Collection Development Policy 2012 - Heritage Collections

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SCOPE

The policy presents the conditions determining the selection, maintenance, retention, and disposal of materials in the Heritage Collections held by the City Library of the Dunedin Public Libraries network. Note: The Boreham Collection resides at Mosgiel and the Permanent Art Collection is distributed around the library network.

The policy consists of an overall statement of the Library’s collecting intentions and guidelines for heritage materials.

Separate policies exist for individual collections and collection groups: McNab New Zealand Collection; Alfred & Isabel Reed Collection; Special Collections; Heritage Archives, Permanent Art Collection.

1. Collection Scope

The Heritage Collections encompass a number of collections which together support the Heritage Collections’ purpose, stated below. Refer to individual collection policies for further detail.

1.1 Heritage Archives

The Heritage Archives aims to collect unpublished records of individuals and organisations with historical significance relating to the history and development of Otago and Southland.

1.2 McNab New Zealand Collection

The McNab New Zealand Collection aims to provide resources with a research focus and includes specialised material of permanent or long term value to researchers. It covers Otago and Southland extensively, but is not a repository of all New Zealand materials.

1.3 Alfred & Isabel Reed Collection

The collection reflects the collection interests of A H Reed and aims to provide public access to rarely seen materials.

1.4 Special Collections

A number of different collections make up the Special Collections. By their intrinsic nature, these collections do not fit within the ambit of the operational collections, nor do they fit with the McNab or Reed Collections. These collections are discrete collections of literary, historical, cultural, artistic or social significance.

1.5 Permanent Art Collection

The collection is unsolicited and has grown from a series of donations or bequests given to the Library from or about the time of the opening of the new City Library in 1982

2. Collection Purpose

The Heritage Collections’ purpose is to enrich Dunedin’s cultural heritage through the development, organisation, and preservation of specialist New Zealand heritage, rare book, and other special collections of significance.

3. History

Two core donated collections form the basis of the Heritage Collections: the McNab New Zealand Collection and the Alfred and Isabel Reed Collection. McNab donated 4200 books to the Dunedin Public Library in 1913; Reed made his original donation in 1948, followed by further donations in 1949 and 1950. These core collections have been, and continue to be, augmented by other significant donations which form the Special Collections.

4. Description of collection

Refer to individual collection policies for details:

  • Heritage Archives Policy
  • McNab New Zealand Collection Policy
  • Alfred & Isabel Reed Collection Policy
  • Special Collections Policy
  • Permanent Art Collection Policy

5. Housing

The majority of the Heritage Collections is housed on the third floor of City Library, but space constraints make it necessary for some parts of the collection to be housed elsewhere in the City Library. Archives (including Reed Autograph Letters and Manuscripts) are housed in a strong room in the upper basement, as is the Bolitho Collection (refer Special Collections). The majority of the McNab serials and government papers is housed in the Lower Basement, and The Sonnenschein, Naseby Athenaeum, and Left & Right Book Club collections (refer Special Collections) are housed in the Lower Basement stack area.

Special atmospheric control measures on the third floor allow the temperature and humidity to be regulated separately from the rest of the building, and the atmosphere on the third floor is constantly monitored. All material on the third floor, apart from some genealogy resources and local and national government material, is kept in a secure area. All heritage material can only be used within the third floor reading room.

6. Valuation

Many of the items in the collections are irreplaceable. This is especially true of items in the Alfred and Isabel Reed Collection. A detailed evaluation of the Heritage Collections was undertaken in 2008-2010. The base value is market value or ‘fair value’ although for insurance purposes a margin of 20% above this figure has been included in the overall valuation. The total value of Heritage Collections as 30 April 2010 was $23,523,050, made up of: McNab Collection $15,063,458; Reed Collection $5,021,672; Special Collections $360,970; Permanent Art Collection $3,076,950.

7. Collection management

Overall management of the Heritage Collections rests with the Heritage Collections Librarian. Specific responsibility for the Alfred and Isabel Reed Collection and the Special Collections rests with the Rare Books Librarian.

7.1 Selection Tools

A variety of selection tools are used in the development of the collections. Refer to individual collection policies for details.

7.2 Selection Guidelines

Selection will take the following criteria into account:

  • Enhancement of existing collection strengths
  • Relationship to other collection items
  • Suitability for exhibition (Reed and Special Collections)
  • Ability to fill a known subject gap in the collections
  • Literary or artistic merit
  • Value for money
  • Item significance or uniqueness
  • Condition of the materials and their preservation requirements
  • Special cataloguing or other needs
  • Space or special housing needs

7.3 Replacements

The replacement of significant items which are damaged, lost or stolen, may be undertaken if it is considered more important than the purchase of items new to the collection.

7.4 Deselection

Given the intrinsic nature of the Heritage Collections, deselection for currency does not occur. However, deselection may occur if the following criteria apply:

  • Material is an exact duplicate
  • The donor or vendor had no right to give or sell them to the library
  • They have physically deteriorated & conservation is not possible, or is actively placing other parts of the collection at risk
  • The items are transferred to the original party or to a third party with the agreement of the original party

Refer to the McNab New Zealand Collection Policy for other criteria specific to that collection.

8. Formats

Formats collected include:

  • books (including paperbacks where high use is not expected)
  • facsimiles
  • manuscripts
  • maps
  • microforms (McNab only)
  • newspapers (McNab only)
  • pamphlets
  • periodicals and offprints
  • artworks in a variety of media

The following formats are considered to be normally out of scope, but may be considered on a case-by-case basis:

  • digital materials
  • ephemera
  • film
  • musical scores
  • objects
  • oral history
  • photographs
  • posters and prints
  • video and sound recordings

9. Acquisition and Purchasing

Funding for the McNab New Zealand Collection and Special Collections comes from the Library budget. Funding for the Alfred and Isabel Reed Collection comes from the Library budget and interest on the Alfred, Isabel and Marian Reed Trust. Special Collections including Archives and Permanent Art are generally only acquired by donation or bequest.

10. Standing Orders

A small number of items are received on standing order. Refer to individual collection policies for details.

11. Donations

A significant though decreasing quantity of material, especially from organizations, is donated, either because it has been actively solicited or on the initiative of authors or publishers.

Some government publications, including parliamentary publications, statutes and regulations, and statistical data, may be received free of charge under the Legal Deposit Scheme.

Offers of gifts or donations of materials for inclusion in the Heritage collections are welcomed by the Library. Acceptance will be guided by principles stated in the Heritage Collections Collection Development Policy and the Library’s Donations Policy.

11.2 Conditions:

The Library does not assume a custodial role for donated items, and ownership passes to the Library when items are donated. Items on deposit are not accepted into the collections.

All decisions regarding location, treatment, maintenance, display, and possible disposal rest with the Library. Where donations are specially large or significant a formal written agreement states all conditions of the donation clearly, for the information of the donor and present and future Library staff.

12. Preservation and Repair

Within the constraints of the existing building and budgets, the Library provides the best possible environmental conditions. This includes providing appropriate storage and security and professional management for the collection items.

Microform or CD-Rom editions of works already held are occasionally purchased, where available, in order to reduce pressure on the original items. Where this occurs, the originals are retained.

Where Heritage Collections staff identifies items in need of conservation, this work is usually carried out by the Library Bindery & Preservation Unit. Specialised conservation of specific items may also be contracted to independent conservators. Very fragile items may be retained, but access to them may be restricted.

13. Review

This policy will be reviewed within five years

Endorsed by the Senior Management Team, 19/06/2012