On February 20^th, the Chapter held a late-morning meeting at beautiful Westport Public Library, one of the most vibrant and dynamic libraries in Connecticut. After a gracious introduction by Library Director, Maxine Bleiweis, our guest speaker was introduced.

 

Dr. Deirdre Stam is Associate Professor at the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at Long Island University and Director of the school’s Rare Books and Special Collections Program. Dr. Stam started by speaking about what makes a book rare. She then moved on to significance of special collections within special libraries and how we as librarians are best positioned to recognize the importance of them.

 

On the subject of rare books, Dr. Stam made the point that not only age, but also circumstance can make a book rare.  

 

She brought several items from her personal collection that illustrated this point. One book was an example of fiction paperbacks that were printed and given to U.S. soldiers fighting overseas in World War II. The books were designed to slide easily into a uniform pocket. They were also not supposed to be brought back into the U.S., as that would have violated current copyright law.

 

Another example was a beautifully bound book from Japan, written in English that extolled the country’s tourist attractions. The publication date was 1936, and its appearance on the eve of World War II lent it great poignancy. 

 

Special collections may have special significance within our organizations from a number of standpoints. They may reflect the history of the organization. An example given from the audience is the preservation of the complete run of Bridgeport Hospital’s Annual Reports, dating from the year of its founding by P.T. Barnum. Special collections may contain an archival record of the organization. Or they could provide important historical information on the state of an organization’s industry at a particu­lar point in time.

 

Dr. Stam also discussed the looming shortage of people trained to curate these types of collections. Many library schools have discontinued courses in this area; so fewer people have followed it as a career. Those currently holding positions as curators of rare books or large special collections do not have people following in their footsteps. Part of Dr. Stam’s mission at the Palmer School is to foster growth in this area. She did mention that some people are starting to enter this facet of librarianship as a second career or as a change from the path that their current library career has taken. Let us hope that there will continue to be enough people with a lively interest in this field to protect and preserve these important records of our past.