Throughout 2021, I've been hard at work researching, writing and proofing the third edition of the Handbook for Facet Publishing. The Handbook's new look. I have reviewed every single word, example, diagram, link and reference for this new edition: you can be sure that nothing has stayed in from the previous one unless it earned … Continue reading Third edition: the green one!
Tag: Rare Books
How to get a job in Special Collections
So how do you get a job in Special Collections? I recently wrote a blog post for Facet Publishing which reflected on the skills and experience required to get started in this often competitive profession: How do I make a career in Special Collections? The post was inspired by talks and discussions at CILIP Rare … Continue reading How to get a job in Special Collections
“I suspected it was special as soon as I saw it …”: Reading’s Caxton leaf
News of a wonderful find at the University of Reading Special Collections. While cataloguing a collection of fragments, Special Collections librarian Erika Delbecque spotted something exciting ... a leaf from the Sarum Ordinal printed by William Caxton in 1476 or 1477 - the only copy of this part of the book known to survive! The … Continue reading “I suspected it was special as soon as I saw it …”: Reading’s Caxton leaf
Fika and futures
Over the past five years, it's been a delight to see the Handbook reaching audiences way beyond the UK. For instance, last year I was invited to speak at a seminar in Stockholm sharing perspectives on rare books librarianship with a group of (mostly) Swedish librarians. The paper I gave has just been published, along … Continue reading Fika and futures
Lovely in Lilac: sneak preview of handbook II
A sneak preview of the Second Edition of the Handbook! Full details are now on Facet's web site. Why the pomegranates? No idea, must ask. It's pretty though, and I love the colour. I'm hard at work on the text every day now, aiming to have the finished manuscript with Facet on 15 July. It's … Continue reading Lovely in Lilac: sneak preview of handbook II
Handbook redux
This summer I will mostly be writing. I'm working on a NEW edition of the Special Collections Handbook: deadline July. I was delighted when Facet Publishing invited me to create a new edition. It's been five years since the first edition was published: in a fast-changing world there are many new developments to share with readers, … Continue reading Handbook redux
Cataloguing Made Simpler: key rare book standards freely available online
Cataloguers rejoice! DCRM(B) and DCRM(S) are now freely available online. Here: Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books) http://rbms.info/dcrm/dcrmb/index.html Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Serials) http://rbms.info/dcrm/dcrms/index.html Print copies of these standards have been tricky to get hold of in recent years. This welcome initiative from the Library of Congress will save money, time and effort for … Continue reading Cataloguing Made Simpler: key rare book standards freely available online
Special Collections in CILIP Update
Very pleased that the latest issue of CILIP Update features a section all about the latest in Special Collections. Special Collections is an incredibly dynamic and exciting area of library work, and it is good to see this feature in a title aimed at all librarians. There's a piece by Karen Attar about the new … Continue reading Special Collections in CILIP Update
Updating The Special Collections Directory
A Directory of Rare Book and Special Collections in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, a definitive reference book, was last updated in 1997. The world of special collections has changed a bit since then. Many new collections have come to light (including ours at Bradford University - we don't even have an entry … Continue reading Updating The Special Collections Directory
To Have and To Hold: Historic Libraries Forum Annual Conference 2013
Managers of special collections face difficult decisions: what to collect, what not to collect, how to accept new material etc, how to identify and deal with irrelevant material ... This year's Historic Libraries Forum conference in London on 19 November will share best practice in collection management. I'm speaking, along with Katie Flanagan from Brunel … Continue reading To Have and To Hold: Historic Libraries Forum Annual Conference 2013
The Special Collections Handbook 