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Boston Public Library Collection Development and Management Policy Policies |
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| Table of Contents
Introduction "Life long learning" is integral to the concept of public libraries. The City’s ambitious plan for a new branch in the Allston neighborhood extends the physical presence of the Library but will require support in terms of staff, physical collections and sufficient hardware and software to meet the current and on-going information needs of the community. Information resources to support "life long learning" requires support for historic materials beyond those currently in use and a commitment to technologies that will allow the Library to maximize its information access, delivery and preservation options now and in the future. The development of personal computers in the 1980’s was the platform for the explosion of the Internet and the World-Wide Web in the 1990’s. The recent debate in the Boston Globe (March 2, 2000) concerning Maine Governor Angus King’s proposal to use a state fund surplus to provide each of the state’s 7th graders with a laptop computer was countered with descriptions of physically deteriorated Maine school buildings containing out-of-date textbooks. Libraries face a similar dilemma in trying to accommodate electronic resources while still having to cope with paper-based collections requiring processing, preservation and storage. The current information environment, containing old and new formats, offers unprecedented possibilities for the delivery of information but places heavy demands on the Library’s funding and infrastructure of access, services, technology and facilities. The challenge of the times is to develop a formula which balances all of these competing needs. Collaboration with other repositories in resource-sharing and preservation activities is dependent on the Library’s ability to maintain and upgrade its access and information technology. Grant-funders increasingly seek to award proposals that represent multiple institutions working in concert toward common goals. This approach assumes that grant outcomes (catalog records, holding records, preservation action notes, finding aids, digitization, etc.) will be shared across common platforms. As more commercial electronic databases become available, the Library must be able to deliver these resources across the entire system and beyond. The direction of collection development and management in the Boston Public Library will be determined by institutional response to not only electronic resources but also to the integration of these resources with historic formats to create new paradigms of service. History of the Collections The parameters define four classes of library materials:
The Library was fortunate in the largesse of Joshua Bates, a London-based banker born in Weymouth, MA, who offered the Trustees $50,000 to purchase books for the fledgling institution. This gift was supplemented in succeeding years by the following collections, cited by the Trustees in the first Bulletin of 1867: the Nathaniel Bowditch Library of mathematics (1858), the Theodore Parker Library (1860), the George Ticknor Library of classics (1860), the Thomas Prince Library relating to the history of New England (1866), and Specifications of English Patents, with the Drawings and Indexes (1866) received through the efforts of Joseph Story, President of the Boston Common Council. The Examining Committee reported the Library’s holdings at 9,688 volumes in 1853 when the Library occupied its first temporary quarters on Mason Street and 70,851 volumes by 1858 when the Library moved to its Boylston Street address. At the March 1895 opening of the McKim building, the public had access to 6,000 reference volumes in Bates Hall, 5,800 volumes in the Patent Library, 91,540 volumes on the Special Libraries floor, and 3,000 volumes in the new Children’s Room. A Newspaper Room opened with 125 titles but by the next year this number increased to 207 domestic and 111 foreign titles. Total holdings numbered 628,297 volumes, a number exceeded only by Library of Congress at that time. The new facility attracted additional donated collections, including the John Adams Library (1893), Mellen Chamberlain Collection (1894), Allen A. Brown Collection (1894), Thomas Wentworth Higginson Collection (Galatea Collection) (1896), and the 20th Regiment Collection (1896). In the Library’s branch system, there were 131,422 volumes available in branches in Brighton, Charlestown, Dorchester, East Boston, Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, South End, South Boston, West End, and West Roxbury, and the Reading Rooms in Lower Mills, Mattapan, Mt. Bowdoin, and North Brighton. The 1895 Examining Committee recommended that the Library consider the scope of its collecting responsibilities within the context of other area libraries with the goal of avoiding unnecessary duplication and assigning subject responsibility. New accessions were listed in a number of publications which sought to encompass the Library’s growing collections. Beginning with Bulletins,Showing titles of Books Added to the Library (Boston: The Library, 1871-1923), the Library cited new acquisitions, duplicates, and wanted volumes, and included brief public service announcements related to the collections. This publication was continued by Bulletin of Recent Books Added to the Public Library of the City of Boston (Boston: The Trustees, 1924-1925) and was followed by More Books: Being the Bulletin of the Boston Public Library (Boston: The Trustees, 1926-1948). At this point The Boston Public Library Quarterly (Boston: The Trustees, 1949-1959) contained staff articles about the collections rather than attempting to continue a listing of all acquired titles. During the earlier period, an Annual List (1901-1907), a Monthly Bulletin of Books Added (1896-1907) and The Weekly Bulletin of New Books Added to the Boston Public Library (1908-1924) were also published. From time to time special catalogs, lists and bibliographies on narrowly defined subjects were published to highlight particular collections or materials as the Library’s holdings expanded. The Research Library Catalog on Microfiche can be consulted for this material. In 1972 the Library opened the General Library in the Johnson Building with about 600,000 volumes to serve adults, young adults and children with collections including audio-visual and foreign language materials. Members of the Boston Library Consortium (BLC), founded in 1970, undertook a shelflist count of their holdings in 1975. The Boston Public Library reported 1,169,000 titles in the Research Library and 407,000 titles in the General Library to this effort. The BLC provided the impetus for a major assessment of member subject strengths in the 1986 Collection Analysis Project through grant support provided by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). The Amigos Collection Analysis Service processed machine-readable catalog records for 1981-1985 monographs cataloged by member libraries. Holdings were compared in terms of the percentage of total titles and the percentage of unique titles held by each member across LC subject classes. The Boston Public Library had the highest percentage of unique titles in the following subject areas: Agriculture, Anthropology, Art and Architecture, Biology and the Natural Sciences, Economics and Business, Education, Geology and Geography, History, Humanities, Literature/Languages, Mathematics, Performing Arts, Physical Education, Political Science, Psychology, Science and Technology, Social Sciences and Sociology. In 1995 the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Boston Library Consortium (BLC) gathered statistics on BLC holdings for a planned Cooperative Collections Development Policy Planning Project. As of June 1994, the Boston Public Library reported the following holdings across the system (Research Library, General Library, and Branches):
At the beginning of the 21st Century, Boston Public Library holdings number well over 30 million items in a great variety of formats including electronic resources, while still maintaining the very basic distinctions outlined by the Trustees in 1852: acquiring a wide scope of materials for a great diversity of user needs. The mission of the Boston Public Library is to preserve and provide access to the historical record of our society and to serve the cultural, educational and informational needs of the people of the City and the Commonwealth. The Library serves as a municipal public library, a research library of "last Recourse" for the Commonwealth, a regional public library headquarters, a host library for an academic and research library consortium, and a central site for a metropolitan area automated network. Through its Research Library Services Program, the Library seeks to acquire, make available, preserve, and service significant research materials in all fields of knowledge. Based on subject strengths, these resources are made available for multi-purpose use on local, state and national levels. In order to ensure that highly specialized research collections and information are available, the Library maintains professionally skilled staff and in-depth resources in a variety of fields. Through its Community Services Program, the Library seeks to respond to the constantly changing library and information needs of the community by providing user-oriented services and resources, broad collections of circulating materials, current and back issues of popular periodicals, and rapid information and reference services. This Program also provides advice, assistance, and support for users; programs and exhibits to meet the developmental, cultural and informational needs of the community; and outreach activities. Boston Public Library as Library of Last Recourse for the Commonwealth In order to strengthen state-wide resources and to provide reference and research services for all residents of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Legislature designated the Boston Public Library as the Library of Last Recourse (Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 78, Section 19C, Paragraph 4) in 1972. As such, the Library was charged to develop, maintain and preserve comprehensive collections of research and archival nature and to provide access to the reference and research collections of the Boston Public Library. Cognizant of this role, the Library attempts to take into consideration its responsibilities toward multiple and varied users groups while pursuing collaborative and cooperative efforts within the local and national library community to fulfill its service responsibilities defined by the statute. Collection Scope, Format and Clientele The retrospective collections of the Boston Public Library are broad, covering almost every subject and the entire range of different formats and media. The Library has a tradition of being a library of record and its collections reflect a wide array of different cultures, countries and languages. The main focus and strength in collecting has always been concentrated on Boston, Massachusetts and New England, with a high level of coverage of the national scene and social and academic accomplishments. Since many gift collections come to the Library through donors and collectors with worldwide interests, the Library has acquired through the years major subject collections in languages other than English. The emphasis on collecting heavily in ethnic areas that make up the fabric of the state’s population has been particularly important since the early 1960’s and remains one of the most pursued goals in acquiring materials and providing services to area patrons. Although the major part of the resources are in print format (books, manuscripts, periodicals, newspapers, documents, etc.), significant collections in other formats include prints, microforms, sound recordings, films, audio and video materials, maps, blueprints and other architectural drawings, sheet music and realia. Electronic products and related management aspects have become part of library services with emphasis toward inter-institutional cooperation and resource sharing. A detailed listing of formats and format-related collection development is encompassed in a special section dealing with library formats. Library services and programs are available to individual patrons of all ages who come to the library in person or via telephone, mail or electronic communications. These patrons include not only the general public, but also students and researchers from around the world. Highly specialized collections attract business people, professionals such as architects, writers, musicians and those individuals who use libraries for self-education and advancement. Visiting scholars set up their research trips to use the Library’s retrospective primary research materials to further their projects. Policy Statement Purpose and Audience to Whom It Is Directed The Policy Statement is intended to serve as a guide to Library staff in maintaining existing collections and developing new areas of knowledge in an informed climate. The Policy Statement is a management tool to identify current collection development practice, to identify goals, to provide continuity among the selection practices within the Library and to deploy the financial resources of the Library. The Policy Statement facilitates cooperative development of Library resources now and in the future. Goals of Collection Management and Development Program
Brief Statistical Overview of the Collections and their Locations Cumulative statistics as of July 1, 1999, show the following broad groupings of materials:
Social Sciences and Humanities subjects form the largest group of materials (40% and 28% respectively), followed by Science (13-15%), Fine Arts (4%) and Music (3%). Multidisciplinary coverage is represented in the collections of Government Documents, Microtext, Print, Rare Books and Special Collections. Research Library collections occupy parts of the Central Library facility in Copley Square&emdash;Johnson and McKim Buildings&emdash;as well as remote storage buildings in Charlestown and Norwood. The Boston Public Library is a founding member of the New England Depository Library (a cooperative storage facility) and maintains over 100,000 volumes in its location in Brighton. All circulating and age level-based collections are located in the Johnson Building and in 26 branches throughout the City of Boston. A separate Kirstein Business Library is located in Boston’s financial district. Founded in 1929, the Kirstein branch services predominantly business-related materials with heavy emphasis on serials and electronic resources. Organization of Collection Management and Development Program
Collections Development Policy Rationale This collection development policy represents the first attempt to incorporate the collection development practices of the Research Library and the General Library and Branches into a single document. It is meant to encompass what is currently known about the practices within the Library. Inevitably, it will change as priorities based on such factors as funding allocations, service needs, patron requests and information technologies shift not only in this institution but also throughout the library world. A collection development policy should define the rationale for the existence of collections within an institution. Specifically, the "why" and the "what" of collections as they have developed over time, including the scope of each collection.* (* Gorman, G.E. Collection Development for Libraries. G.E. Gorman and B.R. Howes. London: Bowker-Sauer, c1989, p. 28.) Selection responsibility and collection management (acquisitions, cataloging, preservation, storage) are activities (the "how" and by "whom") that happen after the collection development policy is determined. Insofar as possible, the Selection Criteria for the Acquisition of Adult Materials Community Library Services Division (December 1996) is incorporated into appropriate sections of this work. The complete document is included in the Appendices.
Collection Management and Development Program The implementation of the collection development program takes place through materials and electronic contents selection process, blanket order plans and standing order oversight. Public service professional staff, Curators of subject or format departments, branch librarians, Keepers and other designated staff, assume the responsibility and participate in the materials selection function. Closely related to the selection function are other collection management programs:
Acquisitions, Bibliographic Access and Physical Preparation Acquisitions is responsible for timely and cost effective receipt of materials, while bibliographic access work takes place in Cataloging. Physical preparation for shelving and storage is performed by Materials Handling operations. The Systems Office provides support for the online catalog and electronic databases.
The growth of Research Library collections over time, the McKim Building renovations and the August 1998 flood have required that increasing numbers of collections be housed outside of the Copley Square buildings. The Library houses collections in three remote storage facilities: the Charlestown Service Building, the Norwood Facility, and the New England Deposit Library. Materials housed in remote storage areas are available to users on a 24-48 hour turnaround time basis.
Monographs and serials are sent out for binding on a regular basis from Research Library departments. Materials in the circulating collections can also be bound as requested. Approximately 12,000 periodical volumes are bound each year.
An on-going program of microfilming covers current and retrospective Massachusetts newspapers. Fragile monographs from the Research Library stacks are segregated to a separate physical location for assessment. Preservation microfilming is applied depending on
Materials in special collections may also become candidates for microfilming, including scores, tax records, scrapbooks and reports. The Library maintains a bindery and preservation microfilm budget. Additional funds have been secured from the Library Friends’ groups and grant applications.
Selected items may receive preliminary conservation attention and restoration work. The Library has an in-house Conservation Lab staffed by Book Conservators who while concentrating on the Rare Book collections may also work on volumes from other Library departments. The Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover offers services for treatment and restoration of other types of material.
Research Library departments re-house materials with various types of specially ordered acid-free containers such as envelopes, folders, and cartons. It is possible to have phase boxes made by a commercial bindery for selected items throughout the collections.
The Library has digitized Copley Square images as part of the Fine Arts Architecture Index Project and photographs from the Leslie Jones Collection. It is anticipated that other materials will be selected for digitization to provide access without compromising the fragile nature of unique holdings.
Preservation surveys, performed by in-house staff and outside consultants, allow for future planning of resource allocations required to insure the maintenance of historic, contemporary and special collections. In 1991 the Library performed an Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Preservation Self-Study which made recommendations for collections held across the Research Library, General Library and Branches in the areas of organization of preservation, environmental conditions, physical condition of the collections, disaster plan/construction guidelines, and staff and user education. Abbreviated excerpts from the Final Report of this Study are appended to this document. With funding from the Mellon Foundation in 1995, the Research Library performed a survey of its performing arts collections. This survey documented access and preservation issues for the formats held in 75 collections in Music, Prints, Rare Books, and the Research Library Office. In-depth preservation surveys were completed for the Alexandre Benois Collection and the Doubravina Theatre Collection by the Northeast Document Conservation Center.
The Library has recently completed an update of its Disaster Plan Manual in the wake of the August 1998 Flood.
A security guard service is maintained in the Copley Square buildings to examine briefcases and backpacks of persons exiting the buildings. The addition of a security strip system has been explored by an in-house committee and is recommended for implementation.
Circulating collections frequently require replacement of missing or worn out copies. The replacement lists allow for coordinated ordering of "in print" titles. Since the Library is a recipient of gift books, the received copies offered to the Research and General Library and Branches serve as replacements as needed.
Research Library collections are not deselected. Variant editions are collected and superceded reference materials are maintained as part of the historical record.
Circulating collections undergo periodic reassessment as to their appropriateness and suitability to respond to current needs, to make space for current materials, to make the collections more attractive, to facilitate the ease of use of the collections by patrons and staff, and to reduce the damage to books caused by overcrowding and space limitations. Weeding criteria includes:
Titles that become available as part of the circulating collections weeding process are offered as appropriate to Research Library collections, other public libraries or are disposed through library book sales, giveaways, exchanges or recycling.
Research library collections are available for in-house use only, thus allowing multiple user access even in cases where circulating copies in high demand may not be available. Research library materials are available to other Massachusetts public libraries through the Inter-Library Loan Department. Excepted from this lending policy are fragile materials, periodicals, microforms and active reference titles. Catalog access is available through the Research Library Catalog On-Line Catalog (Spectrum) and the Research Library Catalog on Microfiche. The Research Library On-Line Catalog is currently being migrated as a separate database to the DRA System. It is expected that on-line public access catalog evaluation will continue with the need to perform retrospective conversion of the Research Library Catalog on Microfiche. Due to ongoing budgetary restraints, the Library has significant arrearages of uncataloged monographs acquired by purchase and/or as gifts. Most of this material was published in foreign countries during the last part of the 20th century and is being absorbed gradually into the bibliographic access system.
Circulating collections are made available to borrowers throughout the state. Reference materials as well as unbound and bound serials, however, do not circulate. Access to the circulating collections is through the DRA Catalog and the Media Catalog, including via the Library’s website.
Bibliographic Instruction/Training Classes Public service staff offer bibliographic and subject-related orientation and instruction classes to patrons and staff from the Boston Regional Library System and other libraries across the state. Orientation workshops are created by subject and format departments in response to special request by groups, schools and organizations.
Bibliographic instruction and orientation tours are done for patrons, schools and organizations in the General Library and Branches. Internet Workshops are offered to provide patrons with a starting point in accessing electronic resources. Children’s and Young Adult librarians offer orientation tours designed to introduce the Library’s resources to elementary and secondary students. In addition, neighborhood school visits are scheduled throughout the year to create awareness of Branch collections.
Policy on Responding to Concerns about Materials in the Library’s Collections Complaints about any material(s) owned by the Boston Public Library and part of the Library’s materials collection will be handled as follows:
Budget Structure and Allocation Policy Annual budget allocations in the following areas sustain the Library’s collection development efforts, including electronic data systems and ongoing preservation programs:
The budgetary allocations or quota are assigned to all selection centers responsible for the origination of orders. Administrative levels of the organization are responsible for keeping the commitments and discretionary selections within budgetary allocations with the final oversight authority vested with the Chief Financial Officer of the Library Cooperative Resource Sharing Agreements In-house and local resources are increased, duplication of effort is minimized, resources are preserved, and access is improved for staff and patrons through the Library’s active participation in collaborative groups. The Boston Public Library maintains memberships in the following local, national and international organizations:
As a BLC member the BPL participates in shared resource agreements for expensive microform sets. The Library contributes to the Boston Library Consortium Union List of Serials. Through the Cooperative Collections Committee of the BLC the Library has the opportunity to participate in electronic resource trials and shared purchases. Resources acquired through consortial participation include Women Writers Online, Major Authors Online, Times Literary Supplement Online, and ISI Emerging Markets. Print resource agreements the Library participates in at this time:
The Library will be a first-phase member of the BLC’s planned Virtual Catalog which will facilitate access to resources among its member libraries.
Boston Athenaeum/Boston Public Library/Harvard University/Massachusetts State Library Newspaper Agreement In 1967 the Library agreed to assume responsibility for the microfilming of newspapers in Boston, Massachusetts and New England. With the advent of the USNP in the 1980’s, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont microfilmed their own in-state titles. The Boston Athenaeum’s collections of colonial and early 19th century Massachusetts titles were contributed to the Massachusetts Newspaper Program for microfilming. With BPL’s concentration on current and retrospective Massachusetts titles, Harvard University focuses its microfilming efforts on national and international newspaper titles.
With its membership in OCLC, the Library processes material using catalog records in the OCLC database. This system is widely used across the country for inter-library loan of user requested materials.
As an RLG member the Boston Public Library can participate in resource sharing and preservation-related activities. Currently, the Library is exploring the downloading of Deutsche Bibliothek juvenile catalog records to facilitate the cataloging of and access to German language children’s books in the Jordan Collection backlog. In addition, the Boston Public Library is contributing special collection finding aids to the RLG Archival Resources database which provides web access to archives and special collections across the country.
The Library’s Fine Arts Department, in recognition of its strong collections in American Art, is the repository of the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art microfilm collection which contains artist papers, gallery records and institutional archives.
State Library of Massachusetts The State Library of Massachusetts serves as a clearinghouse for Massachusetts state executive, legislative and judicial agencies documents that are deposited with the Boston Public Library. An index to state and local documents is created and maintained by the Boston Public Library Government Documents staff.
As a full Federal Depository facility, the Library’s Government Documents Department receives U.S. Government Documents issued by the U.S. Government Printing Office.
In its role as the headquarters for the Massachusetts Newspaper Program (MNP) the Boston Public Library has surveyed, cataloged and microfilmed Massachusetts newspapers held within the Library and throughout the state. Work continues with the microfilming of newspaper titles from Chatham, Lawrence, Seekonk, and Somerville. Acquisitions Procedures Influencing Collection Development
Since the early 1970’s the Boston Public Library has maintained several domestic blanket order plans. The operation of these plans has allowed the Library to maintain a high acquisition level of domestic titles during several years of financial crisis which impacted on reference staff/selector positions. Completeness of coverage and early availability of titles are the criteria for a successful blanket order plan. Domestic blanket order plans are carefully arranged to insure quality coverage of current U.S. publications for adult readers. Professional staff charged with public service responsibilities and Acquisitions librarians developed an overall profile which includes the following criteria of
In well-defined instances, the blanket order agreement calls for the supplying of notification slips instead of books or for exclusions. Also, in cases where the Library wishes to receive books or notification slips intended for casual recreational or self-study reading, a "popular" content level is designated. The current blanket order plan supplies approximately 12,000 to 15,000 titles. The levels of expenditure are monitored on a monthly basis. To facilitate ordering copies system wide, the Library strives to make newly arrived blanket order titles available in an Inspection Room accessible to all selectors. The single received copy from the plan is used as an examination copy for eventual system-wide quantities ordering. Once the examination period is over and quantities orders are made, the Inspection Room copy is cataloged for Research Library stacks or becomes a reference copy if so designated by appropriate staff. A juvenile blanket order covers most of the U.S. trade children’s literature publishers and is discussed here separately under the heading, Children’s Literature Collections.
Besides the adult blanket order plan, the Boston Public Library maintains purchase plans including small press publishers, gay literature, ethnic publications, tra vel and other special interest titles. Material may be purchased locally to respond to special programs and public service needs throughout the year. Single titles, not part of the blanket order program, can be ordered and placed for staff consideration in the Inspection Room.
To acquire timely multiple copies of bestsellers, the Library maintains a best sellers lease plan. The number of copies acquired per title and the selection of titles for this program are determined individually by each separate branch and the professional staff in charge of circulating collections in the central library facility.
Acquisition of Expensive Collections For purchases of major collections or expensive standing orders, a process involving more than one subject or format curator takes place. The goal of the discussion is to reach a consensus decision, taking into account public service needs, budgetary implications, resources available locally and how the acquisition under consideration would contribute to the overall strength of the Library’s collections. Other elements of decision-making within the same process include location assignment, bibliographic access and conservation care which my be required.
From the late 1960’s through the early 1980’s the Boston Public Library devoted considerable resources in sustaining major Foreign Blanket Order Plans. The effort harmonized well with existing retrospective library holdings and was intended to provide major world language resources within the framework of the Library of Last Recourse Program funded by the state. Because of budget reductions this foreign collection development program was gradually reduced and as a result of phasing out the Eastern Massachusetts Regional Library System funding, all remaining foreign blanket programs have been eliminated. At the present time the acquisition of foreign titles takes place within the mainstream of discretionary selection and ordering is based on the availability of funds. The library service needs of the ethnic population in Boston and Massachusetts are determining factors in the setting of priorities in this area. The guidelines used for the foreign blanket orders are incorporated into the Appendices of this document for possible future review and implementation if funding again becomes available.
The General Library maintains a browsing collection of adult and juvenile foreign language titles on the Mezzanine Level of the Johnson Building. Languages covered include Chinese, French, German, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The Branch libraries have identified the need for collections of foreign language materials in proportion to the user community’s population size: Spanish, French, Russian, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Cambodian, Italian, Creole, Cape Verdean, Chinese, Gaelic, Arabic, Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Albanian, Somali, Urdu, Hindi, Laotian, Hebrew, German, and Greek. Donations of material substantially contribute to the Library’s resources over time as they supplement and enhance existing collections that support the recreation and research needs of staff and patrons. Hardcover trade titles, trade paperbacks, mass market paperbacks, serials, children’s books, sound recordings, compact discs, videos and maps are the major formats brought in by donation. The Library accepts donations at the Central building and the Branches. Public libraries within the state, businesses and individuals are encouraged to contact Gifts staff concerning donations ranging from a few paperbacks to major collections amassed over time.
Donated materials must be searched on the Research Library On-Line Catalog and the Research Library Catalog on Microfiche to determine if they are already held. Same edition titles are compared to stack copies for condition and are substituted if appropriate. Titles missing from shelves are replaced as well. After searching, titles appropriate to subject departments such as Fine Arts or Music are set aside and the respective department contacted to review and select those titles that should be added to their collections.
Titles that fall outside the scope of Research Library collections or are not needed for its collections are offered to the General Library and the Branches. This material may be selected by General Library and Branch staff in the Gifts area on designated shelves or may be placed in the Inspection Room area. Special types of material may be set aside over time for selection by a Library department.
Abstracts and indices are collected in all subject areas. The decision to make them part of the reference collection is made by professional staff under curatorial or department head leadership. Holdings of hard copy abstracts and indices are sometimes supplemented by CD-ROMs and by access to online databases. Such parallel collecting in print and electronic formats takes place selectively and is subject to budgetary constraints. Abstracts and indices of unique, highly specialized nature with low frequency of use expectations are designated to storage and are not part of active reference or core subject collecting.
The Library’s Fine Arts research collections cover the subject areas of art history, architecture, painting, sculpture, drawing, design, illustration, cartoons, print media, ornament, decorative arts, interior decoration, antiques and collectibles. Reference books on photography, fashion designers, costume and landscape architecture are also maintained. These collections are broad-based and comprehensive, covering all facets of art, architecture and the decorative arts of all countries and periods. American art, architecture and the decorative arts are the special strengths of the collection, as well as the long runs of art and architectural serial titles. Architectural archival holdings within the Library at present number over one million items. Mainly collected through gifts and donations, the Library’s architectural archives consist basically of two types of materials:
The records of existing architectural firms are not collected due to legal and potential liability issues, as well as special storage and access requirements. Archival materials and collections on artisans (stained glass workers, architectural sculptors, etc.) are also collected if they worked in Boston. Smaller collections of individual drawings are acquired to fill gaps in existing collections. Records for the period of the late nineteenth to early twentieth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||