The life cycle of the Library’s collections spans budget allocation, identification, selection and acquisitions of materials, creation of access mechanisms, determination of appropriate location, assessment of relevancy and use, and retention decisions.
Transfer
Materials from the general collections are transferred to Special Collections on a case-by-case basis as well as through systematic review of portions of the collections.
Materials identified by users as candidates for transfer can be taken to the Circulation Department where they will be held for review by Special Collections curators.
Materials with the following imprint dates are routinely transferred:
- American imprints before 1830
- Rhode Island imprints before 1900
- British and continental imprints before 1800
Materials with significant provenance, illustrations, bindings, fine printing, and annotations are often candidates for transfer to Special Collections.
See: Guidelines on the Selection of General Collection Materials for Transfer to Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts Section, ACRL, Fourth edition
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