Rare Books Research Articles

Close Encounters of the Archival Kind: Affect and Transnational Solidarities in African Diaspora Archives

Recent explorations of affect in the archives have focused on the experiences of users and particularly the distress archival collections could possibly cause them. Perhaps because they have, until recently, been trained to think of themselves as engaged in objective and neutral work collecting and preserving memory, archivists rarely reflect on or talk about their work, how they engage with the materials they manage, and how they personally feel about what they encounter in the course of their professional lives. Using an autoethnographic conceptual framing, this article uses four archival encounters in the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture to reflect on affect in the archives invoked by archival work. Through these encounters, the article seeks to demonstrate archives of the African diaspora as both a locus of transnational African diasporic identities and solidarities, as well as a critical site for the (re)building of the same. Finally, it also hints at how such affective experiences can, in fact, further the cultural and political work of Black archivists and archives.

History in context: teaching the history of dentistry with rare materials.

History and health humanities instruction offers a framework for professional students to examine the arc and development of their profession as well as develop cultural competencies. Exploring ideas, themes, and health care practices and approaches through historical instruction can show students how culture influences health care and practice, therefore providing a context for further development of cultural competence skills. This case report describes a collaboration among a dentistry course instructor, a liaison librarian, and curators of a rare book collection. Working together, this team offers an active learning class that examines the historical arc of the dental profession. We aim to have students use primary source materials to examine the experiences, research, and narratives of their profession. Using a World Cafe with thematic tables allows students to safely examine rare materials and artifacts and have meaningful conversations about themes that are critical to dentistry's past, present, and future. Students reported that engaging with artifacts and historical materials provided a different way to understand history and enhanced their learning experience. Engaging students in this work builds critical thinking skills that are essential to evidence-based practice.

Crime Fiction in the Archives: Hunting for Dashiell Hammett in the 1970s

This is an essay about the archive. It considers what the archive is, who or what constitutes it and for what purposes, and how we understand the archiving of knowledge as a disciplinary practice: that is, as a practice of disciplinary power and as a means of producing academic disciplines. It is also an essay about two archives in particular: the Dashiell Hammett Family Papers and the Richard Layman Collection of Dashiell Hammett, both housed in the Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at the University of South Carolina. These archives give us a fascinating insight into the fraught business of accruing, or trying to accrue, the materials that would eventually be consecrated in the archive – what was known and, crucially, not known about Hammett's life and writing prior to the publication of the first biographies and critical works. As such, they illuminate the relationship between the gathering of information and the establishing of academic disciplines, in this case, crime fiction as a legitimate area of scholarly inquiry. This is also, therefore, an essay about the emergence of crime fiction studies as a scholarly discipline.

Library and Bibliographic Classifications of Art Literature in the Documents of the M.I. Fabrikant Archive

The professional art history interests of professor M.I. Fabrikant (1887—1966) in the field of book studies, bibliography, library and museum studies are reflected in the documents of his personal archive in the Department of Rare Books and Manuscripts of the Scientific Library of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. Based on his extensive experience, the scientist drafted in the 1920s a scientific classification of art literature. In addition, working in the 1930s in the scientific libraries of major Moscow museums (the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the State Tretyakov Gallery), he drafted the structures of branch catalogues. M.I. Fabrikant also participated as a consultant in the development of projects for the organisation of departments and catalogues in the new building of the Lenin State Library of the USSR in 1936.

Rare Editions of Blaise Pascal in the Collections of the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The Research Department of Rare Books of the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences holds valuable copies of early editions of the religious and philosophical works by Blaise Pascal (1623—1662). The article considers the copies of Pascal’s rare editions in the context of the history of publication of his works, the formation of book collections, of which the department’s collection was comprised, first of all the original one, as well as the Mikhalkov collection and the library of the Roman Catholic Theological Academy.

Nespaustuvinė periodika Vrublevskių bibliotekoje: ką Lietuvos leidybos istorijai pasakoja rinkinys?

In Lithuania, non-print periodicals have been of interest to scholars, librarians, and local historians for over a hundred years. To understand the phenomenon of non-print periodicals in Lithuania, its place in the increasing national information flow, and the history of state publishing, it is necessary to gather as extensive a base of these periodical sources as possible and know the main collections. This article aims to present the study of the non-print periodicals collection stored in the Manuscripts Department of the Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences from the perspective of book science and reveal its informativeness as a whole for the history of Lithuanian publishing. The research object became all the identified non-print periodical publications collected into a conditional collection regardless of chronological frameworks, language, writing system, font, or publishing geographic location. Currently, the Manuscripts Department has recorded as many as 154 titles of small newspapers. To achieve the goal, first, historiography dedicated to non-print periodicals in Lithuania and the Wroblewski Library will be discussed, the history of object collection in the library will be determined, and the formed collection will be analysed in chronological, geographical, linguistic, typological, and genre aspects. The study of the information recorded in the publications’ metrics and texts provided insights into the processes of non-print publishing and allowed for comparisons with the processes of professional periodicals publishing. The history of the collection led to another multilingual collection of non-print periodicals covering the period between the late 19th century to 1946 in the Manuscripts Department of the Wroblewski Library, different in composition from the collection in the Rare Books and Old Periodicals Department. The analysis of the collection’s composition by designated aspects confirms the linguistic, genre, and typological diversity of publications that existed in Lithuania. The study allows us to state that although published in small volumes, non-print periodicals approached professional ones and contributed to the national information flow, filling informational and content gaps. They became a space for young creators to unfold and demonstrate practical knowledge, showcasing the potential of non-print periodicals publishing activities, which nurtured more than one professional press figure in Lithuania. The objects of the collection testify to the diversity of periodical publishing practices, and social groups involved in the publishing processes, and reveal the changing society and its aspirations. The collection gathered for the study provides new, unused information for scientific research on the reading and creativity of young people and soldiers, revealing their areas of interest. The collection’s objects become a relevant source for research on language, art history, gender, issues of the reuse of works, etc.

Herbal medicine in the Jewish Renaissance rare medical handbook The Guide to the Tree of Life (Sejfer derech ejc ha-chajim)

Ethnopharmacological relevanceThe only known copy of Sejfer derech ejc ha-chajim, an anonymous old print, is stored in the Austrian National Library in Vienna. It was written in the Yiddish Ashkenazi language and printed in 1613. The author, a Jewish physician, resided or lived in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This rare book, although it was printed over 400 years ago, has not yet been systematically assessed in the ethnomedical context of those times. Aim of the studyA quantitative assessment of the botanical drugs and kinds of healthy diets described in The Guide is presented to recognise the medicinal, diachronic, and botanical outlines of this peculiar rarum. Materials and methodsTo investigate various recipes describing the use of medicinal plants of Jewish culture in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the content of The Guide was analysed. All therapeutic uses of herbal medicines and nutritional recommendations for health were obtained by reviewing the Polish translation of the rare medical handbook. For each plant usage revealed in the text, we noted: Scientific, Common and Yiddish name of the taxon, Plant family, Part of the plant or substance used, Administration, Preparation, Primary pathology, Broad use, and Inferred pathology (ICD-11 and ICPC-3). ResultsAmong the 161 recipes, 58 plant taxa and 361 use records were recorded. Additionally, 127 mixtures with 68 plant taxa and 183 use mixture records were noted. 22 diet recipes with 19 plant taxa were also found. These data constitute three separate analyses, according to the intention of the author of The Guide. Formulations using Apiaceae were recommended primarily for gastroenterology and gynecology, while those using Rosaceae for gastroenterology, urology, and neurology. For mixtures, Lamiaceae plants are also represented and used for gastroenterology, respiratory system treatment, and gynecology. ConclusionThe medicinal knowledge described in Sejfer derech ejc ha-chajim fills a gap in contemporary knowledge regarding phyto-medical writing of the Renaissance. The Guide has a form of home first aid kit, used both for medicinal purposes and on the daily menu. In response to current challenges in healthcare, there is a growing interest among researchers in ethnomedicinal sources for the discovery of novel therapeutic compounds. This includes the re-evaluation of formulations and therapeutic indications that have been recognised for centuries. The remedies analysed and detailed in The Guide can provide valuable insights for researchers focused on identifying biologically active therapeutic raw materials of plant origin, thus contributing to advances in modern healthcare.

THEODOR KORSCH’S ANCIENT GREEK AND LATIN WORKS IN HIS SCHOLARLY AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY

The paper deals with the sources of the biography of Theodor Korsch, Professor of the Department of Classics of the Imperial Moscow University, which are collected and analyzed (Theodor Korsch’s autobiography, works by Apollo Hrusch ka, Nikolai Dmitriev, Anatoly Bogdanov, the Baskakovs (Nikolai and Nikolai), Vera Smyshlyaeva, etc.); the main milestones of Korsch’s life as an academic are described; his close connection with the Moscow University is emphasized. The paper demonstrates that Ancient Greek and Latin composition was an integral part of Korsch’s scholarly and creative activity and allowed him to establish the connection with the Ancient tradition. At the same time, Korsch cannot be classified as the type of a pedantic classicist often portrayed in the popular culture of the time (v. Chekhov): on the contrary, he was always characterized by scientific enthusiasm and Anacreontic humor. Despite the fact that Korsch can be described as half-forgotten, many prominent philologists recognized his merits as an academic and a poet (Sergei Sobolevsky, Jozef IJsewijn, etc.), noting Korsch’s extraordinary giftedness and the versatility of his talent. The second part of the paper analyzes the peculiarities of both Korsch’s artistic works and scientific papers in Ancient Greek and Latin. In order to accomplish this task, archive materials from the Manuscript Department of the Russian State Library, the Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Rare Books and Manuscripts Department of the Science Library of Lomonosov Moscow State University are involved. Special attention is paid to Ἐφημερίς (1860–1862), Korsch’s student diary, and the only published collection of his original poems and translations in Ancient Greek and Latin called Στέφανος (1886).

Visual sources: The definition, typology, and impact

Based on the communicative and structural approaches, the author discusses the status of the term “visual sources in rare books of science” and related terms, as well as the visual sources classification and role in the rare books of science. The analysis, synthesis, systemic, structural, axiomatic, modelling and typology methods, as well as generalization and classification are applied. The visual sources make the subject of the study. Presenting visual sources in research works is a research method: the images are “to reveal” the textual component. The originality and value of the article lies in the author’s intent to define the place of visual sources and contained visual information within the terminological space of the rare science books. For this purpose, the author examines the definitions of visual sources in scientific literature and attempts herself to construct the term. The focus is made on the term “documentary visual source” that virtually is not used in scientific literature. In this context, the author discusses the terms “documentology” and “document”. Based on the related literature analysis, she concludes that no precise definition of visual sources classes and types exists. The author suggests sample classification of visual sources in science books and presents it in two tables. Further development of the definition would improve the terminological foundation of the visual sources. The goal of the article is to demonstrate the significance of the visual sources in the rare science books and their potential relevance for modern studies.

The Database “The Library of Varvara Pavlovna Adrianova-Peretz” in the State Public Scientific and Technological Library of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Building the database “The library of Varvara Pavlovna Adrianova-Peretz” in the IRBIS64 library automation system revealed a number of problems related to books bibliographical records. This distributed book collection is preserved in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Department of the State Public Scientific and Technological Library of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS SB) and in the library of the Department of Old Russian Literature of the RAS Institute of Russian Literature (The Pushkin House). The database seeding based on the study of “The Adrianova” book collection de visu, enables to eliminate invalid information in the SPSTL SB RAS e-catalogue and to provide the more convenient and faster access to the books in the unique memorial library of the outstanding Russian scientist. The database is of interest to the scholars of the humanities and readers interested in the literary studies, history, culture and folklore. The author characterizes the database as the comprehensive bibliographical descriptions of the collection copies. He lists the main special reference sources used in the process. The findings of the study of Novosibirsk part of Adrianova collection are characterized. The author discusses the prospects for the studies of the two collection parts to build the aggregated database of the distributed book collection with the following publishing of V. P. Adrianova-Peretz’ library catalog.

Bookhive: Virtual Society for Readers

In an era marked by technological advancements, the research endeavors to revolutionize the traditional paradigm of library management by introducing a comprehensive virtual society for readers enriched with digital features and user-centric functionalities. This system comprises multiple interconnected modules designed to enhance the overall library experience for both administrators and patrons. The core Library Management Module streamlines book cataloging, user management, and inventory tracking, optimizing the operational efficiency of libraries. Concurrently, the Mobile App Module extends the library’s reach beyond physical boundaries, offering a user-friendly platform for on-the-go access to resources, virtual book clubs, and personalized recommendations. The Community Engagement Module fosters a vibrant literary community by facilitating discussions, author-reader interactions, and collaborative book recommendations. The Delivery and Rare Books Module ensures accessibility by enabling users to request book deliveries and notifying them of rare book availability. Furthermore, the User Profile and Customization Module empowers patrons to personalize their library experience, from user registration to preference settings. This research is not merely a technological overhaul but a gateway to a more dynamic and inclusive library ecosystem, embracing the digital age while preserving the essence of community, engagement, and the joy of reading. With data-driven insights, personalized features, and an emphasis on community building, our Library Management System represents a forward-looking approach to redefining the role of libraries in the modern world, ensuring they remain vibrant hubs of knowledge, connection, and literary exploration.

The African American Collections Relating to Music at Emory University’s Rose Library

ABSTRACT: United States music history has for years privileged whiteness and largely ignored or disregarded the contributions of African Americans. The Stuart R. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, houses over thirty collections (and growing) related to African American musicians that could be used to both uncover and recover the critical role African Americans played in the music culture of the United States. This article presents a brief overview of these holdings to date, including the papers of composers (such as William Dawson, George Walker, and Undine Smith Moore), entertainers (such as Victoria Spivey, Bricktop, and Geoffrey Holder), and researchers (such as Rae Linda Brown, Geneva Southall, and Delilah Jackson). Types of materials held include manuscript letters and scores, photographs, and published music (both print and recorded) by and about African Americans.

The Road to Special Collections Cataloging: A Survey of the Education and Training of Special Collections and Rare Books Catalogers

ABSTRACT The education and training of catalogers has been well documented in library literature. However, this literature has tended to focus on the general cataloger and not special collections or rare books catalogers. This article summarizes the results of a survey of current special collections and rare books catalogers on when they decided to enter this library specialization, what skills they needed to succeed, where they obtained those skills, and their opinions on formal versus informal training. The results have implications for those wishing to become a special collections and/or rare books cataloger, those who are already in the profession and being asked to take on special collections or rare books cataloging duties, and finally those who educate and train future specialist catalogers.

Penerapan Metode K-Means Dalam Pengelompokkan Buku Untuk Menentukan Minat Baca Pada Perpustakaan Daerah Kota Medan

The library is a facility that functions as an information center, a source of various knowledge, research, recreation and cultural preservation. The Medan City Regional Library is a library organized by the regional government using general funds which aims to serve the public in obtaining comprehensive information without distinguishing gender, religion, race, age, occupation and position. In 2021 the Medan city regional library has 28 thousands of titles books in several categories. Of the many books contained in the library, a system must be needed where the system is useful for both the library and the reader in maximizing grouping of books and searching books easily by the reader, therefore the K-Means Clustering method is used, where the method This is a method in data mining that processes clustering data that is grouped into one or more clusters. In this study, 100 samples of book category data were used in the Medan City library. This study groups the data categories into 3 clusters, namely the most desirable, desirable and least desirable. The results of this method process will find out the most popular book category data so that in the future it will be a consideration for the librarian to increase the collection of books at the Medan City regional library. The process of calculating the K-Means method in grouping books is only carried out until the 2nd iteration because iteration -3 gets the same value. In Cluster 1 (Most Interested) choose 6 categories of books including Category 020-Library and Information, 070-Mass Media, Journalism and Publication, 050-Psychology, 420-Indonesian, 600-Technology, 650-Management. In Cluster 2 (Desired) choose 16 categories of books including 000-General Publications and General Information, 030-Encyclopedias and Books, 040-Biography, 050-Magazines and Journals, 090-Manuscripts and Rare Books, 210-Islamic Religion, 300-Science Social, 320-Political Science, 330-Economics, 410-Indonesian, 510-Mathematics, 620-Technical Sciences, 770-Photography and Photos, 780-Music, 910-General Travel Geography, 930-Old World History. And in cluster 3 (Less Interested) 78 categories of books were selected. 10 of them 010-Bibliography, 060-Association of Organizations and Museums, 080-Quotes, 100-Philosophy and Psychology, 110-Mathematics, 120-Epistimology, 030-Parapsychology and Occultism, 040-Philosophical Thought, 060 Logical Philosophy, 070-Ethics.

An Exploration of An Introduction to the Latin Tongue

Books are more than texts: as cultural and historical objects they speak to us beyond the words printed on their pages. The physical and material aspects of a book can tell us much about its production, use, and unique life story. This bibliographical study examines an 18th-century book on Latin language learning, held in the rare book collection of the John M. Kelly Library at St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto. Taking Philip Gaskell’s A New Introduction to Bibliography, first published in 1972, and other bibliographic literature as the key theoretical foundation, this paper systematically explores the book’s material aspects including paper, binding, user signs, and print errors. This paper listens to what the object has to say, allowing it to divulge clues about how this specific book copy was created, used, and preserved. In so doing, it explores the wider benefits that material studies have to offer for book historians.

Physical condition survey of a rare book collection: a case study of “X” Museum Library in Jakarta, Indonesia

Purpose Rare book collections are special, not only in terms of their physical appearance but also because of their historical significance and the information they contain. The purpose of this study is twofold: to identify the physical condition of rare book collections and to determine the main causes of damage to rare books collection that belongs to a museum library in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach This research involved conducting a survey of the physical condition of the collection of rare books owned by a museum library in Indonesia. Supporting data was also obtained through interviews with one of the staff who served as the museum collection conservator. This study used random sampling to take samples from the collection, which consisted of 950 rare books, with total sample of 91. Findings The results obtained state that the condition of the existing rare book collection is classified as severely damaged. One of the causes of damage that can be addressed immediately is the cleaning regime: the collection and library space should be cleaned thoroughly and regularly so that dust and dirt in and around the rare book collection can be reduced. Research limitations/implications This research was limited to physical identification, which can be done easily because it does not require various kinds of laboratory tests. It was a case study examining a single collection in a single museum library. The pool of books from which the samples were taken was therefore relatively homogenous. Therefore, it is hoped that further research can identify other factors and types of damage in more detail so that all damage to rare book collections can be identified and mitigated. Originality/value Research discussing the condition of rare book collections, especially for special libraries in museums in Indonesia, is still very limited. Detailed surveys of the physical condition of collections, especially rare book collections in museums, have rarely been discussed by previous research. The work will contribute to assessing the physical condition of rare book collections.

The Ego-Text of a Bibliophile: D.V. Ulyaninskyʼs Diary Entries in the “Catalog of New Library Acquisitions”

The article analyzes the handwritten “Catalog of New Library Acquisitions” by the famous bibliographer and bibliophile D.V. Ulyaninsky (1861—1918), stored in the department of Rare books (the Book Museum) of the Russian State Library. It is considered as an ego-text that directly reflects the bibliophile life of the author and his experiences related to it. In the text, the bibliophile not only recorded all receipts to his personal library, but also left diary entries. From them, you can learn about the folding of the library structure, changes in the accounting system, and the exclusion of publications from its composition. In his diary entries, which became acts of self-communication and self-reflection, the bibliophile described his relationship with booksellers, difficulties in collecting, justified for himself the high costs of books, rejoiced at successful acquisitions, noted some events of public and personal life, etc. It is concluded that the “Catalog of New Library Acquisitions” acted as a draft, a pre-text for a detailed bibliographic description of the library of D.V. Ulyaninsky, which received a printed embodiment. Many of his notes remain only in manuscript. This fact makes them a unique source both for studying the biography of D.V. Ulyaninsky and for the history of the world of antique book trade and bibliophilia of the late 19th — early 20th century.

Formation of the Slavic Collection and its Evolution: a Case Study of the Polish Holdings at the University of Manitoba

The Slavic Collection at the University of Manitoba comprises over 70,000 volumes of books, periodicals, newspapers, and microfilms. It was created in 1949 following the founding of the Department of Slavic Studies that same year. This article focuses on Polonica – the Polish-language materials – available in the collection, its provenance, and potential associated research themes. Four examples of works/bodies of works from the collection are examined as a case study, including two rare books, the Polish Amateur Theatre Pamphlet Collection, published between 1902 and 1947 in Poland and the United States, and the Polish-language newspaper “Czas”, which is the oldest surviving Polish-language newspaper in Canada. These unique resources reflect wider trends in the evolution of the Polish community in Manitoba, while serving as an illustration of collaboration between the Polish community and the UM academic institution.

Rare Polonica at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto

This article describes a collection of rare Polonica, numbering over five hundred books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and prints and engravings, donated to the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in 2001 by Karol Godlewski and his family. The donor’s uncle, Count Emeryk Hutten Czapski (1897–1979), assembled the extraordinary collection. The material includes works written, edited, or translated by Polish authors. The publication dates range from 1505 to the mid-1970s, with two hundred titles predating 1801. The subject matter ranges from texts written by Terence and Plutarch to biographies of Polish kings, details of famous battles, and poetry. There are also etchings of Polish personages, palaces, landscapes, or battle scenes, many of artistic importance.

Circuits of mobility in Love and Duty

When the 1931 Shanghai film Love and Duty was rediscovered in 1993, it garnered attention as a masterpiece of film melodrama and the earliest extant work starring Ruan Lingyu. Yet nearly a century after it was made, questions remain about how this silent film wound up among rare Chinese books and artifacts in Uruguay and eventually Taiwan. This article investigates the origins, production, circulation, and preservation of Love and Duty by examining the lives and work of crucial figures whose involvement has long been overlooked, including Madame S. Rosen-Hoa (a.k.a. Hua Luochen, Luo Chen, or Horose), Polish author of the source novel, and Li Shizeng, elder statesman of the Republic of China who included the film in the ‘Sino-International Library’ he established in Geneva during the 1930s before moving to Montevideo in 1950. I track their surprisingly parallel ‘circuits of mobility’ across writing, translation, film, and multiple continents, including their respective studies abroad, assorted engagements with Esperanto, cosmopolitanism, nationalist revolution, women’s liberation, and various activities in the May Fourth Movement and the League of Nations. Analyzing publications, films, interviews, and archival materials in eight languages, this research reveals unexpected intersections between politics, the arts, education, and business that shaped early Chinese cinema.