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No. 57, November 2006

1. Definition of Rare Books

1.1 How does your library define "rare books"?  If there are different definitions according to the types of materials, please specify, e.g. Western materials, Islamic materials, Far Eastern materials, etc.

The Library has overseas and Australian (referred to as Australiana) rare books.

Overseas rare books:
The Library's Collection Development Policy uses the following criteria for deeming an overseas book rare:

• books which are valuable by reason of their early imprint date, including all monographs published before 1801 and selected monographs published between 1801 and 1850; serials which ceased or where our holdings ceased before 1801; and American imprints of the first 15 states of the Union published up to 1820, the states in the Union by the end of the Civil War published up to 1865, and all other states up to their last territorial year or 1900, whichever is the earlier; 
• books which are rare because they are unique or irreplaceable, including limited editions, usually of 500 copies or less; works valuable because of content; and private press books; important association copies and important works autographed by their authors, illustrators or printers; significant first editions; and editions of special note, including pirated and surreptitious editions;
• books of aesthetic importance, including fine printing, illustration or binding, and special press books;
• books with significant manuscript or other material laid or tipped in;
• special collections containing both rare and non-rare material, which need to be retained together to meet some special purpose;
• books of high monetary value; or
• high quality facsimile editions of important books.

Australiana rare books:

• Material either listed or not listed (and eligible for inclusion) in John Alexander Ferguson's Bibliography of Australia, 1784-1900. 
• Literature on Pacific voyages and on the major figures involved in the European discovery and exploration of Australasia
• Imaginative literature of the eighteenth century and earlier dealing with the unknown "South Land" or "Terra Australis incognita"

1.2 How does your library authorize the designation of rare books based on the above definition?  For example, does your library have a committee to designate rare books?

There is no Library committee which designates rare overseas or Australiana books. In accordance with the above criteria, the designation of rare books is authorised by:

Manager, Australian Collection Development Unit

Manager, Overseas Collection Development Unit

2. About your library’s rare books collection

2.1 How many titles/volumes of rare books does your library hold?  How many of them are Western, Islamic or Far Eastern, etc?

120,000 titles - 70,000 overseas rare books; 50,000 Australiana rare books.

Unable to provide breakdown figures for Western, Islamic or Far Eastern etc.

2.2 Give some examples that are considered the most precious of your library's rare books collection.

Overseas titles:

• De arte armandi / [Ovid] [Venetiis ; loannes de Tridino alia Tacuinus, 1494]

• Legenda aurea. / Jacobus, de Voragine (Venice : Christophorus Arnoldus, [Before 6 May], 1478)

Australiana titles:

• Birds of Australia : in seven volumes / by John Gould (London, 1848)
• Journal of Captain Cook's last voyage to the Pacific Ocean in Discovery ... (London : Printed by E. Newbery, 1781) (Forbes, 33 (AA state)
• Bilderbuch fur kinder (Weimar, Germany, 1798-1830)

3. Managing Department of Rare Books Collection

3.1 Is there any section or reading room which is dedicated only to rare book collections?

There is no Rare Books Reading Room. Overseas and Australiana rare books are made available through the Petherick Reading Room.

How many seats are there in the reading room and what hours is it open?

• Petherick Reading Room

No. of seats: 36 are dedicated for rare books and other special collections

Standard opening hours: Monday to Thursday 9.00am - 9.00pm; Friday and Saturday 9.00am - 5.00pm; Sunday 1.30pm - 5.00pm

3.2 What other collections are managed together with your rare books collection?

Overseas

Electronic collections which expand and enhance the usability of the rare book collection such as Early English Books Online (100,000 titles), Eighteenth Century Collections Online (130,000 titles), Early American Imprints (36,000 titles), Early American Imprints Series II(36,000 titles), and Making of the Modern Economy (Goldsmith-Kress)(61,466 titles) provide a comprehensive record of English language publishing from 1875-1800.

There are also a number of microfilm collections which provide access to English books printed before 1801, French books before 1701, German books before 1601, Italian books before 1601 and Russian books before 1801. Further microform resources on the French Revolution, British political and economic history, and landmark works in the history of sciences supplement the collection.

These materials are also supplemented by research-level material in the overseas collection, particularly in the areas of Asian and Pacific studies, and include reprints and facsimile editions, histories and bibliographies.

Australiana

Australian collection consisting of legal deposit, government publications, other non-rare Australiana.
Electronic only publications and electronic websites which are archived on PANDORA (http://pandora.nla.gov.au/index.html)

3.3 Please give the name of the section and reading room which serve your rare books collection.

See question 3.1.

4. Terms of use of rare books collection

4.1 Do you prescreen applications to use the rare books collection?

No, but users must be a registered National Library reader to request rare books via automated electronic call slips. Rare books will not be supplied without proof of identity. Material cannot be taken out of the Petherick Reading Room.

4.2 Are there any specific qualifications that you set up for users of your rare books collection, such as a doctoral degree?

No special qualifications required.

5. Photocopy service of rare books collection

5.1 How do you accept requests for photocopy of your rare books collection?

• Some microfilming  (rare Australiana material)
• Others (please specify)

Rare books, items from many Formed Collections, or pre-1901 material, cannot be photocopied by readers, to prevent the risk of physical damage to the book. Photocopies or photographs (digital images or prints) can be requested through the National Library's Copies Direct service (http://www.nla.gov.au/copiesdirect/). Readers may be permitted to take photographs on their own digital cameras (without flash) at the discretion of Petherick Reading Room staff. Australian copyright law applies to modern rare books or facsimiles, as it does to material in the Library's general collection. Apart from copyright considerations, readers planning to use an image or copy of something from the Library's collections in a publication, need to complete a "Permission to Publish" form obtained from the staff in the Petherick Reading Room.

5.2 How do you handle requests for color photocopy?

We do not provide colour photocopies, other than for non-rare book material.

6. Loan service of rare books

6.1 Do you loan out rare books?

No

6.2 Do you loan out rare books for exhibitions?

Yes

If yes, do you loan out rare books to overseas institutions for exhibitions?

The Library receives requests for rare book loans from overseas institutions which it assesses to determine whether various conditions (such as. condition of item, preservation requirements, loan conditions) are met.

7. Management of rare books collection

7.1 Are there stacks or storage spaces which only store rare books?

Yes

If yes, what are the differences of the rare books stacks from other stacks?

High security with very limited staff access.

Separate air conditioning and temperature control.

How large are the rare books stacks, and how many rare books can be stored in them?

Size of rare book stacks:

Overseas: 350 square metres

Australiana: 190 square metres

Total: 540 square metres

How many rare books can be stored in them:

Overseas: contains 2,247 linear metres of shelving. Based on an average of 40 items per linear metre the this stack is capable of holding over 75,000 items.

Australiana: contains 1,902 linear metres of shelving. Based on an average of 40 items per linear metre this stack is capable of holding over 55,000 items.

8. Cataloging of rare books collection

8.1 Which section/unit of your library does the cataloging work for rare books?

Undertaken within two branches of the Library's Collection Management Division: Monographs Branch and Serials Branch.

8.2 Do you set any differences in cataloging rare books and other general books?

Yes.

Overseas and Australiana rare books

• Pre 1801 rare books - (i) descriptive cataloguing of rare books (ii) In-house cataloguing manual.
• Post 1801 rare books - (i) Anglo-American cataloguing Rules. 2nd edition. (2002 revision) (ii)In-house cataloguing manual

8.3 What formats of catalogs have been made for your rare books collections?

• Book catalog
  • Overseas - Known as Guide to microform research collections in the National Library of Australia / compiled by Beth Stone. (Canberra : National Library of Australia, 1992)
  • Australiana - Known as Bibliography of Australia, 1784-1900 / by John Alexander Ferguson. Facsim. Ed. 7 vols (Canberra, 1975-1977)

• Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC)

9. Training of rare books librarians

9.1 Do you have any training courses specifically targeted for rare books librarians?

Yes

9.2 If yes, who organizes the training courses?

Training courses are being scheduled for the near future and will be conducted in-house by a dedicated officer in the Bibliographic Standards & Strategy Branch, Collection Management Division.

10. Management of the reading room for your rare books collection

10.1 Are there any tools or equipment that are provided for readers of rare books in the reading room?

Cotton gloves to wear when using some pre-1901 material may be provided. Readers can borrow a weight to keep a tightly-bound book open. Cradles are also available for books with fragile or damaged spines.

10.2 Are there any specific items that you prohibit users from bringing in or using in the reading room where the rare books collection is served?  For example, ball point pens.

Yes

If yes, please specify

No ball point pens. Readers must use a pencil when taking notes.

11. Microfilming and digitization of rare books collection

11.1 Have you done microfilming of your rare books collection?  If yes, what percentage of your rare books collection has been microfilmed?

None for overseas rare books.

Some formed rare Australiana collections have been microfilmed. Percentage unknown.

11.2 Have you done digitization of your rare books collection?  If yes, what percentage of your rare books collection has been digitized?

Very little digitisation of our rare book collection has been done. Rare books are usually digitised to support some other Library purpose such as for Publications, Exhibitions, Document Supply or Preservation purposes. Percentage is too small to measure.

11.3 Have you created digital library collections? If yes, what percentage of your digital library collections is made of rare books?

The Library has not created a digital library of the overseas or Australiana rare book collections. The Library's routine digitisation program focuses primarily on pictures, maps, sheet music and manuscript collections.

11.4 If you have created a digital library specialized in your rare books collection, please give the name and URL.

The Library has not created a digital library for any of its digitised pictures, maps, sheet music and manuscript collections as these are accessible primarily through the Library's OPAC, Libraries Australia and other search engines such as Google, Yahoo, etc.

For more information on the Library's digital collections in specific formats see
http://www.nla.gov.au/digicoll/