Author: IFLA Rare Books & Special Collections Section

The IFLA Rare Books and Special Collections Section (RBSC) and the Indigenous Matters Section (IM) are pleased to announce a Joint Satellite Session at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2023 at Leiden University Library on the 18th and 19th of August, 2023.  This Satellite Conference will be devoted to the role that individuals working in the area of special collections and heritage can have in confronting the ongoing legacies of colonialism, and creating space for Indigenous perspectives. How can librarians, archivists, and curators contribute and act to engender a deep and critical understanding of the ongoing impacts of...

Thursday, 11 May 2023, 2 p.m. BST, 90 minutes What happens when a book is lost? Missing a rare book or experiencing theft can be a disturbing situation for any librarian, as well as for rare booksellers. This webinar discusses ways to inform the rare book trade in order to stop illicit material from circulating and, whenever possible, to help in the return of missing items. The IFLA Rare Book and Special Collections Section (RBSC) and ILAB, the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, are collaborating to emphasise the importance of reporting missing items to the book trade. Booksellers will present...

Call for Papers, WLIC 2023 The IFLA Rare Books and Special Collections Section (RBSC) and the Indigenous Matters Section (IM) are seeking proposals for presentations and sessions for their Joint Satellite Session at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2023 in Leiden on the 18th and 19th of August, 2023. This Satellite Conference will be devoted to the role that individuals working in the area of special collections and heritage can have in confronting the ongoing legacies of colonialism, and creating space for Indigenous perspectives. How can librarians, archivists, and curators contribute and act to engender a deep and...

The 2023 mid-term meeting of the IFLA Rare Books and Special Collections committee was held 15–17 March in Uppsala, Sweden. The first day was dedicated to committee meetings, which were held in the Uppsala University Library main building, Carolina Rediviva. This included discussions about upcoming webinars, satellite meetings, and conference sessions, among other things. The first day ended with a tour of the library, with a special focus on Book Hall and its historical collections. The second day of RBSC’s midterm meeting was devoted to Libraries in the Time of War, arranged by the IFLA RBSC in collaboration with CERL...

March 16, 2023. Hosted by Uppsala University in Collaboration with IFLA and CERL Libraries are especially impacted during times of national and international conflict. In fact, cultural heritage institutions are often targeted for destruction to undermine the national and cultural identities of those under attack. While the theft of cultural artefacts as spoils of war were historically, under the correct circumstances, in accordance with international law in the early modern period, such practices have been strongly condemned in the modern period. Nevertheless, the international community continues to witness the plunder and destruction of libraries and museums during modern armed conflicts....

Special collections around the world come in a wide range of formats and sizes. Together they are defined and characterized by their cultural significance, uniqueness, provenance, rarity, financial value, and by the security and storage arrangements that are required to ensure their long-term preservation and accessibility. Last year RBSC organized a ‘provocation’ session as part of WLIC 2021 and invited four ‘provocateurs’ to propose new approaches to the question of how and what we value in special collections, and in doing so challenge the audience to think about their values and what they mean to today’s communities, researchers, and practitioners....

Join RBSC and P&C at WLIC 2022 for Exhibitions: Designed to Inspire and Engage (Session 068) Room: Liffey Hall 2 Tuesday, July 26, 13:15 – 14:30   This joint IFLA program will address the shared institutional challenges and opportunities of exhibitions in twenty-first century, post-pandemic cultural heritage institutions. Libraries are increasingly tasked with finding spaces for public exhibitions, and the line dividing libraries and museums is increasingly blurred. Enviably, the increased demand for exhibitions has also increased the demand for loans of cultural heritage objects, regardless of institutional size and staffing. This session is a recognition of this changing institutional...

Please join the IFLA’s Rare Books and Special Collections Section for a virtual discussion of the ways special collections libraries have adapted to the new pandemic operating environment.  All are welcome!  Details and registration information are below.   Rare Books and Special Collections: Adapting to a Global PandemicWhen: 10 February 2021Where: Online The IFLA Rare Books and Special Collections Section is offering a panel discussion on the different experiences, plans, and lessons learned about providing services and continuing operations during a pandemic. Learn how special collections librarians from Spain, Sweden, Singapore, and the United States, representing national libraries, university libraries, and...