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Conclusion
Special Collections in ARL Libraries
March 2009
The leaders of research libraries have an opportunity to shape the future direction of special collections as a key element
of our libraries. The recommendations included in this report call for the research library community not only to support
and endorse the extraordinary work of our special collections professionals, but also to provide, with their help, tools,
guides, and partnerships that will point to future directions.
19th- and 20th-century materials present special challenges because they cover all formats and engage us with the
issues of copyright and intellectual property, privacy, and restrictions on access, as well as the technological challenges
and opportunities arising from digital technology. But the issues we have identified here relate in different ways to all
special collections, whatever their format and from whatever period they may derive. The important message that we
wish to deliver is that special collections, taken together, define the distinctive features of the modern research library.
We hope that the leadership of research libraries will take this opportunity and seize this moment, to support and
advocate for actions that reposition special collections to maximize their use for scholarship and teaching.
We hope to see these actions undertaken within the closest possible collaboration with the leading professional
bodies (e.g., RBMS and SAA) that handle special collections in our libraries. We also hope to promote closer collaboration
within the parent organizations of ARL member libraries (mostly universities), encouraging efforts that draw together
collaborations on campus and between campuses and other bodies. ARL has an opportunity for critically important
influence.
With ARL endorsement of this direction, the Working Group proposes to develop the following set of
recommendations into an action agenda for itself or other groups within ARL and to undertake efforts to engage other
segments of the library and higher education communities in advancing the agenda.
www.arl.org/bm~doc/scwg-report.pdf Page 31