ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 294 / C &RL News H ow w ill I have the opportunity to com m en t on th e Strategic Plan? In subsequent annual reports of this committee, the membership will be informed of the specific priorities identified by the Board, which objectives have been accomplished and what new objectives have been added. Members will be invited to com municate with the Planning Committee regarding the progress of the Strategic Plan. This, along with the feedback from chapters, committees, sections, and other units should provide all interested mem bers with an opportunity to be involved with the overall direction of ACRL. If you would like a copy of the Strategic Plan, please contact the A CRL office. If you would like to comment on the plan, contact any member of the Planning Committee or the ACRL office and they will forward your comments to the chair of the Planning Committee. Guidelines fo r conservators an d cu ra to rs: D raft III P rep ared by the RBMS Ad Hoc Conservators’ Collations Committee Terry Belanger, C hair Collations and marking in special collections. T h e Ad Hoc Conservators’ Collations Commit tee charge was to study the current use of colla- tional formulae by conservators and curators, and (if it thought it wise to do so) to produce guidelines encouraging the joint, standardized use of such for mulae by conservators and curators. The story so far The Com m ittee was formed by action of the RBMS Executive Committee at Annual Confer ence 1984 (Dallas). It had its first meeting at Mid winter 1985 (Washington, D .C .). Members were formally appointed to the Committee in the spring of 1985 by the then chair of the Section, Lynda Corey Claassen (San Diego). At the July 1985 An nual Conference (Chicago), Committee members discussed the first draft of questionnaires to be sent out to conservators and curators, and at Midwinter 1986 (Chicago) the Committee approved the text of these questionnaires, which were sent out in the spring of 1986 to 54 conservators and to about 60 curators. The heavy response was read by the Committee at Annual Conference 1986 (New York), and the chair of the committee was directed to prepare draft guidelines. The first draft of these guidelines was discussed at Annual Conference 1987 (San Francisco), and the chair was directed to prepare a second draft of the guidelines for further discussion at Midwinter 1988 (San Antonio). Further revi sions were made at this meeting, and a final version approved for transmission to the RBMS Standards Committee. This final version is given here. Recommendations 1. C uratorial collations. Curators should rou tinely collate books, or make copies from depart ment records of previously done collations, before sending them away for treatment, and a copy of these collational statements should accompany the material being sent. May 1988 / 295 2. Conservatorial record-keeping. Conservators should compare the collations sent with the materi als with the result of their own investigations, and in their treatment reports inform curators of dis crepancies. This guideline is especially pertinent where material has been sent away for treatment. 3. Marking materials. Conservators should be sparing in their use of marks, especially extensive renumbering schemes; the marks which they do put in books should in general be left there, and not erased. In their docum entation, conservators should indicate clearly what marks they have made. Comments Collational systems. The best-known collational scheme in the United States and Canada at present is the formulary devised by Sir Walter Greg and Fredson Bowers (see Bowers’ Principles o f B iblio graphical Description, 1949). The Greg/Bowers formulary is widely and usefully employed by cu rators and students especially of pre-1850 Western printed books. Some conservators use Greg/Bowers in collating such materials; other conservators have adopted or devised different systems. There is general agreement that the Greg/Bow ers system has limitations. It does not always adapt well for use in collating post-1850 materials, nor for non-Western materials, nor for some manu script codexes. Nor does it deal with such copy- specific matters as the order of end-papers, later in serts and pasteovers, or the precise description of folded-in materials. The Committee devising these guidelines is cog nizant both of the utility and of the limitations of the Greg/Bowers formulary, and endorses its use where appropriate and convenient. Where not, the Committee recommends that curators and conser vators discuss with each other on an ad hoc basis the best way of collating materials being passed back and forth between them. Marking materials. There is at present no con sensus about the appropriateness of the conservato rial practice of making manuscript marks in mate­ rials about to receive conservation treatment, as an aid to their reassembly. Nor is there agreement w hether such marks, where m ade, should be erased or not after treatment is completed. The Committee is aware that manuscript marks, once made, can seldom be completely removed. Its third recommendation is based on its belief that fu ture readers, curators, and conservators should not be confused by marks which, in the attempt to re move them, were simply made more difficult to read or interpret. Legacies of Genius: A celebration of Philadelphia libraries The sixteen member libraries of the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL) are presenting an exhibition of nearly 250 rare books, manuscripts, and works of art. En titled “Legacies of Genius: A Celebration of Phila delphia Libraries,” the exhibition is on display un til September 25 in the adjoining galleries of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Library Company of Philadelphia, 1300 Locust Street. The exhibition displays together for the first time many Philadelphia book treasures. From the oldest known Passover Haggadah (Egypt, 11t h c.) to John Von Neumann’s original typescript of the first stored computer program (1945), this collabora tive exhibit offers a rare opportunity for the public to experience these timeless documents. The title “Legacies of Genius” derives from Jo seph Addison, who wrote: “Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind, which are delivered down from generation to generation, as presents to the posterity of those who are yet un born” (The Spectator‚ 1711). The exhibit’s dramatic design uses graphics, por traits, and artifacts— such as an 1830 Globe The atre model, a fraktu r writer’s case (with samples of the G erm an folk a r t), and old m edical instruments— draw the visitor to a closer under­ standing and enjoyment of the works. The items on display were selected by Edwin Wolf 2nd, guest curator and librarian emeritus of the Library Com pany of Philadelphia. Wolf said, “Philadelphians don’t even realize the quality, variety and excite ment of area holdings.... If people only knew about them they would glory in the remarkable, spine- tingling resources of the area’s special collections li braries. It’s time to let them know.” “Legacies of Genius” will feature important doc uments of American history, classics of science, lit­ erature, children’s books, art and architecture, physical science, medicine, natural history, and re ligion. The treasures on display include a jewel-like illuminated manuscript Psalter of the 13th century and colorful miniatures in a Persian epic of the 16th century. Books printed prior to Columbus’s discov ery of the New World and the 1493 published an nouncement o f that event share honors with the au­ tographed m anuscripts of C harles D icken s’s P ic k w ic k P a p e r s , Poe’s “ M urders in the Rue Morgue,” and James Joyce’s Ulysses. Many first editions are being shown, among them the famous Shakespeare Folio of 1623, Para dise Lost, Robinson Crusoe, Adventures o f H uckle berry Finn, Alice in W onderland, and The Tale o f Peter R abbit. Visitors can see the only known copy 296 / C&RL News of a preliminary proof of the first printing of the Declaration of Independence, the original journal of the Lewis and Clark expedition, a letter from Abraham Lincoln one month after his election that states he did not intend to propose the extinction of slavery, and numerous other documents of equal historical and cultural importance. Member libraries of PACSCL are: the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, American Philosophical Society, Annenberg Research Insti tute, Athenaeum of Philadelphia, Bryn Mawr Col lege, College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Free Benjam in F ranklin’s copy o f Mechanick Exercises by Josep h Moxon, on display in Philadelphia. Library of Philadelphia, Haverford College, His torical Society of Philadelphia, Library Company of Philadelphia, Presbyterian Historical Society, Rosenbach Museum and Library, St. Charles Bor- romeo Seminary, Swarthmore College, Temple University, and University of Pennsylvania. A fully illustrated catalog with color plates ac companies the exhibition. The catalog places each item in its historical context and provides back ground information on how the item reached its present library location. ACRL executive summary Professional developm en t Local presentations of ACRL continuing educa tion courses were held as follows: Preparing for Technology (CE 301) at SUNY-Buffalo, 40 partici pants; Writing the Journal Article (CE 501) at the University of Florida in Tampa, 57 participants; and CE 501 at the Western New York Library Council in Buffalo, 26 participants. Librarians as Supervisors (CE 101), offered jointly in Chicago with Northern Illinois University, was successful with over 50 participants. More than 175 people took ACRL courses in March 1988. Four thousand postcards were mailed inviting people to submit papers and programs for the A C R L N ation al C o n fe re n ce in C in c in n a ti. Cathleen Bourdon is working with a very active committee on this exciting event. Attractive and in formative publicity materials are helping us get the message out. A C R L ’s awards program now includes nine awards. M ary E llen Davis announced all the award winners through press releases and has worked with the committees to prepare citations and arrange for presentations.