Manuscript Collections, Archives, and Special Collections

Abstract

Manuscript collections and institutional archives often began as miscellaneous, non-conforming collections of library materials. These collections, along with other non-conforming materials and rare books were often joined together under a special collections administration. Typically, the administrative head was a rare books persons who brought that point of view to the overall administration, but particularly to manuscript collections. This "rarities" approach to manuscripts is obsolete in dealing with modern manuscript collections, yet it remains a controlling factor. Scale and technical considerations require autonomy for truly modern manuscript collections. And where there are institutional archives and manuscript collections, they should be joined under a common administration, and a single point of access should be provided to all such holdings.