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Several special collections libraries develop programs, marketing programs, and webpages to improve public access to collections. However, public perceptions of special collections libraries are poorly understood and library professionals instead depend on anecdotes or own experiences to identify barriers to access. University College London (UCL) Special Collections used an online survey to reach communities outside the university to understand what they think UCL Special Collections is and what interventions might encourage them to visit. Through their survey, it is easier to understand misconceptions about special collections and how it may discourage someone from learning more. Specific marketing and programming interventions applicable to special collections libraries are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the libraries of many historically white colleges and universities, there is genuine desire and sincere effort to make primary source collections more diverse, inclusive, and equitable. But these endeavors are thwarted by long-standing internal practices and values. Laying bare the inner workings of special collections libraries within such institutions, I analyze the financial, epistemological, and cultural mechanisms that interfere with the building of archival collections relevant to African American history and experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an endless amount of material waiting to be cataloged, cataloging departments in libraries with Special or Distinctive Collections often focus on clearing away backlogs as a primary goal. These departments aren't typically considered public-facing, but consider "public access" a defining value. What if we shifted the way we view the work of these departments and more directly used criteria from public services to reevaluate and advocate for the work they do? From a management and leadership perspective, this article will focus on the work that cataloging departments do beyond creating a catalog record and suggests changes to the ways that we characterize that work. For example, moving away from a purely statistical view of work completed in a specific timeframe, to prioritizing DEI collections, supporting reference requests and instruction, and working with communities to provide human-centered approach to analysis and description. With a change in emphasis, we can develop a more holistic, human-centered approach to cataloging work and find frameworks for advocating for cataloging as impactful to public services as those departments we traditionally consider to make up the core of public services work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay provides a revised history of the James River Canal, the first navigational canal with locks in the United States. It corrects previous assumptions about the location of the canal and emphasizes the importance of preserving the canal-related archaeological sites and structures. The construction of the canal involved the work of John Ballendine and his son Thomas, as well as the James River Company. The canal played a significant role in transportation and trade in colonial America, particularly in the Richmond area. Although it was eventually overshadowed by railroads, the remains of the canal can still be seen today in the James River Park system. [Extracted from the article]

This article explores the conservative intellectual movement known as the LSE Right, which played a significant role in shaping British conservatism during the 1980s. The LSE Right's conservatism is characterized by skepticism, conservative individualism, and a focus on sustaining the framework of human life rather than dictating it. While their influence waned in the 1990s, the article argues that the LSE Right's conservatism offers valuable insights for the future of conservative politics, including a nuanced perspective on modernity and a receptiveness to the concerns of the global Right. The article includes a list of references and sources related to conservatism and right-wing politics. [Extracted from the article]

This article provides an overview of the life and political career of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, a prominent figure in British politics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Glasgow in 1836, Campbell-Bannerman started as a Member of Parliament and eventually became the leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister. He faced challenges such as the split within the Liberal Party over Irish home rule and the Second Boer War. Campbell-Bannerman's leadership and ethical standards were tested during these times, but he ultimately led the Liberal Party to a landslide victory in the 1906 general election. He supported various reforms, including education, land, and licensing, but faced opposition from the Conservative majority in the House of Lords. Campbell-Bannerman also advocated for trade unions' rights and introduced legislation to address child mistreatment and poverty. While personally supporting women's suffrage, he prioritized party unity and peaceful lobbying. His most significant achievement was the introduction of the Pensions Bill, which marked a shift towards a welfare state. Due to his declining health, Campbell-Bannerman resigned as prime minister in 1908. [Extracted from the article]

This article discusses how the Women's Art Library fosters creativity through the experience of the many artistic research practices hosted since the collection was installed in Goldsmiths University of London in the Library as a Special Collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Special collections libraries sometimes include games among their collections. However, games pose a challenge to catalogers, who are typically trained in printed formats. There is no single standard for cataloging games for special collections libraries. "Best Practices for Cataloging Objects Using RDA and MARC 21," published by Online Audiovisual Catalogers, focuses on circulating collections. The Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials manuals provide guidance on describing resources as artifacts but do not provide instructions for cataloging three-dimensional objects. As a result, special collections catalogers describing games at the item level draw instructions from multiple standards. This article describes the process of cataloging a game collection. Using two items from the collection as illustrative examples, the article shows how instructions from RDA, the OLAC Best Practices, and the DCRM manuals were used together to provide users with information to identify resources and to improve discovery of games in the library's catalog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia holds three drafts for the screenplay of the 1957 film of The Sun Also Rises. Hemingway read Peter Viertel's second attempt at a working script--the one titled "Revised Temporary"--and penciled in over fifty critical comments on it. Hemingway was most aroused by the choice of one word--"impotent." Jake Barnes "was not impotent," Hemingway wrote, but the film as produced stuck with the word. When it came to clarifying the nature of Jake's wound, Viertel was later to write, "we were never really able to solve this problem." All along, however, Hemingway had meant to confer upon his hero a problem that has no name. Hemingway sentenced Jake Barnes to a wound that resists signification in order to remind us of the deep pleasure we take in wound-hunting, especially when searching for The Wound that (may have) shaped the author himself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stetson J. Robinson's book, "The Correspondence of Charles S. Peirce and the Open Court Publishing Company, 1890–1913," is a valuable collection of letters between Peirce and figures associated with the Open Court Press. The letters provide insight into Peirce's life and struggles, including financial difficulties and personal hardships. The book also explores Peirce's reservations about the aims of the Open Court and his views on the conciliation of religion and science. Overall, the book offers a comprehensive and detailed look into the life and thoughts of America's foremost logician. [Extracted from the article]

This study presents the results of an online survey designed to explore methods for and barriers to implementation of the SAA-ACRL/RBMS Standardized Statistical Measures and Metrics for Public Services in Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries. While 94% of responding institutions do collect operational statistics about public services, only half use the collected data for assessment purposes, while only 24% were certain they use the Standard. This discrepancy signals the need for additional outreach to institutions to help explain and implement the Standard across a broad range of special collections libraries and archival repositories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides insight into the content of personal book collection once belonging to Milan Jovanović Batut (1847–1940), a medical doctor and university professor, prolific author and national enlightener regarding public health and hygiene issues. The collection has been a part of the SASA Library holdings since 1947 when it was donated by the Committee on Public Health Protection of Serbia. The collection counts 2137 monographs and 160 periodicals in medicine and related sciences. It is entirely available at the Co-operative online bibliographic system (COBISS). A general overview of printed materials in Batut’s fund at the SASA Archives is also provided in the paper [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1927, historian Lucullus V. McWhorter traveled with veterans of the 1877 Nez Perce War to key sites from the conflict. Part of the research material generated from the trip included several maps co-created by Nez Perce War veterans, today housed in Washington State University's Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections Library as part of the Lucullus V. McWhorter Collection. These maps, many drawn in the tradition of American Indian ledger art, provided spatial details of key battle sites and visual representations of specific incidents that occurred throughout the Nez Perce War. In this paper, I argue that these maps constitute examples of Indigenous anticolonial mapping and that they enabled McWhorter to communicate the veterans' version of events that transpired throughout the war. This, in contrast to other accounts of the period which tended to disregard the white settler theft of lands that prompted Nez Perce resistance and to justify the colonial violence of the U.S. settler state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many libraries have special collections with restricted access, e.g. holdings from a private library. One such library is that of the agricultural scientist Theodor von der Goltz (1836-1905), which is being fully digitised by ZB MED - Information Centre for Life Sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document provides a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field of cartography. It includes information on personal news, prizes, and awards, as well as research fellowships related to cartography. The article also highlights conferences, meetings, and institutional news, covering a wide range of topics and locations. Additionally, it lists upcoming exhibitions that explore various themes in cartography and showcases original maps. The document also mentions notable acquisitions of maps, atlases, charts, and globes from different time periods and regions. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses an exhibition at The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, called "Visualizing Place: Maps from The Bancroft Library." The exhibition aimed to redefine and expand the understanding of cartographic history by showcasing a wide variety of maps, including the 1814 map of the Lewis and Clark expedition and Antonio García Cuba's Atlas pintoresco. The section on Mexico City, titled "CDMX: City of Barrios," featured maps that contrasted the mapmakers' representations of the city with those reinterpreting it from a different perspective. The exhibition also included indigenous maps of Mexico City and maps that depicted the city within the larger context of the Valley of Mexico. The article highlights the importance of considering different perspectives and including diverse voices in mapmaking. [Extracted from the article]

Through analysing how information literate practitioners emerged in the pre-digital era, how they were taught and how they communicated their understandings of practice, we can better appreciate how these actors helped shape contemporary information landscapes. Such studies can be conducted through the resources in special collections of libraries and archives. Case studies of medieval scholarly practice, and the history of the island of St Helena, are presented as examples of where these archival sources reveal the influence of historic information (literate and illiterate) practice on modern information landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how diasporic Chinese video artists present familial histories and tales of cross-cultural exchange in the context of an exhibition I am curating, Another Beautiful Country: Moving Images by Chinese American Artists, at the University of Southern California (USC) Pacific Asia Museum. I discuss projects by featured artists Richard Fung and Patty Chang. These artists' experimental documentaries and performative videos foster deep personal discoveries that defy the late-capitalist obsession with the new as defined by youth, novelty, and the next trend, providing revelatory insights through recuperative engagements with what has come before. In analyzing artworks by Fung and Chang, I also reference related texts by/about artists and historical figures including Walter Benjamin, Anna May Wong, and Zhang Ailing, who emigrated from the People's Republic of China to the United States in the 1950s and whose special collections in the USC Libraries helped inform the exhibition's programming. I also interweave my own related familial histories and share some (not-so-new) curatorial ideas for immersing audiences in intercultural art and reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charles J. Hirsch was an accountant and controller for the Golden Nugget casino from 1950 to 1970. He contributed to a movement in the 1950s and 1960s to advance the use of statistical sampling and analysis in the accounting profession. This manuscript is based on analysis of Hirsch's professional papers, held at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Libraries Special Collections and Archives. Hirsch used statistical sampling and analysis at Golden Nugget when statistical techniques had not yet been widely accepted or implemented by practicing accountants and auditors. Beginning in 1959, Hirsch made numerous conference presentations describing his work. In addition, Hirsch explicitly challenged the accounting profession to follow his lead and integrate statistical sampling and analysis into existing practice. In doing so, he joined an exclusive group of individuals, including Robert Trueblood, who were early advocates for using statistical techniques to improve the practice of accounting and auditing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a need for highly trained special collections and rare books catalogers as found in recent job postings. Where will these catalogers learn the unique skills needed for them to succeed in their careers? This paper is an environmental survey of courses offered by the 68 Library and Information Science programs accredited by the American Library Association. It evaluates what course offerings in cataloging and special collections are available. These findings suggest LIS programs currently do not offer sufficient numbers of courses to train special collections and rare books catalogers. Additional skills, from extra languages to knowledge of DCRM(B), need to be acquired in other ways, before, during, and after traditional LIS degree work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Academic Library & Information Science is the property of Anhui University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Robson lists these instances of intertextual reference in the Introduction (12-16), raising the possibility of a group of fifteenth-century I kidung i poems that have not survived to the present day. The I KPM i is a fifteenth-century poem that tells the story of the romance of the young aristocrat Pañji Margasmara and his beloved Ken Candrasari. Kidung Pañji Margasmara: A Middle Javanese Romance: by Kemuling Rat Dyah Atapêng Raje, edited and translated by Stuart Robson, with notes on history and topography by Hadi Sidomulyo, Leiden: Brill, 2023, ix+439 pp., €140.00 (e-book). [Extracted from the article]

In 1912, the John Carter Brown Library (JCB) of Providence, Rhode Island, acquired a machine that would have an "unexpected influence" on library operations. The Photostat was a copying camera that could be used to take and print photographs easily and on site. For the first time, libraries could replicate not just select pages, but entire books. The introduction of this technology to special collections would have, in the words of one user, a revolutionary effect on research and bibliography. Through the lens of the photostat, this article illuminates how librarians in the United States established standards of accuracy for textual copies at the beginning of the twentieth century. It centers on the case of early Americana collections, such as the JCB, which were among the first libraries in the US to photostat historical documents. Motivated by the needs of individual researchers as well as by a national interest in standardizing American history and preserving Indigenous knowledge, these libraries began experimenting with the photostat through the replication of Spanish-, French-, and Indigenous-language documents. As a result, the standards they developed for large scale replication originated in efforts to preserve Indigenous knowledge and to control the international circulation of information. As this article will show, these standards cannot be disentangled from the imperial and post-colonial power structures out of which they emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thousands of manuscript fragments and intact codices reside in collections across the American Midwest, but most remain largely unknown to and unexplored by the scholarly community because of their perceived remoteness from more traditional centers of book collecting on the East and West Coasts. This essay introduces a special collection of ten articles highlighting various individual manuscripts and library collections in so-called fly-over states. From broken Bibles to Near Eastern masterpieces, and from small assemblies of manuscripts to large-scale digital collaborations that aim to expose the Midwest's rich manuscript resources, the topics of each article represent remarkable opportunities for scholarship, teaching, outreach, and collaboration across the manuscript studies field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature lacks empirical evidence supporting the claim that the value of special collections in the academic library has grown significantly. Through a web-based survey the perceptions of librarians and archivists (N = 243) in academic libraries were investigated. The results give insight into what measures of value are perceived as important. Minor differences were found based on institutional size and managerial status. More significant differences were found for gender identity. Findings will allow directors and staff to have more productive conversations about limited resources and staff time, and advance professional discourse about the assessment of value for special collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This book review discusses "Sitanyin Dunhuang Kaogu Dang'an Yanjiu" by Wang Jiqing, which focuses on Marc Aurel Stein's archaeological activities in Dunhuang, China. Wang Jiqing has extensively researched overseas Dunhuang documents and collected approximately 100,000 pages of original archives from the Bodleian Library. The book systematically analyzes Stein's diaries and covers topics such as Stein's exploration activities, his archaeological activities in the Mogao Grottoes, and the transfer of cultural relics to London. The introduction emphasizes the unique value of the book, and the author provides a comprehensive clarification of the impacts of Western explorers on Dunhuang during the early twentieth century. Overall, this book is a groundbreaking contribution to the field of Dunhuang Studies. [Extracted from the article]

Harold Osher, a prominent US collector of early maps, passed away shortly before his 100th birthday. He was known for his philanthropic efforts, which greatly influenced the establishment of new map libraries in the United States. Osher's passion for early maps stemmed from his background as a cardiologist, where he used interpretation skills to expand his understanding of the past. He and his wife Peggy worked to improve the quality of life in southern Maine, leading them to donate their map collection to the University of Southern Maine (USM) and establish the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education. This model of public-private collaboration has influenced the creation of other map libraries in the US. [Extracted from the article]

The accessibility of special collections during the COVID-19 pandemic was a matter of concern for libraries and their users due to the specific nature of special collections compared to other information sources in libraries. This study therefore investigated the accessibility of special collections in university libraries in the South South zone of Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic. The population of the study included 233 librarians in federal, state and private universities in the zone. The study adopted an online questionnaire and there was a total of 197 respondents. The findings show that special collections were accessible to library users through library websites, institutional repositories, CD-ROMs and flash drives during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. The study reveals some of the challenges affecting the accessibility of special collections during the COVID-19 pandemic in university libraries in Nigeria and recommends ways of enhancing the accessibility of special collections during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governance and development history of the Yellow River is an important part of Chinese history. Many historical documents and archives have been produced around the governance and development of the Yellow River as well as modern information resources such as databases and pictures, which together constitute a special collection of cultural heritage resources of the Yellow River Governance Landscape. In this paper, a literature search was conducted and unique resources collected for the construction of the Yellow River Governance Landscape, including the main literature, archives, pictures, databases, and other resources. Experts identified the concept and relevant resources of the Yellow River Governance Landscape, and librarians constructed the special collection. The future direction of digitization and database construction for the Yellow River Governance Landscape resources are also discussed. The special resources of the Yellow River Governance Landscape will help to increase the discipline collections and special collections of university libraries, provide resources for multidisciplinary teaching and research, and help to digitize and build databases of Yellow River Governance Landscape resources in the future as well as provide the content basis for open access and sharing of digital resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, UNLV Special Collections and Archives conducted an internal audit of collections, strategic plans, and programming in order to assess how well it is meeting strategic goals of being more inclusive and increasing diversity and representation. In a data-driven institution, how can assessment be used to advocate for resources focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion? In conducting this analysis, UNLV hoped to answer the following query: how is progress measured if the goal is to preserve stories outside the traditional narrative (white, male, cisgender, heteronormative, etc.)? This article discusses strategies for assessing diversity in special collections and archives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper details the library special collections material held at the library of Highland Theological College, University of the Highlands and Islands. Our three main special collections are the primary focus of this article: the William Temple Collection, the Rutherford House Collection, and the Fort Augustus Collection. We detail here the story behind these collections entering our custody and proceed to highlight a selection of monographs of provenance and personal interest. This paper constitutes original research into the collections, building upon a foundation laid by the late college librarian, Mr. Martin Cameron (1955-2019), who curated the collections over some twenty years. We also discuss our ongoing work in formulating our new Historical Texts Collection, comprising the library's oldest books of academic interest, and a subcollection of liturgical music, isolated from the Fort Augustus Collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text discusses the origin of the writing advice "kill your darlings" and its connection to the British author Q, pseudonym of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch. The phrase appears in Quiller-Couch's 1914 lecture "On Style" and his later volume "On the Art of Writing." The advice emphasizes the elimination of unnecessary flourish in writing. While the exhibition attributes the phrase's origin to Quiller-Couch, there are precedents for similar sentiments expressed by Samuel Johnson and George Meredith. Quiller-Couch, who admired Meredith's work, explicitly mentions Meredith's novel "The Ordeal of Richard Feverel" on multiple occasions. Despite Meredith's baroque prose, his line about "killing one's darling child" provided an antecedent to Quiller-Couch's influential advice. [Extracted from the article]

The study explores the collection development of university level printed and electronic information resources for persons with visually challenged in Braille libraries, as well as how these resources affect users with visual impairments in a manner similar to that of blind users. Persons with visually challenged desire access to pertinent material in the library in their preferred accessible format, just as blind persons can read newspapers, listen to CDs, or download electronic content from the Internet. The study comes to the conclusion that using collections, assistive technology, and ICT will enhance librarians' expertise and inclusive teaching. There must be a large growth in the number of books and materials that are accessible through commercial means if libraries are to serve those who cannot read print effectively or with an adequate library collection and services. All users, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, political stance, or handicap, have a right to access knowledge, and libraries have an ethical obligation to provide that access. These individuals had a small range of Braille books to choose from up to this stage, but many institutions are now learning the significance it is to make products for blind and visually challenged users accessible. With the help of this study, university libraries will have the fundamental information they need to address challenges with the visually impaired access to print and electronic resources. People who were long disregarded can now access services that are both user-friendly and pertinent thanks to the usage of assistive technology and ICT. In the digital age, excellent library collections and services for the blind can be provided by organizations that serve people with impairments. The study further explores the challenges faced by users with visual impairments and their informational requirements, identifies unique library resources and services, and offers recommendations for enhancing library and information services for the visually impaired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As special collections librarians have become increasingly focused on instruction and active learning there has been a move toward more elaborately designed assignments spread over multiple visits to the special collections library. While such activities are undoubtedly rewarding as library experiences, they may not meet the needs of the professors teaching the classes, for whom teaching time is often at a premium. The one-shot session allows the professor more flexibility within the semester, and this calls for librarians to think about how active learning techniques can be implemented in a single session. This article offers some practical solutions to how the librarian can plan one-time visits to the special collections library that center student learning, while still making the most of the semester's instruction time. Ultimately, librarians would do well to make a virtue out of the necessity of such single-visit instruction sessions, as their flexibility for professors means that they will be a central part of special collections' instruction for the foreseeable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Toru'n b (Poland), 34th All-Poland Conference for the Historians of Cartography, "Fortyfikacje na dawnych mapach" [Fortifications on old maps], organized by the Team for the History of Cartography at the Institute for the History of Science PAS; Department of Military History at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toru'n; and the Department of Geomatics and Cartography at Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, 13-15 October 2022. Milena B Morozova b , PhD Candidate in Social and Political Sciences at Moscow State University, 'Literary Routes of the Past: The History of Literary Mapping in America' (Newberry Library, Chicago, Arthur and Janet Holzheimer Fellowship in the History of Cartography, 2020-2021). James R. B Akerman b , who had been Director of the Smith Center since 1996 and Curator of Maps since 2011 at the Newberry Library, Chicago, is succeeded by David B Weimer b in December 2022. B Pessac b (France), Maison des Suds, study days: "Cartography in education in/of the Americas"; historians and geographers discussed the educational uses of cartography in Canada, Guatemala, Cuba, Guyana, Brazil, etc., organized by UMR Passages and the Ameriber (Bordeaux Montaigne University), CREDA (IHEAL / Sorbonne Nouvelle), CRIAL (Sorbonne Nouvelle) and Skidmore College (New York), 5-6 April 2022. B Chicago, b Newberry Library, Herman Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography [hybrid event], the 21st Kenneth Nebenzahl, Jr., Lectures in the History of Cartography: "Mapping as Performance" (addressing the ways in which people create and share maps through action in space), 4-5 November 2022. [Extracted from the article]

Jacobs-Jenkins radically transforms Boucicault by making the nineteenth-century playwright address the question from which the new drama springs, that is, what it means to be a "black playwright", operating in a historically racist tradition, afflicted by limiting expectations and ironic constraints, such as the anti-racist sensitivities of actors who identify as white. He has Queen Victoria tell Boucicault, 'You show us our Irish subjects in the manner that renders them the most beloved to us'.[13] For both Parker and Jacobs-Jenkins, Boucicault was partly made available through the investigations of others: that is, academic work mediated his transformation into new drama. Boucicault insisted that the play preached abolition, but his play also naturalised "race", sexualised it, and read blackness as a tragedy.[3] It was not, therefore, an obvious move for Jacobs-Jenkins to invoke and incorporate the play into his own work a century later. Parker's Boucicault play is also like I An Octoroon i in that it reflects on the present in the light of the past: the playwright recognised in the world of his predecessor the cynical materialism of his own "Thatcherite eighties".[7] Marilynn Richtarik contends that Parker was indirectly meditating on his own career, in which his commitment to Northern Irish subjects and his resistance to commercial compromise cost him a great deal. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Journal of the American Institute for Conservation is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article fills a gap in the literature of item-level condition surveys intended for small or underfunded institutions, as well as those staffed without extensive expertise in rare books. The Book Condition Survey (BCS) uses a simple, web-based survey with pictorial representations for volunteer library staff members to easily note degrees of damage to a collection of seventeenth- to nineteenth-century books and pamphlets. This article discusses the creation of the survey, training of staff, and implementation of the BSC. Data from the BSC have been used to identify means of improving the collection's storage techniques, inform internal and external grant applications for preservation assistance, and deepen knowledge of rare books collections. The methods used for the creation and implementation of the Book Condition Survey could easily be adapted by other institutions to create an instrument suitable for their own assessment needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]