Current Security Practices in College and University Special Collections

Abstract

“So you want to take a look at Civil War records at the National Archives? Is it worth a body frisk? That may be the next step as officials at the Archives and the Library of Congress assess whether tighter security is needed after the apparent theft of scores of historical documents recently from the two buildings in the nation’s capital. “—(“Protecting Rare Documents,” U.S. News & World Report, August 31, 1987, p.25)

Security for special collections is a major consideration for all librarians responsible for the nation’s finest book and manuscript collections. Numerous books and periodical articles describe . . .