Rare & Manuscript Collections
Kroch Library
Cornell University
607-255-3530; Fax: 607-255-9524
mnr1@cornell.edu

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

Cynthia A. Burgess, Secretary
Armstrong Browning Library
Baylor University
254-710-4959; Fax: 254-710-3552
Cyndie_Burgess@Baylor.edu

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

Katherine Reagan, Member-at-Large
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Kroch Library
Cornell University
607-255-3530; Fax: 607-255-9524
KR33@cornell.edu

Isaac Gewirtz, Member-at-Large
The Berg Collection
The New York Public Library
212-930-0802; Fax: 212-930-0079
igewirtz@nypl.org

The complete committee roster for 2002-2003 is available on the RBMS website.

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2002 Annual Conference Program

The 2002 RBMS Annual Conference Program: "The Emergence of Digital Scholarship: New Models for Libraries, Archivists, and Humanists" was cosponsored by ACRL's ARTS Section. Presenter Daniel V. Pitti (University of Virginia) started the program and provided the context for the other three panelists by arguing that the traditional scholarly community of archivists, creators, curators, librarians, and publishers is in transition. Instead of each party controlling a stage of scholarly work with a physical artifact as the object of control, now each contributor shares control, while the boundaries, contributions, and standards of cooperation are being negotiated.

Morris Eaves (University of Rochester) placed the William Blake Archive (http://www.blakearchive.org) within Pitti's context. For two centuries Blake's works have presented problems to traditional editorial practice because of their visual and textual format. He explained that today consolidation is only possible via electronic means. An aid to the process has been a burst of volunteerism.

John Unsworth (University of Virginia) focused on the negotiations that occur between librarians and publishers necessitated by the digital age. This represents a shift from their historically adver-sarial roles. While both are still concerned with selection, Unsworth feels that each should spend time fulfilling traditional roles in new ways.

Questions from the audience focused on obtaining rights to materials, funding projects, the expectation of income, and determining where we are in the publisher/author collaboration—to the last of which which Unsworth answered that this still is "the incunabular stage."

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Transitions

Thorolf Christensen has been appointed assistant archivist in papyrology at the University of Michigan. Michèle V. Cloonan has been appointed dean of the Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science in Boston. Nancy Cott is the Carl and Lily Phorzheimer Foundation director of the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. Kathryn Coyle is special materials cataloging librarian at West Chester University. Leslie Czechowski has been appointed archivist of the Minnesota Orchestra Collection at the University of Minnesota Libraries. Michael Doylen has been appointed archivist in Marquette University's Department of Special Collections and University Archives. The new director of special collections and archives at San Diego State University is Cristina Favretto. Michael Forstrom is now archivist at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University. Katherine Gill is now executive director of the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Vincent Golden is now curator of newspapers and periodicals at the American Antiquarian Society. Jennifer Gunter is coordinator of special collections at the Digital Library and Archives at Virginia Tech. William W. Hardesty is the archivist of the Américo Paredes Collection at the University of Texas/Austin. Ann Hartness is head of the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas/Austin. Ryan Hildebrand is special collections and archives cataloger at the University of California/Irvine. Margaret Howell, head of special collections at the Ellis Library of the University of Missouri-Columbia, has retired. Julie Hunter has been named head of the Broward County Library's African-American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale. The new head of the M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives at the State University of New York at Albany is Brian Keough. Donnelly Lancaster has been appointed archival access coordinator at the Hoole Special Collections Library at the University of Alabama. Jennifer Martinez has been appointed manuscripts and archives librarian at San Diego State University. Kathryn Neal has been appointed manuscripts and archives librarian in Special Collections and University Archives at San Diego State University. Catherine OBrion is manuscripts curator at the Digital Library and Archives at Virginia Tech. Gail Kern Paster is the new director of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D. C. Bill Roberts, university archivist and former assistant librarian at the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, has retired. Amy Schindler is now curator of manuscripts at the State University of New York at Albany. The new university archivist and head of special collections at the Hilton M. Briggs Library at South Dakota State University is Stephen Van Buren. Gay Walker is special collections librarian at the Reed College library. Karen A. Weaver has been appointed curatorial assistant in the Department of Printed Books and Bindings at the Pierpont Morgan Library. S. J. Wolfe has been appointed senior cataloger at the American Antiquarian Society.

We note with regret the recent deaths of: Margaret Bret-Harte, former director of the library of the Arizona Historical Society; Clive Burden, British map and atlas dealer; Edward C. Carter II, librarian of the American Philosophical Society; Phyllis Danner, archivist of the Sousa Archives for Band Research and associate professor of library administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Dean Larsen, director of collection development at Brigham Young University's Harold B. Lee Library; Kenneth Lohf, former director of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University; Ruth Luborsky, independent scholar and coauthor of A Guide to English Illustrated Books 1536-1603; Samuel F. "Bill" Royall, printer and longstanding friend of Rare Book School; Herbert Spencer, graphic designer, author, and founder of the journal Typographica; Janice J. Tolford, rare books librarian at the State Library of Ohio; and Decherd Turner, bookman, founding director of the Bridwell Library at Southern Methodist University, and former director the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas/Austin.