Special Collections

In library science, special collections (often abbreviated to Spec. Coll. or S.C.) is the name applied to a specific repository or department, usually within a library, which stores materials of a "special" nature, including rare books, archives, and collected manuscripts. Works kept in special collections (as opposed to the library's general collection) are typically stored there because they are unusually valuable, rare (possibly unique), or fragile, or because they should not, for some particular reason, be allowed to commingle with the library's other works.

The primary function of a special collections institution is to provide researchers access to items while ensuring proper use, storage and protection from theft and environmental damage. Items in a special collection are usually stored in closed stacks (not directly accessible to library patrons) which contain noncirculating items, meaning that items cannot be loaned or otherwise removed from the premises. Items are often available for use only to individuals conducting research on a related topic. These researchers – who must usually present identification cards, letters of reference, or other credentials to gain access to holdings – are usually affiliated with a university or other educational institution.

Most special collections are stored in areas in which the temperature, humidity, illumination, and other environmental conditions are carefully monitored to ensure the integrity of materials, and adequate security is provided to protect the materials from unauthorized access, theft, and vandalism. Special reading rooms are often provided to minimize the risk to holdings while being consulted by patrons, which are sometimes monitored by library personnel who also provide reference assistance and relay requests for materials. Rules often apply to use of materials in order to protect against inadvertent damage; Writing implements which use ink are very commonly prohibited, as well as flash photography, use of cell phones, and the presence of food and beverages. Protective gloves are sometimes required when consulting particularly delicate materials, and some collections may require that books with damaged spines be read only while in special cradles.

For example, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University operates under a closed stack system, and rigorous security rules allow carefully controlled access to materials in a spartan subterranean reading room, under video surveillance.

Complete collections of hundreds or even thousands of books may be bequeathed to libraries in wills, sometimes on the condition that the collection be kept together within the library rather than dispersed throughout the collection or the parent institution's (if present) holdings. Special collections departments are often able to accommodate such requests, although constraints on storage space and other factors sometimes make doing so unfeasible. One factor that may be particularly influential is whether or not the subject matter represented by the donated items falls within the intended scope of the collection's holdings.

Hidden collections also exist. The Council on Library and Information Resources provides funding for scholars to catalogue certain hidden collections.