Special Collections: Fall 2014

Instructor:

Douglas McElrath

School:

iSchool at Maryland

Semester:

Fall 2014

Description:

This course will explore key issues in managing library-based special collections. From traditional book and paper formats to digital media, special collections in libraries and other cultural institutions are essential source materials that preserve important bodies of information and promote scholarship. Curators of special collections employ a variety of techniques and approaches to identify, acquire, preserve, describe, and make accessible these materials. While the various formats and types of materials in special collections have some unique characteristics, this class will explore commonalities. Finally, special collections curators are facing new challenges due to emerging technologies and changing perceptions about the purpose and value of collections. We will discuss some of these issues and explore how special collections curatorship in the 21st century is evolving.

Required Textbook:

No required textbook.

Link to Syllabus:

http://ischool.umd.edu/sites/default/files/syllabi/syllabus-2014-2_0.pdf

Special Libraries/Information Centers: Summer 2012

Instructor:

Amelia Birdsall Looby

School:

University at Albany

Semester:

Summer 2012

Description:

This course focuses on the history, unique characteristics, special problems and current trends in special libraries and information centers. Topics include library management, marketing, proving service value, and special librarian skill sets within a variety of settings.

Required Textbook:

No required textbook.

Link to Syllabus:

http://www.albany.edu/informationstudies/files/IIST619_-_Special_Libraries_Syllabus.pdf

Rare Book Librarianship: Fall 2014

Instructor:

Lynn Ann Davis

School:

University of Hawaii

Semester:

Fall 2014

Description:

Rare book librarianship is an object-based discipline and relies upon keen observational skills, as well as historical knowledge. By carefully examining physical aspects of a book (paper, typography-printer, illustration, binding, provenance, etc.) you can understand aspects of its history in addition to the text. The UHM Library’s Rare Book collection will be the primary class resource for examining aspects of the printed book in the West from the 15th century through the 20th century. The fundamentals of defining and developing rare book collection policy will be considered as well as creating a place for rare book collections in today’s landscape of knowledge and information literacy.

Required Textbook:

Galbraith, S. K., Smith, G. D. 2012. Rare Book Librarianship: An Introduction and Guide.

Link to Syllabus:

http://www.hawaii.edu/lis/content/syllabi/693_Davis_RareBooks_f2014.doc

Special Libraries and Documentation Centers: Spring 2012

Instructor:

Priscilla Ubysz

School:

Southern Connecticut

Semester:

Spring 2012

Description:

The aims, organization, administration and services of special libraries and information centers. Examples are drawn from those that are unique to interest of students.

Required Textbook:

Mount, E. 1999. Special Libraries and Information centers: An introductory text, 4th ed.

Link to Syllabus:

http://www.southernct.edu/ils/uploads/textWidget/wysiwyg/documents/ILS_564_Spring-2012.doc

Managing Ephemera in Libraries, Archives, and Museums: Summer 2013

Instructor:

Henry Raine

School:

Long Island University

Semester:

Summer 2013

Description:

The course will provide an overview of ephemera collections and their management in libraries and archives. It will consist of half-day lectures, exercises, and discussions, and half-day tours of ephemera collections at institutions around New York City. In-class topics will include understanding and identifying different types of ephemera, the history of ephemera in relation to print culture and the history of printing and publishing practices, the relationship of ephemera to other materials in library and archival collections, the collecting and acquisition of contemporary and historical ephemera, the cataloging, processing, and housing of ephemera collections, how to provide access to ephemera in a library or archives reading room, security issues, the potential uses and research value of ephemera collections, and the ephemera of the future. Field trips will include visits to the Grolier Club, the New York Public Library, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Tamiment Library, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the New-York Historical Society. The course will be supplemented by readings from archivists and librarians, historians of printing, and other scholars who use ephemera in their research.

Required Textbook:

No required textbook.

Link to Syllabus:

http://palmerblog.liu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/LIS-901-003-Ephemera-syllabus-2013.pdf

Special Libraries: Spring 2010

Instructor:

Mike Koenig

School:

Long Island University

Semester:

Spring 2010

Description:

A study of the characteristics, contexts, and roles of special libraries, and of information work in organizations, both profit and not-for-profit. Topics covered include the organization, the administration, the services and functions provided by, and the financial management of special libraries. Particular attention is given to the relationship between the special library and the organization within which it is embedded.

The relationship between Knowledge Management and Special Librarianship is also examined. The emphasis upon Knowledge Management is substantial because libraries in the corporate sector, the largest chunk of the spectrum of special libraries, are increasingly a component of and are subsumed under Knowledge Management, and to be successful, ―librarians‖ must think of themselves primarily as key players in the organization’s KM effort.

Required Textbook:

No required textbook.

Link to Syllabus:

http://palmerblog.liu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/lis_747_syllabus.pdf