THE EDUCATION AND HIRING OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARIANS:: OBSERVATIONS FROM A RECENT RECRUIT

Abstract

The topic of what skills and qualifications are required of special collections librarians has come up in numerous places in past months, including in an Association of Research Libraries (ARL) White Paper released in November 2004 and at the most recent (June 2005) Rare Books and Manuscripts (RBMS) Preconference in St. Louis. Not coincidentally, it also was the focus of a roundtable session at the April 2005 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) National Meeting in Minneapolis. This article summarizes the discussion at the latter event and points out how several themes have been recurring in other contexts. Those . . .