Collection Management Policy:
Rare Books, Manuscipts, and Special Collections

Adopted 2 April 1998

Scope & Definition

Within the general collection criteria, this section addresses the selection for acquisition and management of the several special collections of Learning Resource and Technical Services, including:

1. Rare Books
2. Manuscripts
3. Juvenile Collection (includes picture books and fiction and non-fiction through young adult)
4. Other Special Collections
   1. Sinclair Lewis Family papers
   2. Lindgren Collection (ephemera)
   3. Boros Theatre Collection (playbooks and ephemera)
   4. MEMO Collection (archives & ephemera)
   5. IFO/FA Archives
   6. Minnesota Business Educators Archives
   7. North Central Conference [athletics] (archives)

The current version, covering only Rare Books, was adopted by the Dean's Advisory Council on 1 April 1998. Policies for Manuscripts, Juvenile, and other Special Collections are under development.

Acquisition & Management

1. Rare Books
   1. Materials directly related to SCSU, including history of the institution or its departments, and publications of SCSU faculty and staff, are part of the collection responsibility of University Archives; as such, they are not included in the Rare Books collection.
   2. Materials that support the SCSU curriculum either through content or example (e.g., examples of the "book art") and are older than 75 years from the current date will be retained in the Rare Collection. Items retained in the collection must be:
      1. unique within Minnesota (i.e., not loaned by other libraries); and/or
      2. autographed by the author; and/or
      3. able to be preserved within the limited resources of LR&TS.
      Items that have already suffered deterioration beyond the resources of LR&TS to preserve or which do not support the curricular interests of SCSU should be considered for sale or donation to an institution which is capable of providing appropriate conservation (e.g., the University of Minnesota).
   3. Minnesota imprints, especially those providing information on the 13 county Central Minnesota area (including Stearns, Sherburne, Benton, Morrison, Todd, Wright, Pope, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Isanti, Mille Lacs, and Kanabec counties), including local histories, and older than 75 years from the current date. Items retained in the collection are not required to be unique (only holding library) within the region. In general, this is the only section of the Rare Collection for which there is an acquistion interest, although the emphasis will continue to be on current publications rather than historical.
      1. Some items may be placed in Rare Collections due to:
      2. format (e.g., unusual size) or
      3. require special storage conditions or
      4. special handling considerations.
      Items to be considered for inclusion in Rare will be reviewed title-by-title by the Collection Management Committee for appropriate disposition.
   4. All materials in Rare should be assessed for preservation requirements on a periodic basis. The initial assessment should determine which materials can no longer be properly maintained by LR&TS and would benefit by more beneficial (environmental) and knowledgable (trained and equipped) ownership. This initial assessment should take place within the 1998 calendar year.
2. Manuscripts
   Under development
3. Juvenile Collection
   Under development
4. Other Special Collections
   Under development