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Agenda, RBMS Mss & Other Formats



ACRL Rare Books and Manuscripts Section
Manuscripts and Other Formats Discussion Group

Sunday, January 14, 2001
JW Marriott Hotel, Salon J/K  Washington, D.C.

As always, please check the printed program and addenda for room changes.

AGENDA

1. Introductions and general announcements.

2. Reports on recent conferences and meetings.  Anyone who has attended a recent
meeting of interest is invited to give a brief report.

3. News from individual repositories.  Members are invited to describe new
collections, projects in which they are involved, exhibitions, grants,
exhibitions, or other news.

4. Individual member issues or queries.  Individuals who wish to bring up
particular issues of relevance to the group or who have specific archival
questions they would like to put to the collective wisdom of the group will have
an opportunity to do so.

5. Practitioner?s Corner.  The topic of online reference forms will be
explored.  The increase of online finding aids to archival collections and other
detailed online descriptions of special collections, not to mention the basic
?home page? presence of libraries and repositories on the Internet, has
dramatically increased electronic communication regarding reference assistance
with collection holdings.  Several repositories have developed online reference
forms to manage the correspondence.  What are the benefits of these forms?  What
are desirable features?  What considerations have been made in deciding not to
use online forms?  Members are encouraged to bring printouts of exemplary online
reference forms (especially those from their own repositories).

6. Primary Discussion Topic.  After threatening legal action, a New Jersey
historical society settled an acquisition deal for an early state document with
an individual who had advertised its sale on the Internet auction site, eBay.
Amazon.com has affiliated with Sotheby?s and eBay has acquired San
Francisco-based Butterfield & Butterfield, both traditional auction houses that
have offered books, manuscripts, autographs, and other ?collectibles.?  Scholar
of American diaries Molly McCarthy describes her direct acquisition of primary
sources in ?Consuming History,? in the January issue of Common-Place
www.comon-place.org.  As noted in professional newsletters and reports from
researchers, the e-market is an important emerging source for acquisition of
primary source material.  The primary topic for discussion will be the effect of
online sources (catalogs, auctions, emails, listservs) for collection
development, especially of manuscripts and other formats.  Issues include new
lines of communication (direct contact from potential donors, individual
sellers, changing role for dealers), immediacy of the market, authenticity of
items and integrity of collections, expanding competition between private
collectors and institutional collectors, the effect on established library
acquisition operations, etc.  Other observations and comments on problems and
trends in collection development are welcome.

7. The future of the discussion group.  Business includes proposal of future
discussion topics as well as future leadership.

As always, our chief concern is to ensure that the Manuscripts and Other Formats
Discussion Group reflects the interests of its members.  We welcome suggestions
relating to the above topic or concerning any other issue members might like to
see addressed at our meetings.  Please don?t hesitate to get in touch:

L. Rebecca Johnson Melvin (lrjm@udel.edu, 302-831-6089)
or  Timothy D. Murray (tdm@udel.edu, 302-831-6952)
Special Collections
University of Delaware Library

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