CHAPTER 4 - Guides to Special Collections and Source Materials

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the guides to special collections and source materials. The best general guide to special collections of material held in British libraries and institutions is the Aslib Directory: a guide to sources of information in Great Britain and Ireland. This was edited by M. Alman and was published in two volumes by Aslib in 1957. This edition provides an alphabetical list by location, indicating, among other details, the size of each institution's holdings and the subject of its special collections. The comprehensive index volume provides a classified arrangement with its own subject index. It is, thus, possible to trace the classification number for a specific subject or person and then, by reference to the classified arrangement, to discover those British libraries and institutions that possess special collections in the field. A useful-volume guide is the Libraries, Museums and Art Galleries Year Book. This provides brief information about the scope of collections. Despite its title, this is not a regular annual publication.