Introduction
The definition of a rare book, or more precisely, what should be considered for inclusion in a rare book collection has no simple answer. The beginning point should be utility: what is the function of the collection. A book that would be highly desirable to a private collector may be of no interest whatsoever to a university collection. Monetary value alone, unless it is the basis for transferring a book already in the library’s collection to the more secure environment of the rare book collection, is not a reason for acquiring a book. The same can be said of the relative rarity of a book.
Purpose of the Collections
In a university setting, the primary purpose of a rare book collection is to support the pedagogical mission of the institution in a manner that cannot be accomplished by the general collections. This means supporting advanced research largely, but not exclusively, at the graduate and faculty levels. Such research requires access to original and source materials in sufficient quantity and quality. Without these materials, it is difficult, if not impossible, to attract and retain the best graduate students and faculty.
Subject specialties should reflect the needs of faculty, but this can be more difficult than it would first appear. Faculty and faculty specialties can and do change over time. It is expected that a university rare books library will have an in-depth collection of particular materials that was once heavily used by a former faculty member, but is presently underutilized. It may sit quiescent for a decade or more until it again becomes an area of interest to a student or faculty member. This is certainly not a problem; it is how a good rare book library grows and gains depth over time. Subject collections may appear fickle or idiosyncratic at times, but are rarely without purpose or reason. There are always subject areas for which a particular university is noted and these should be covered as comprehensively as possible in the rare book collection.
Selection Responsibilities
Collection managers are urged to be alert in spotting materials within their specialties that may fit these guidelines. Any library user or staff member may recommend items for Rare Books; decisions to transfer rest with the curator.
Selection Guidelines
The most easily recognized criterium for inclusion in a rare book library is age. Dates for various regions are customarily based upon the appearance of printing in that area. While this is a valid method, care must be taken to review the dates: a nineteenth century book may not have seemed so valuable 50 years ago. Trends in the care and treatment of books, such as the period of “preserving” books by stripping them of their publishers’ cloth bindings and replacing them with library buckram, need to be noted.
Great attention must be paid to the current strengths of the collections. If a collection can be considered to be nearly comprehensive; that is, have all of the major titles and main secondary titles, efforts should be made to keep filling in the cracks, down to the level of near obscurity. Caution is advised in beginning new collecting areas. Unless there is a clear present or predictable pedagogical need, such collections are in danger of reflecting individual whimsy as opposed to institutional objectives.
Security is a consideration for materials placed in the rare book collection. Books subject to mutilation, such as erotica, books with valuable plates, unusual formats, etc. do belong in the rare book collection. Books that are unusually expensive and would be very difficult to replace should be considered. Books that simply have a history of disappearing from the general stacks do not.
A final general point: donations. It is always tempting to accept donations with the stipulation that the donor’s collection is of such great importance that it will become a named collection and reside in Special Collections. This can cause a considerable amount of inappropriate material to reside in special collections because of the understandable desire to treat a considerate patron well. However, the purposes of the institution, special collections, and the donor are much better served by describing what is and is not appropriate for special collections. If the donor does understand what is appropriate, chances are special collections will receive some fine materials.
The following outline more specific criteria:
Materials from the period when book production was largely a matter of hand work, inclusive through 1830, are automatically placed in the rare book collection. The period of 1800-1830, with the establishment of machine-made paper, stereotyping, steam power, case binding, etc., is the "incunable" period of mechanical processes and has its own importance. There are still many dates later than 1830 that are significant. These customarily relate to the advent of printing in a certain geographic area. For more specific dates, see the Appendix.
There is increasing concern for publications of the 19th century. Many, if not most of them, are quite fragile and if they retain certain features, such as the original binding and publishers’ catalogues, are of significant research value. Therefore, in line with the American Antiquarian Society’s cut off date for American imprints, everything that was published prior to 1876 shall be considered a candidate for the rare book collection
These may be thought of as “Intellectual Firsts.” They are books that had a seminal influence in their field. Printing and the Mind of Man is one source book for such.
This falls into two categories: artifactual value as issued by the printer or publisher and artifactual value accruing to the book through its individual history. The first may include early appearances of lithographs, a particular publisher’s cloth binding, a variant state or issue of an edition, etc. The second includes the accidents that occur to an individual copy such as presentation inscriptions, autographs, manuscript annotations, fine bindings, history of ownership, etc. The latter depends on significance, not simply existence.
Fine presses began in the modern period with the Kelmscott, of which there are many in the rare book collection. This generally will include limited editions of 500 or less. The fine press collection here is very strong and this a primary collecting area.
The University of Florida does have some significant modern first editions. However, there has never been a clear policy and the collection is uneven, with inappropriate materials mixed in with some rational selections. Unless an institution has a long standing history and policy of collecting first editions, this is best left to collectors and other institutions. Certain modern authors may be selected as targets of such comprehensive collecting, but it requires considerable justification to place titles in the rare book collection that are circulating in quantity at public libraries. Also, if a copy of a book by a modern author is to be placed in special collections, there must be a circulating copy available at the main library. This is not a primary collecting area.
As a final note, there will be cases in which a book fits the date criteria for inclusion in the rare book collection, but it will not be. This can result from a number of reasons, but the most common one will be that the book has been damaged in such a manner that it no longer has any value. There are many instances when a book, upon examination, has been found to be rebound in library buckram and the plates and maps have been removed. At that point, the decision is based almost purely upon textual value and a microform copy may be just as good. One exception would be if the paper is significant.
All books printed in 1830 or before should automatically be added to the Rare Books section of Special Collections. As 19th century books in good condition are becoming scarcer, all works published in the United States and Canada before 1876 should be considered for addition. All other imprints before 1851 (subsaharan Africa up to 1900) should also be considered. If the Library of Congress gives a later date, that date will be the guideline.
Dates used by the Library of Congress (Subject Cataloging Manual: Shelflisting. 2nd ed. 1995) for imprints in special collections:
| Alabama Alaska1 Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Florida Hawaii Idaho Illinois Chicago Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri |
1840 1915 1890 1870 1875 1876 1860 1860 1890 1850 1871 1850 1860 1875 1830 1830 1850 1865 1840 1850 |
Montana Nebraska Nevada New Mexico New York State North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Philadelphia South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Conderate States of America2 |
1890 1875 1890 1875 1830 1890 1840 1870 1875 1830 1820 1890 1840 1860 1890 1875 1830 1850 1890 1861-1865 |
| 1 Alaska was inadvertantly left off the list. This date is from an earlier edition. 2 This extends the date for Florida and Texas and is irrelevant for Arkansas. |
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| Labrador New Brunswick Newfoundland Nova Scotia Quebec Ontario |
1867 | Alberta British Columbia Manitoba Northwest Territory Saskatchewan Yukon Territory |
1880 |