RBMS Newsletter - No. 38 / Spring 2003

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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, 212-854-1640, jb2252@columbia.edu; 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, 2003
ISSN 0743-1481 (paper)
ISSN 1098-4291 (electronic)

CONTENTS

From the Chair

It is a pleasure to be able to report on the progress and the achievements of RBMS this year. As this newsletter attests, the Section continues to produce substantial guidelines and standards for the national and international special collections community while also engaging members in discussions regarding all aspects of technical and public services. The committee reports which follow can provide only a brief summary of the Section's current activities. Members interested in more information and in participating in the work of the Section are invited to contact committee chairs or members of the RBMS Executive Committee directly.

The Bibliographic Standards Committee held an invitational conference in March for the purpose of revising Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books), the successor to Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Books. Information about the conference is available through the Bibliographic Standards Committee website. Further discussion of the document will take place on an electronic discussion list devoted to the revisions, and a seminar reporting on the conference is scheduled for the 2003 Preconference. A newly reconstituted Committee to Revise RBMS Standards for Ethical Conduct will post the latest version of the standards this spring on the RBMS website and will conduct an open hearing on them during the ALA Annual Conference in Toronto. The Guidelines Regarding Thefts in Libraries developed by the Security Committee were approved by ACRL and ALA at Midwinter in Philadelphia and now join the Committee's Guidelines for the Security of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Other Special Collections as the standard for the profession. Accompanying other ACRL/RBMS standards and guidelines on the section's website, these latest additions attest to the vitality and relevance of the section's work.

RBMS discussion groups provide another valuable forum for members to address important issues in special collections librarianship. The groups contributing to discourse on a variety of public and technical service concerns are Curators and Conservators, Manuscripts and Other Formats, MARC for Special Collections, and Public Services. Reflecting current concerns in the profession and the membership, the section is investigating a change in the focus of the Curators group to include collection development. Future adjustments may also include joint meetings of discussion groups in response to the tight scheduling of meetings during ALA.

The opportunity for members to reflect upon and discuss professional concerns is a hallmark of RBMS Preconferences. The 2003 Preconference in Toronto will continue this tradition with an exploration of historical and contemporary aspects of fakes, facsimiles, and forgeries. A full program of plenary speakers addressing issues of authenticity in special collections has been planned, as have short papers focusing on the conference theme and seminars covering a range of special collections topics. Complementing these program sessions will be a fascinating array of tours and three evening receptions. This Preconference promises to be an engaging and instructive experience for both new and experienced RBMS members. Together with the Program Planning and Local Arrangements Committees, I look forward to seeing you in Toronto.

--Daniel J. Slive

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2003 RBMS Preconference

"TRUE/FALSE: Facsimiles, Fakes, Forgeries & Issues of Authenticity in Special Collections" is the theme of the 44th annual RBMS Preconference, which will be held in Toronto, Canada, from Tuesday, June 17, through Friday, June 20, 2003. Plenary speakers include: David Levy, author of Scrolling Forward: Making Sense of Documents in the Digital Age; Richard Landon of the University of Toronto's Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library; Alice Prochaska of the Yale University Libraries; Stephen Rhind-Tutt of Alexander Street Press; Bruce Whiteman of UCLA; Jennifer Larsen, bookseller; historian Keith Arbour; and Abby Smith of the Council on Library and Information Resources.

Plenary speakers will discuss case studies of historical and contemporary forgery, how the use of facsimiles and digital surrogates has affected scholarship, the impact of fakes and forgeries on the market, the cultural values we assign to documents, and the culture of the copy. A variety of short papers will also explore aspects of the Preconference theme, and nine seminar sessions will discuss various issues of current concern to special collections librarians. Two workshops, "Identifying Illustration Techniques," and "Administering a Digital Project," will be offered on Tuesday, June 17, and a bus tour to McMaster University will also be available that day. Tours to many of Toronto's special collections and cultural institutions will be offered during the Preconference as well. All program sessions will be held on the campus of St. Michael's College of the University of Toronto.

Registration information for the Preconference ($130 for Canadian registrants and $195 for American registrants) is available on the Preconference website: http://www.library.utoronto.ca/fisher/rbms/. Three receptions are included in the registration fee. Accommodations for the Preconference have been secured at the InterContinental Hotel ($255 Canadian; $165 US) and at the Sorbara Hall Student Residence at St. Michael's College ($55 Canadian; $35 US). More information about tours, programs, and costs associated with the meeting is listed on the Preconference website.

In a departure from previous years, no Preconference brochure will be mailed to RBMS members prior to the meeting. A postcard reminder will be sent in mid-March, but the Preconference website will provide the best and most current information about programs, registration, costs, events, and other opportunities. So please have a look at the website, and we'll see you in Toronto!

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RBMS Annual Meeting Conference Schedule

Toronto, June 20-23, 2003

FRIDAY, JUNE 20

2:00-5:30pm Bibliographic Standards, Thesaurus Subcommittee
Publications
8:00-10:00pm Hearing on Standards for Ethical Conduct for Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Libraries and Librarians

SATURDAY, JUNE 21

8:30-11:00am 2004 Preconference Program Planning
Membership and Professional Development
8:30am -12:30pm Bibliographic Standards I
Exhibition Awards
9:30am -11:00am 2005 Preconference Program Planning
Budget and Development
Interlibrary Loan of Rare and UniqueMaterials (task force)
Manuscripts and Other Formats Discussion Group
11:30am -12:30pm 2003 Conference Program Planning
Nominating (Closed)
8:00-10:00pm Diversity (task force)
Security

SUNDAY, JUNE 22

8:30-11:00am Bibliographic Standards II
Conference Development
Curators and Conservators Discussion Group
Seminars
9:30-11:00am 2004 Conference Program Planning
Public Services Discussion Group
9:30am -12:30pm RBM Editorial Board
11:30am-12:30pm MARC for Special Collections Discussion Group
2003 Preconference Program Planning
1:30-4:00pm Exhibition Awards Ceremony and Conference Program
4:30-5:30pm Information Exchange

MONDAY, JUNE 23

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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2003 Annual Conference Program

"The History of the Book in Canada/Histoire du livre et de l'imprimé au Canada" is a five-year research project investigating the history of print culture in Canada. Set within the international context of other ongoing book history initiatives, including those of America, Britain, and Australia, HBiC/HLIC will culminate in the publication of three volumes and five databases in both French and English. Established and emerging Canadian scholars are investigating a wide range of topics, including authorship, printing technology, publishing, censorship, bookselling, readership, library history, and literacy as they relate to books, newspapers, and other print genres. Volume I is scheduled for publication in Autumn 2004 by the University of Toronto Press and Les presses de l'Université de Montréal.

The project is pleased to host this year's RBMS program at the Annual Conference in Toronto. The program, entitled "True North: A Canadian Approach to National Book History: The History of the Book in Canada/Histoire du livre et de l'imprimé au Canada project (HBiC/HLIC)," will include an overview of HBiC/HLIC's progress and goals, a short, illustrated talk focusing on the iconography of the book in Canada, and an informal panel discussion regarding the project's relationship to other national book history endeavors. The program will be hosted by HBiC/HLIC co-general editors Patricia Fleming (University of Toronto) and Yvan Lamonde (McGill University) and will include Bertrum Macdonald (Dalhousie University), editor of Electronic Resources, and special guest Robert A. Gross (College of William and Mary), editor of the History of the Book in America and member of the HBiC/HLIC Advisory Board.

HBiC/HLIC is funded as a Major Collaborative Research Initiative by the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada. For more information please contact Judy Donnelly, HBiC/HLIC Project Manager, at donnelly@fis.utoronto.ca.

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Committee News

Bibliographic Standards

Work on Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books), DCRM(B), is now in high gear, accelerated considerably by the invitational working conference held at Yale's Beinecke Library in March. The conference papers are posted on the web (http://www.folger.edu/bsc/dcrb/dcrbrev.html), and updates and further discussion will take place through DCRB-L. All are welcome and encouraged to contribute to discussions and deliberations; please communicate your interest to the chair, Deborah J. Leslie, at: djleslie@folger.edu.

The hard and steady work of the Joint RBMS/MLA Task Group for Developing Rules for Rare Music Cataloging, chaired by Bibliographic Standards member Jain Fletcher, now begins to fructify. Draft rules for this planned component of DCRM for both manuscript and printed music, to be known as DCRM(M), will soon be posted for comment.

The Committee is pleased to offer two seminars at the 2003 Preconference in Toronto. The first is "Authority Records in Special Collections Cataloging." It will consider solutions to problems involved in creating national-level authority records for names associated with early and rare documents. The second is a report session on the DCRM Conference. 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

Our Midwinter meeting was short and sweet as the committee's work moves forward smoothly. Suzy Taraba brought the good news that the 2002 Preconference budget ended in the black. Dan Slive, Lynda Claassen, Anne Dondertman, and their colleagues have preparations for the 2003 Toronto Preconference beautifully in hand, and preparations for the 2004 Preconference in New Haven are well launched, with Margaret Nichols, Mike Kelly, and Nicole Bouché at the helm. RBMS will be represented at the April ACRL Conference in Charlotte by Suzy Taraba, who has organized a roundtable discussion focusing on special collections. Looking ahead to the ACRL Conference in Minneapolis (2005), committee member Susan Stekel has kindly volunteered to chair a subcommittee to develop RBMS's program for that event.

The committee received and approved an outstanding proposal from Anne Posega, on behalf of the Washington University Libraries in St. Louis, Missouri, to host the 2005 Preconference (ALA Annual will be in Chicago). St. Louis is a diverse, culturally and historically interesting mid-sized city, with affordable lodging, excellent restaurants, and many visitor attractions. It is easily reached by air, train, or car. Washington University has fine collections at both its main campus and at its medical school library. Some of its strengths include: printing history; book arts; semeiology; and outstanding contemporary literary manuscripts collections, as well as a new documentary film archive. Other remarkable collections in the area include the St. Louis Mercantile Library and the Missouri Botanical Garden Research Center. RBMS has never held a Preconference in St. Louis, so we thank Anne Posega and her colleagues in St. Louis for the opportunity to do so.

Finally, co-chairs Eric Holzenberg and Elaine Smyth are pleased to announce that Judy Harvey-Sahak has agreed to chair the Committee following the Annual Conference this summer.

Curators and Conservators

Moderated by acting chair Anne Marie Lane, eleven participants in Philadelphia briefly discussed preservation-related continuing education opportunities for librarians and then primarily considered the future of the Curators and Conservators Discussion Group in light of low attendance at past conferences (mainly due to the proliferation of competing PARS sessions). Attendees discussed the reasons for continuing the group as a discrete entity at some length. Lane also shared some opinions sent to her earlier by others. The variety of different backgrounds of participants led to differing ideas about which discussion areas were most important. For example, attendees included professional conservators (two from private consulting firms) and librarians from large university and public facilities, as well as from smaller private libraries.

A common concern raised was that discussions related to preservation be retained in some format. Katherine Reagan, Executive Committee Member-at-Large, suggested combining this group with the recently-proposed Collection Development Discussion Group. Alvan Bregman, one of the propsed co-chairs of that group (Caroline Duroselle-Melish is the other) was present and agreed to the idea. A vote was taken, and the majority present felt that this was a valid way to redefine the group's focus.

At the RBMS Executive Committee meeting, Reagan proposed that Lane, Bregman, and Duroselle-Melish draft a new joint charge, and the proposal was accepted. The name of the discussion group will evolve into something like "Collection Development & Preservation Management" (details are still being worked out at this time). A full proposal will be submitted to the Executive Committee at the upcoming Meeting in Toronto.

Even though attendance was not as high as some of the other discussion groups meeting in Philadelphia, the eleven people who came were actively interested in sharing concerns and ideas. After the scheduled two hours were up, people remained to exchange business cards and talk. If this was indeed the last meeting of the Curators and Conservators Discussion Group in its present form, it will be remembered as a lively, friendly, positive gathering. It is also important to note that at the Executive Committee meeting the next day, RBMS chair Daniel J. Slive formally acknowledged the contributions of Virginia Bartow, who served for many years as chair of the Curators and Conservators Discussion Group.

Diversity

The Task Force on Diversity has been charged with investigating ways to promote diversity in RBMS by several means: exploring strategies for encouraging librarians of various backgrounds, particularly underrepresented ethnic and racial groups, to join RBMS; examining the broader issue of promoting special collections librarianship as a career to members of underrepresented ethnic and racial groups; and developing an action plan of recommended steps for RBMS to follow in order to foster increased diversity in the section.

To this end, the Task Force began generating ideas related to outreach, publicity, scholarships, mentoring, collecting, and potential liaison relationships prior to the Midwinter Meeting. Armed with a facilitation tool called Multi-Voting, Task Force members and six interested guests used the Committee's meeting time in Philadelphia to pare the list down to a manageable set. The Task Force will be using this core list as a framework in preparing a Diversity Action Plan for the section, which will be completed before ALA Annual in Toronto.

The Task Force on Diversity is chaired by Julie Grob, and members include Caroline Duroselle-Melish, James Fox, Adan Griego, and Suzy Taraba.

Exhibition Awards

The Committee met in closed session during the Midwinter Meeting to select the 2003 Katharine Kyes Leab & Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Award winners. There were 58 entries in the four divisions of printed materials and 29 entries in the electronic exhibitions category. The following are the entries selected for awards.

Printed Exhibition Catalogs and Brochures: Winner, Division 1 (Expensive Catalogs): Devices of Wonder: From the World in a Box to Images on a Screen, by Barbara Maria Stafford and Frances Terpak (2001), Getty Research Institute Publications.

Honorable Mention, Division 1 (Expensive Catalogs): Johannes Lebek: The Artist as a Witness of His Time, by Ronald Salter (2002), Stanford University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. Winner, Division 2 (Moderately Expensive Catalogs): Sacred Spaces: Building and Remembering Sites of Worship in the Nineteenth Century, by Georgia Barnhill, William D. Moore, Louis Nelson, Virginia Chieffo Raguin, and Dell Upton (2002), College of the Holy Cross, Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, and the American Antiquarian Society.

Winner, Division 3 (Inexpensive Catalogs): Victorians, Moderns, Beats: New in the Berg Collection, 1994-2001, by Isaac Gewirtz (2002), New York Public Library, Graphic Design Department.

Winner, Division 4 (Brochures): Virginia Roots Music: Creating and Conserving Tradition, by Gregg D. Kimball (2002), Library of Virginia.

Honorable Mention, Division 4 (Brochures): A Love Affair with Line: Drawings by Al Hirschfeld, by Fredric Woodbridge Wilson and Jennifer Tonkovich (2002), Pierpont Morgan Library Publications.

Electronic Exhibition Recognized for Special Commendation: Images of Native Americans (2002), Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/Exhibits/ nativeamericans/.

This is the third and final year of the pilot project to evaluate electronic exhibitions, and the Committee continued to use the phrase "Special Commendation" instead of "Winner" in the electronic exhibitions category. At Midwinter, the RBMS Executive Committee approved the motion by the Exhibition Awards Committee to create Division Five, Electronic Exhibitions, as a new award division beginning in 2004. The Committee has finalized a list of electronic exhibition judging criteria and recommended best practices, which will be posted to the RBMS website. The online exhibition of the first ten years of Leab Award winners is also in final preparation and will become part of the RBMS website at the time of the RBMS Preconference in Toronto this June.

Manuscripts and Other Formats

At the Manuscripts and Other Formats Discussion Group meeting in Philadelphia, Ed Oetting and Mike Dabrishus spoke on behalf of the Manuscript Society, an international organization of individuals and institutions devoted to the collection, preservation, use, and enjoyment of autographs and manuscripts. They reported that the Society's Information Exchange Database has been transferred to the University of Pittsburgh. Researchers may contact Dabrishus (at Pittsburgh) for reference assistance with using the database. Members of the group expressed interest in learning more about a project sponsored by the History Section of ACRL/RUSA concerning the development of standards for evaluating primary sources on the Internet.

The primary discussion topic addressed acquisition strategies and other issues related to collection development. Manuscript librarians described split purchase/gift arrangements that enable major acquisitions from single sources and purchases from multi-year budgets for "big ticket" items. Also discussed was the strong relationship between collection development and library development at the institutional level and the benefits of working with institutional counsel in formalizing gifts. The group briefly addressed a common donor concern: establishing monetary value for gifts.

The future of the discussion group was also on the table, as Murray and Johnson Melvin reported on a joint meeting with other discussion group chairs. The Manuscripts and Other Formats Discussion Group agreed that there may be many overlapping topics that can be shared in joint meetings with other discussion groups, but it also expressed a strong interest in maintaining a forum for discussion of manuscripts-related issues within RBMS.

MARC for Special Collections

Over thirty people gathered at Midwinter in Philadelphia to discuss rare book and special collections cataloging. Our first topic of discussion was the circumstances in which it is appropriate for catalogers to create bibliographic records for individual printings or issues. Not unexpectedly, the consensus was that each library should establish its own policy based on its collections and usage. For example, a library specializing in the works of a particular author might decide that having separate records for each printing would benefit both patrons and staff alike. Participants noted that national utilities and local systems influence the decision as well. Another factor is whether the special collection is part of a larger institution or an independent library unto itself. Discussion then switched to the challenges of cataloging special collections material in a library that is used by both specialists and undergraduates. As in earlier meetings, the possibility of recording copy-specific notes and access points in holdings records was raised. No one present was aware of a system that allowed the creation or searching of these fields.

The second topic discussed was the importance of public service work for catalogers. The majority of participants had some public service responsibility as part of their normal duties. All present agreed that working with patrons made them better catalogers, since this duty provided first-hand experience in how patrons actually use the catalog for research. Working in public services also provided catalogers with the opportunity to better know and understand their own collections and how they are used. Everyone also agreed that working in public services offered the opportunity to teach public service staff more about the catalog and how to search effectively. One person mentioned the benefit of having public service staff work in cataloging.

Two other topics were discussed briefly. The first was the pressure to make material available online through the creation of brief or minimal records. All agreed with the importance of making material available but worried that these brief records would become permanent, since few libraries have the time and staff to upgrade them. Finally, a question was raised about how libraries identify their incunabula. A variety of methods were mentioned, including the use of date searches, local subject headings, local imprint tracings, genre headings, and local classification schemes.

Membership and Professional Development

At this year's Preconference, the RBMS Orientation Session for new members and first-time attendees will take place on Tuesday, June 17, from 4:00-5:00 at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Toronto. Representatives from the Membership and Professional Development Committee will provide handouts and an overview of RBMS, and committee chairs and section officers will introduce themselves, give a brief description of their committees' activities and explain how members can become involved. The orientation will also provide an opportunity for new and more experienced members of the section to get to know one another. Anyone interested in becoming more actively involved in RBMS is encouraged to attend.

Scholarships will be offered once again for first-time attendees at the RBMS Preconference. This year RBMS will offer three full scholarships, which consist of a waiver of the Preconference registration fee and reimbursement towards travel expenses, and four partial scholarships, which consist of a waiver of the registration fee.

The Membership and Professional Development Committee continues to sponsor the Buddy Program, now in its eighth year. If you are attending a conference for the first time and are interested in being matched with a more experienced member of RBMS who can provide you with an overview of the section, help you plan your conference schedule, and introduce you to other RBMS members, please contact Committee chair Henry Raine at henry.raine@nyu.edu or at 212-595-3036. RBMS buddies are available both for the Preconference and for the Annual Conference.

Other Committee projects include Educational Opportunities: A Directory, available at the RBMS website, which provides a listing of ALA-accredited graduate library programs that offer courses related to rare books and special collections. The Committee will also sponsor a seminar at the Preconference, "Members for the Future: The View from Newcomers to RBMS," focusing on the experiences, positive or otherwise, of new and recent RBMS members. The purpose of this panel discussion is to learn about issues facing new members and first-time attendees at Conferences and Preconferences, and to gain feedback on how successful RBMS is in making new members feel welcome and in offering opportunities for involvement. Anyone interested is encouraged to attend.

Public Services

The RBMS Public Services Discussion Group met Saturday morning at Midwinter in Philadelphia. Approximately 24 people attended, and the discussion was lively.

The first topic was the effect of off-site storage on public service operations. We talked about: the need to adjust reader expectations from immediate to 24-hour service; whether decisions to transfer materials off-site are being based on use or other considerations, such as value, size, or the need for climate control; small reading rooms being set up at off-site facilities; and the need for larger temporary storage or staging areas, where retrieved materials can be held for readers over days or weeks of study.

The second topic was staffing of the desk, and a variety of methods were shared. Some institutions have librarians and curators serving on the desk, others use regular staff, and some encourage students and interns to participate. Some institutions have multiple people at the desk or separate desks designated for reference, security, and circulation. There was discussion of how best to keep staff vigilant at the desk, while also recognizing that some kinds of processing or written reference work can be done during low traffic times. Common desk shifts ranged from one to three hours, the odd exception being one person who served all day. Pros and cons to these procedures were bandied about, and much commiserating was shared.

Finally, the chair informed the group that there was discussion afoot about the proliferation of discussion groups. She asked if the group felt strongly that the Public Services Discussion Group met a need not met elsewhere in RBMS. The group enthusiastically endorsed the Public Services Discussion Group's continuation but was willing to meet less often and/or in combination with other discussion groups.

More detailed minutes of this meeting are available from Rachel Howarth at: rhowarth@fas.harvard.edu.

Publications

The Publications Committee considered a wide range of issues at its recent Midwinter Meeting. Members discussed: a new draft version of the RBMS website; the creation of a new assistant web editor position; the RBMS list; changes in RBM editorship; the Subcommittee to revise Your Old Books; and new business, specifically, how the Committee might solicit new members and address diversity issues within the Committee and its publications.

Christian Dupont reviewed features of a revised website and then facilitated a lengthy discussion on the look and use of the new page. He will make further revisions and provide the Committee with a chance to evaluate another draft before the Annual Conference in Toronto. The RBMS website will remain at Notre Dame, even though Dupont is now at Syracuse. The Committee also agreed to create an assistant web editor position.

The Committee considered the RBMS list ‘review' command, which provides the user with a complete list of subscriber names, and members agreed that it poses a privacy issue. The Committee proposed to suppress the command and provide subscribers with the option of approaching the list moderator for subscriber names. This proposal was forwarded to and approved by the Executive Committee.

The latest draft revision of Your Old Books was also reviewed. The Subcommittee (comprised of Abby Tallmer, Christian Dupont, and Larry Creider) hopes to have a final draft posted to the RBMS website by the 2003 Annual Conference.

The Publications Committee is looking for new members. Please contact the chair, Abby Tallmer, at: ATallmer@yahoo.com for more information.

Security

The Security Committee has available a micro-stamping tool that embosses nearly invisible lettering into materials. After testing the instrument, several rare book libraries have begun to use it as part of their security programs. If any RBMS member would like to evaluate this tool, please contact the chair at: ewilkie@ix.netcom.com.

The Committee has started work on a book with the working title A Guide to Security Considerations and Practices for Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collection Libraries. The Guide is based on the two current RBMS security guidelines, but it will thoroughly describe topics the guidelines only touch upon. It will also provide practical guidance for both large and small institutions in such matters as security systems, personnel practice, reading room design, electronic cataloging records, surveillance, and more. RBMS members may contact the chair with topics they would like to see addressed in the new Guide. It is hoped that the book will be finished in 18-24 months. In its preparation, the Committee may contact various libraries for information about their security practices. Any such information given to Committee members in the course of research for this book will be held in strict confidence and will not be revealed in such a way that a particular library could be identified.

In other business, the ACRL/RBMS Guidelines Regarding Thefts in Libraries was approved by both ACRL and ALA at the Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia.

Seminars

At its Midwinter Meeting, the Seminars Committee worked on finalizing plans for seminars to be offered at the Preconference in Toronto. Full details are available on the Preconference website. The Committee invites you to submit seminar proposals for the 2004 RBMS Preconference in New Haven, Connecticut. The deadline for submissions is June 1, 2003. Proposals will be reviewed for approval at the Committee's meeting during the ALA Annual Conference in Toronto. Some possibilities discussed at Midwinter for the 2004 Preconference include: a seminar on how to plan and execute an exhibition; usability studies; fellowships in special collections libraries; federal funding opportunities; and several topics emanating from the work of the ARL Task Force on Special Collections.

It is not necessary to be a member of the Seminars Committee to make a proposal. 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.html. You may also contact the chair, Elizabeth Johnson, at 812-855-2452 or johnson1@indiana.edu.

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Committee to Revise RBMS Standards for Ethical Conduct

The Task Force Committee to Revise RBMS Standards for Ethical Conduct has been reconstituted with a membership of Richard Oram (chair), Barbara Jones, Susan Allen, and Bradley Westbrook. The Committee met at Midwinter to: consider input from the open hearing held at the 2002 Annual Conference; to review work by the previous Committee; and to formulate language relating to personal collecting by special collections librarians, outside employment, appraisal, and other matters. Since the document is fairly close to completion, the Committee hopes to deliver a finished version this spring, which will then be posted to the RBMS website. An open hearing on this draft will be held at the ALA Annual Conference in Toronto. The chair has been in touch with the ALA and ACRL ethics committees to determine the appropriate approval process for the document.

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2004 RBMS Preconference

The 45th annual RBMS Preconference will be held Monday, June 21 to Thursday, June 24, 2004, on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, prior to the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. Entitled "Ebb and Flow: The Migration of Collections to and from American Libraries," the Preconference will focus on the history and current issues surrounding the movement of collections from the four corners of the earth into American repositories.

Librarians, archivists, curators, and collectors are responsible for the flow of cultural artifacts across oceans and continents, both into and out of American repositories. This conference will explore how and why these materials have crossed and re-crossed shifting international and cultural boundaries. It will also draw useful lessons from that history for future collecting and improved public access. Plenary sessions will address a variety of topics ranging from broad issues of history and ethics to more practical concerns, such as negotiating international contracts and the role of technical services and digital technology in improving international access to materials.

The 2004 Preconference Program Planning Committee held a very successful first meeting in Philadelphia in January. Details of the Preconference theme and program are currently under discussion and input from section members is always welcome. Mike Kelly is the chair of the Committee and can be reached by e-mail at: mike.kelly@nyu.edu.

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Chair's Report, 2001-2002

Despite the terrible events of September 11, which happened early in the ALA calendar year, RBMS had a busy and productive year in 2001-2002. After the initial period of shock and disbelief, the Section returned to its business with renewed vigor. In response to issues arising in the aftermath of the events, Jean Ashton organized and facilitated a discussion group at Annual to share experiences related to documentation needs, legal and ethical issues, and civil liberties concerns.

The Section redoubled its efforts to address the issue of diversity in special collections. The Membership and Professional Development Committee created the RBMS Statement on Diversity, which was approved unanimously by the Executive Committee, and which serves to inspire us all to work to make our profession more inclusive. The Committee's seminar on diversity at the Atlanta Preconference brought together a wide range of librarians and archivists to share their experiences and promote the cause. Both of these are first steps on a march toward a crucial goal.

The Section reached out to new, younger, and potential members in other ways as well. The Buddy Program is thriving, and the new member orientation at the Preconference continues to draw substantial numbers. The Publications Committee completely revamped the section's brochure. An attractive new logo was designed and approved and is beginning to grace our official documents.

Several ongoing projects came to fruition during this year. The ad hoc Committee on Licensing and Reproduction of Special Collections Materials completed an article that explores the issues and makes recommendations that will help guide us through this thorny topic. The article was subsequently published in RBM. The Security Committee completed its revision of the ACRL/RBMS Guidelines Regarding Thefts in Libraries. The Task Force Committee to Revise RBMS Standards for Ethical Conduct made considerable progress toward the new, revised document. In conjunction with the Bibliographic Standards Committee, Gregory Pass completed the eagerly-awaited new code, Descriptive Cataloging of Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, and Early Modern Manuscripts (AMREMM). The Committee also moved forward on the ongoing project to revise Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Books.

As in previous years, a significant highlight was the 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 was held at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, with a day at Emory University. Although attendance was somewhat lower than in recent years (as was the case throughout ALA), the two-and-a-half day series of programs energized the membership, providing stimulating discussion and much food for thought. The theme of change in the profession carried over into the Annual Conference program on digital collections. RBMS also co-sponsored two excellent Annual Conference programs: "When Old is New: The Art of Creating New African American Special Collections," with ACRL/AFAS, and "Artists' Books: Creating, Publishing, Collecting," with ACRL/ARTS.

None of this could have been accomplished without the hard work of dedicated RBMS members too numerous to mention individually. As the Past Chair of the Section, I thank you all for your contributions, past, present, and future.

--Suzy Taraba

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ARL Special Collections Task Force

The ARL Special Collections Task Force has been meeting regularly since its initial conference held at Brown University during the summer of 2001. Information about the task force, its members, mission, and related documents can be found on the ARL website. There will be a full account of its work to date in the July 2003 issue of Library Trends, in an article by members Joe Hewitt and Judith Panitch, both of UNC/Chapel Hill.

Our most recent meeting was held at Yale in October 2002. Currently the task force is focusing on several initiatives. First, we prepared a mission statement to guide our work. Second, Alice Schreyer researched and wrote a document to address our concerns about educating the next generation of rare book and special collections librarians. Third, Barbara Jones compiled a document, "Hidden Collections, Scholarly Barriers," to describe the crisis of uncataloged backlogs in the nation's research libraries. If you would like a draft, please contact Barbara Jones at: jones5@uiuc.edu. We are happy to receive comments from librarians and archivists. In Fall 2003, we are planning to hold an invitational conference at the Library of Congress to create an action plan for getting these backlogs processed.

Other ideas being discussed are strategies for dealing with 19th and 20th century collections. We regularly receive email from interested librarians; don't hesitate to contact us.

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Transitions

Jeff Barton is now renovation librarian at Columbia University's Butler Library, where he is executing a survey of rare book and archival holdings of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Lisa Browar has been named university librarian at New School University in New York. Theresa Burk has been named the first Woodruff Librarian Fellow at Emory University, and will work in Special Collections and Archives. Richard W. Clement, special collections librarian at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas, has been appointed editor of RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage. Margaret Cook has retired as curator of manuscripts and rare books at the College of William and Mary. Christian Dupont is the new director of the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University. Caroline Duroselle-Melish has been appointed assistant curator in the Department of Printing & Graphic Arts at the Houghton Library, Harvard University. Lara Friedman-Shedlov has been appointed YMCA project archivist at the University of Minnesota. Ryan Hildebrand has been appointed special collections and archives cataloger at the University of California-Irvine. Joanne Kaczmarek is archivist for electronic records and assistant professor of library administration at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dan Linke has been promoted to university archivist and curator of public policy papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library at Princeton University. Rob Melton has been appointed curator of the Archive for New Poetry in the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California, San Diego. R. Arvid Nelson is now special collections cataloger in the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California, San Diego. Susan (Suzy) Szasz Palmer is now librarian for public outreach in the Department of Special Collections, Rare Books and Photographic Archives at the University of Louisville. She has also been appointed to the editorial board of the New Dictionary of the History of Ideas (Macmillan). Ben Primer has been promoted to associate university librarian for rare books and special collections at Princeton University. Christopher Raab has been appointed college archivist and special collections librarian at Franklin and Marshall College. Jennifer O'Brien Roper has been appointed special collections cataloging librarian at the Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University. David Rowntree is the special media collections archivist at Washington University in St. Louis. Robert Shaddy has been appointed chair of the Department of Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida. Nancy Shader has been appointed assistant archivist for public services at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library at Princeton University. Jessica Silver has been appointed reference/instruction librarian in the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California, San Diego. Mandy York is now the archivist/special collections librarian at the Woodson Research Center of the Fondren Library at Rice University.

We note with regret the recent deaths of: James F. Caccamo, archivist/historian at the Hudson, Ohio Library and Historical Society; John Dreyfus, British printer, typographer, and printing historian; Kent Haworth, head of Special Collections and University Archives at York University, Toronto; Stanley Phillip Kurman, Los Angeles rare book dealer; Abe Lerner, American book designer; Rosalee McReynolds, special collections librarian at Loyola University-New Orleans; and Archie Motley, archivist emeritus at the Chicago Historical Society.