Special Libraries and Special Librarians

Latest update: I fixed broken links and added links to the online Finding Aids on 15 March 2023. -- gmc

As noted a few days ago, the Beaufort District Collection is a hybrid entity in the cultural heritage field. The term "special library" is usually applied to a collection of library and archival materials housed within a cultural heritage institution. In the course of this entry, I'll use the term in the sense that the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), defines it. Special libraries are managed by special librarians according to specific national standards. 

Special librarians (and some of you may think of me as "special" in more than one sense of the word) perform special tasks and must meet standards unique to the field. While I perform the duties and have the responsibilities of an archivist at least several times during the course of any given week, each and every day I am a librarian. (I proclaim myself as a Librarian with as much pride as Evy Carnahan does in The Mummy movie of 1999). On most days, I am a practicing special librarian. (I'm not sure that I would characterize my participation in Library meetings or coordinating local history programs for adults as specific "special librarian duties" so that's why I wrote "most days.")

During the shutdown for relocation, Charmaine (the steadfast BDC Preservation Associate) has learned far more than I expect she ever wanted to know about cross-checking shelflists against items against spine labels against barcodes against catalog records -- all library tasks. During the shutdown for relocation I have done far more archivist work than librarian work -- mostly because our records for the archives portion of our holdings are not up to national standards yet.

Materials in archival collections are organized and described as a collection of records, rather than as individual items. A researcher uses guides, finding aids, inventories, indexes, and online systems to discover what is in the record group. Being a good cultural heritage steward means that we must get our records into shape. This shutdown for relocation is the best opportunity we'll have of doing just that! Someone has to create those guides, finding aids, inventories, indexes, and online systems that organize and describe the record groups and then somehow make those guides, finding aids, inventories, indexes, and online systems available. By default, training, temperament, and knowledge of what is here, that task falls to me. But creating sufficient guides, finding aids, inventories, indexes and online systems takes a great deal of quiet thinking time. In our defense: That's been very hard to do because of the fact that in the 1st floor Research Room, our work and processing space (read that "my desk") was the same space used by customers and for collection storage. We arrange archives to share with our customers -- when we are not assisting the daily average of 4 to 10 researchers who contact us in person, telephone, or e-mail for help every workday. This is the major reason why we'll be closed until Sept. 30th.

Nevertheless, the BDC has posted finding aids to several archival collections using SC SHRAB grant funds over the past 5 years: Byrne Miller Papers; Nancy Ciehanski Papers; and the Lucille Hasell Culp Collection, part of which is digitized. We have more to get done at some point in the future - with or without grant funds. (Rest assured, we are always looking for appropriate grant funds to further our goals of meeting our mission. On a personal note: Having separate areas for specific tasks or services (an area for researchers to use our materials; an appropriate closed stack storage area; a separate processing area to prepare materials for customer use; and an office area for Charmaine and I to talk with researchers in private or on the telephone) is the best thing about getting to move to the 2nd floor. Not only will the collections we have be stored properly; we can better protect a customer's right to privacy and intellectual freedom since we can conduct reference interviews outside the hearing of other customers. The extra space on the 2nd floor will greatly improve our ability to catch up and keep up with incoming archival collections. (The separation of spaces by function is also in the national standards!) During the shutdown, our focus is on getting at least short records for the maps we hold into the Library's catalog, correcting inaccurate catalog records, and revising or creating inventory records for all the archival materials we have. The Technical Services department staff is assisting us. As the collection relocates, we'll post inventory records as we complete formats. It is a very tall order but rest assured, we will do our best to deserve the community's trust in our stewardship! We appreciate your patience while we perform the critical tasks necessary to bring the BDC to national standards for special collections management. See you on Sept. 30th!