SPECIAL COLLECTIONS RESEARCH CENTER
Collection Strategies and Rationale
Collection Strategies
The Special Collection Research Center's mission is to identify and collect
rare and unique materials to support the research and teaching needs of the
university. By emphasizing established and emerging areas of excellence at
the university and corresponding strengths within the Libraries’ overall
collection, the SCRC is strategically developing collections with the aim of
becoming an indispensable source of information for generations of scholars
. Special Collections builds collections in all formats in priority subject
areas. These areas are chosen in consultation with faculty, collection managers,
and other specialists and in response to various opportunities. Special Collections
and Collection Management actively collaborate to build collections in targeted
areas profiled in these guidelines, emphasizing the primary goal of building
broad and deep accumulations in focus areas that add unique value to and complement
the general collection in areas of strength and emphasis for the university.
Acquisitions that do not fall into existing collecting areas sometimes are
made in anticipation of new emphases and unique opportunities. In addition
to scholarly research value, collectors sometimes also take into account items'
exhibit and/or outreach potential. The Center also collects materials to document
the achievements of highly distinguished NCSU graduates in all areas.
A majority of targeted areas for Special Collections are in disciplines that
have emerged and/or come to maturity in the last half of the 20th century,
and continue to develop into the 21st. As a result, the Center’s first
priority is to collect the papers and recorded research of prominent NC State
faculty active in the formulation and development of disciplines in priority
collecting areas, as well as scholars and corporations performing seminal research
in those disciplines. In concert with efforts to collect the papers of NC State
faculty and scholars, the Center will identify and transfer or acquire seminal
publications from the early development of these disciplines, including monographs,
journals, theses and dissertations, and reports. Many of these publications
are from the 20th century and can be classified as “medium-rare,” likely
to become rare as the material ages and scholars and collectors increasingly
focus on the emergence of these disciplines.
The papers of prominent faculty, together with seminal publications in priority
and supporting collecting areas, serve as the building blocks for further growth
and development. They increase the prominence of the collections, attract additional
users, and help attract grant and endowment funding – all of which increase
the ability of Special Collections to attract additional content from prominent
scholars and corporate research in the region and beyond.
 Preservation and Security of Materials Outside Focus Areas
Special Collections accepts from other areas of the Libraries transfers of
materials that require the special protection and care that Special Collections
can provide. Qualities considered in such transfers include fragility, age,
artifactual aesthetics, association values, and market value. These materials
are accepted regardless of whether the subject area(s) represented are ones
targeted by the Libraries as collecting emphases. Special Collections accepts
all pre-1825 material from the collection, regardless of subject.
Relationship with other Repositories, Cooperative Agreements, and Related
Collections
The SCRC chooses its target collecting areas with an awareness of collecting
activities of other U.S. repositories, especially those in the southeast. In
making acquisitions, the library generally seeks to avoid dividing collections
among institutions. When offered donations of materials beyond the scope of
its primary and supporting collecting areas, the SCRC may refer donors to more
appropriate institutions.
Special Collections seeks to coordinate collecting efforts with the University
of North Carolina's Wilson Library and Duke’s Rare Book, Manuscripts,
and Special Collections Library to increase the availability of unique collections
in the area and maximize the impact of the collections for researchers.
Acquisitions Made Through Gifts
Donation is the preferred mode of acquisition for the SCRC, which solicits
gifts of materials from individuals and organizations. Alumni, faculty members,
and other members of the university community provide assistance in identifying
potential donors. Collectors typically discuss potential gifts with colleagues
in Collection Management and with the department head and associate director
as appropriate.
The Libraries typically requires an executed gift agreement or alternate
instrument of acknowledgement transferring ownership. Loans of materials are
generally not accepted, but in special circumstances materials may be accepted
on deposit, pending transfer of ownership to the Libraries. The Libraries will
not accept collections permanently closed to users. It encourages unrestricted
gifts, but will accept collections carrying user restrictions of a reasonable
duration.
Acquisitions Made Through Purchase
When materials are not available through gifts, acquisitions are sometimes made
through the purchase of items selected from dealer catalogs or other dealer offers,
by way of auctions, and from private individuals or organizations. Collectors
discuss potential purchases with colleagues in Collection Management. Purchases
are funded by endowment income, gifts, grants, and library appropriations. Rare
books are almost exclusively purchased with endowment income. State funds can
be used for seminal materials in primary collecting areas and for NC State faculty
publications.
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