Washington DC--The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Working      Group on Special Collections, formed in 2007, has released a discussion report that identifies key issues in the management and exposure of     special collections material in the 21st century.

        The report uses a broad definition of "special collections," which      encompasses distinctive material in all media and attendant library     services. The group's main focus was on 19th- and 20th-century  materials, including emerging digital materials and media, but most of  the report applies with equal force to collecting and caring for        materials from previous centuries. While the report focuses on special  collections in North American research libraries, it has potential      application more broadly.

        Working group members represent a range of constituencies, including    directors of research libraries, heads of special collections   departments, and other professional leaders with particular concern for traditional and digital special collections. To engage further  constituencies, the chair of the working group, Alice Prochaska,        University Librarian, Yale University, presented preliminary findings   and recommendations in June 2008 at the annual conference of the Rare   Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and  Research Libraries, and subsequently circulated a draft of the report   to representatives of both RBMS and the Society of American Archivists. This report reflects extensive comments received from those bodies.

        The report includes overviews of and recommendations in three areas:

       

               

1.      Collecting Carefully, with Regard to Costs, and Ethical and Legal Concerns

               

2.      Ensuring Discovery and Access

               

3.      The Challenge of Born-Digital Collections

       

        It highlights the need for research library leadership to support       actions that will increase the visibility and use of special    collections and promote both existing and developing best practices in  the stewardship of special collections.

        The working group also invites discussion among the many        professionals who are charged with the perplexing challenges of handling rare, unique or unusual material about the extraordinary       challenges they face as collectors and stewards of special collections  in libraries and archives in the 21st century. This report provides a   framework within which important discussions of policy may take place.

        The report is also intended to promote an enhanced and extended understanding within research communities more generally of the unique  and irreplaceable contribution that special collections make to scholarship and learning, and to the general public good.

        ARL will host a related forum on special collections in the 21st        century, immediately following the fall ARL Membership Meeting in       Washington DC, October 15-16, 2009. In addition to addressing emerging  issues for traditional special collections, the forum will explore new  kinds of born-digital resources that increasingly comprise the unique   content collected by research libraries. The forum agenda and   registration information will be released on the ARL Web site this      summer.