Although aimed at children and requiring Flash and Real Player plug-ins, the Smithsonian Kids Collecting website is clear and helpful. Smithsonian has another interesting site called Legacies: Collecting America's History. Legacies attempts to respond to the question: "What is worth saving?"
The Ohio Odonata Society's document on the Collection and Preservation of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) is a good introduction to scientific collections.
Russell W. Belk defines collecting "as the process of actively, selectively, and passionately acquiring and possessing things removed from ordinary use and perceived as part of a set of non-identical objects or experiences." Collecting is an "acquisitive, possessive, and materialistic pursuit." Further, "because it involves hunting, searching, or shopping for unique useless objects, collecting is a form of materialistic luxury consumption par excellence." I have some question about "non-identical objects" since collectors may wish to have several identical copies of the same item such as a postage stamp. I also suspect that most collectors would not agree with the notion that the items collected are "useless." Belk further notes that "because collecting is a competitive activity linked to prestige and feelings of competence, there is always something just out of reach that seems infinitely desirable to the collector." This certainly applies to libraries and museums with their special collections.
From the beginning of time, humans have collected a wide variety of objects. Some birds and animals also collect objects that are bright, shiny, or interesting. Developing and managing collections is a basic human activity. Nearly all of us have been collection developers and managers. Many of us are active collectors today. One study found that there were active collectors in two-thirds of U.S. households.
Developing and managing collections requires and develops useful skills:
Belk concludes that "successful collecting involves a connoisseurship, preservationism, scholarship, daring, perseverance, and judgment that rehearses or parallels traits we generally value in careers and in Western Culture generally.
Nearly all humans have had the experience of collecting for pleasure. As children, we may collect action figures, dolls, or books. As adults, we may collect stamps, coins, or model railroad equipment. Collecting for pleasure is part of the human condition. Given resources, nearly all adults will collect something. For some, these collections become a most important part of their life. Note too that a collection may be seen as a way to gain immortality. A personal art collection, for example, may be given to an art museum and the owner's name will be associated with it from hundreds of years, e.g. the Robinson Collection.
Rationales for collecting include:
Consider your own experiences with developing and managing collections.
An AARP survey in Modern Maturity asked readers, mostly older and somewhat educated, about collections and collecting. For some, collecting is almost an obsession: "I collect, therefore I am." Almost 98% of those responding collected something. Why collect? Most collected because they really cared about what is collected, with nostalgia being the second most popular reason. Only 11% collected because they hoped to be able to sell their collection.
How much stuff in the collection? About 54% had at least hundreds of items in their collection. Most of these collectors began collecting either between the ages of 26 and 40 or as a child. Most developed their collections by purchasing items at retail stores, flea markets, and via mail order. Nearly 63% said that they "I could never part with them" [items in the collection]. Displaying, acquiring [the thrill of the hunt], and owning give collectors the most pleasure. Few collectors care what others think of their collections.
Collecting for work is often done by others. Some one else determines the collection of software to be placed on your work station. Some one else determines which materials are to be in the corporate information center or library. In some cases, you may be able to develop collections to help you work better. For example, you develop a collection of book marks to particularly useful WWW sites or you may be allowed to develop a small office collection of books and periodicals. Most of the time, information professionals are paid to develop collections for others. This means that collections are not an end in themselves as they might be for the personal collection. Rather, work collections are designed to enhance productivity and add value. These collections are justified on the grounds that they make the organization more successful.
As information professionals, we develop collections for others. While the process is the same, developing collections for others is more difficult because we must discover what the others want or need (what is good for them). Financial support is also different too because of the more complex institutional environment. In most cases, collections for others are intended to be used and useful to a reasonably sized number of users (actual or potential). Use may be in the present or in the future, but it is difficult to justify developing a collection that will not be used. The difficult question here is how much use is required to justify a particular collection. And even more important, will that use make an appreciable difference in organizational success?
Collecting may be informal or formal. Informal collecting is simply acquiring objects of interest. This is what children may do when they are walking home from school and arrive with a curious collection of items in their pockets. Here, collecting is almost a random event depending on serendipity and the mood of the moment. Formal collecting involves acquiring objects according to some sort of systematic plan. Normally, formal collecting is limited in some way because time, money, and interest is also limited. For example, the stamp collector with an interest in stamps from Italian colonies in Africa usually has a plan to develop her collection in a thoughtful way. Libraries and other information agencies are involved with formal collecting to meet particular needs.
Collections may be selective or comprehensive depending on circumstances. Two major variables are the number of items available for collecting and their cost. Comprehensive collections attempt to be complete and are relatively rare. Comprehensive collections are possible when the collectable's are limited in number and not overly expensive. For those with considerable money, comprehensive collections may be possible, especially if others do the collecting. Most individuals, and most information professionals, develop and manage selective collections. These may be limited in scope, e.g. U.S. commemorative postage stamps issued between 1945 and 1955, or may be representative, e.g. major works of heroic fantasy issued in mass market paper editions. Often, as individual collectors become more financially secure, they are able to find/purchase more expensive items and make their collections more complete.
In many times and places, elite social and cultural values made some items appropriate for collecting and others not. Often, there were substantial differences between what the rich collected and what ordinary people collected."Serious" collections were for the educated, and the affluent. Fashions in collecting were followed to insure that you collected what the "right People" collected. Collecting and the nature of one's collection was evidence of personal taste and superior education (because you knew what was good). Sometimes, altruistic motives of preserving culture were claimed, especially when the collection consisted of items taken from other places and times.
In the decades since World War II, the range of items suitable for "serious" collecting has expanded rapidly. Today, almost anything can be collected and be considered to be a "serious" collection, one of value.
Consider all the possibilities--the artifacts of past and present life--that might interest some one. As more people have achieved some financial security, more people can afford to collect stamps, first editions of picture books, ceramic elephants, or model railroad equipment. Manufacturers have dramatically increased the number of collectable's available for sale and limited editions of many items create considerable interest. Although there is much more tolerance today of curious collections, some information professionals are conservative and may be uncomfortable with popular culture. Almost every collection or item has the potential to provide insight into popular culture, societal values and the like. Some academic libraries who rejected gift collections of pulp adventure magazines now find that they are expensive and needed for research into popular culture and the history of genre fiction. In the professional and scholarly literature, traditional scholarly and artistic collections receive the most attention.
Consider all the formats/media that might be appropriate for a particular collection:
With the possible exception of print formats, newer formats appear to be in a state of flux. For example, consider the different formats now developing to allow digital music downloading from the Web. Collectors of items that require playback equipment are faced with the tasks of keeping up with the need for new equipment (DVD) as well as being able to play older software in the future by preserving the hardware.
Normally, there are a few obvious steps involved in developing a collection regardless of its nature, or where the collection is being developed.
Scientific collections contain items to be studied and preserved in order to learn more about the nature of something. Such collections may be developed by social scientists such as archaeologists or anthropologists or by natural scientists who collect seeds, plants, or butterflies.
Especially since World War II, developing countries and native peoples have seen European and American collectors as "robbers" who have stolen their cultural heritage. Demand for historical artifacts and live specimens encourages looting and loss of the historical record or of a native species. Removal of antiquities to wealthy, developed states is seen as exploitation and colonialism.
Collectors also stimulate forgery. By stimulating demand for scarce items, collectors create a market for forgeries. Forgers create valued relics and have for a long time. Several art museums have recently discovered that valued items in their collection were not authentic.
Today, most countries who have artistic, cultural, and other artifacts removed to other countries want these returned. For years, the Greek government has attempted to have the British Museum return classic Greek artifacts. In the United States, the 1990 native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act requires federally funded institutions and federal agencies to "return all sacred and funery objects, objects of cultural patrimony, and human remains to their rightful heirs." This is an enormous task and one which threatens to dramatically reduce museum collections as well as scholarly access to these materials. It will take years before these issues are resolved.
Scientific collections--complete, carefully documented and meticulously curated--of natural specimens are absolutely essential for the life sciences. But to preserve means the death of a being. Birds and butterflies are good examples. There are guidelines:
Extraordinary collections developed by affluent, knowledgeable collectors have enriched special collections and added considerable value to library collections. The personal library of Thomas Jefferson, broad and rich, was acquired by the Library of Congress in 1815. Some collectors, Pierpont Morgan, Henry Edwards Huntington and Henry Clay Folger created their own endowed libraries to maintain their collections after their death. Others, such as Lessing J. Rosenwald, William Scheide, and J.K. Lilly donated notable collections to academic research libraries. For many years, special collections librarians developed relationships with notable collectors in an effort to secure their collections for the university library.
Budgetary and other problems have diminished the relationship between special collections librarians and private collectors. Still, collections of unique items are being formed by private collectors and these collections need to be preserved in an appropriate environment. Digitization also provides an opportunity for acquired collections to be visible and used throughout the world.
Discuss present and past personal collections. Comment on the joy and frustrations of collecting.
What would be the most difficult aspects of developing a collection to help an organization be more successful? What might you do to overcome these problems?
You are an information professional responsible for collection development and management at a medium sized museum in North Carolina. Your collection contains both the remains of Native Americans--in exhibit cases--as well as a variety of artifacts. The relevant tribe has asked for the immediate return of both the remains and the artifacts as well as all the information about them. What will you do and why?
ORYou are an information professional responsible for collection development and management at a small library - museum in New York City. Besides a small collection of text and images on tribes that lived in what was formally the Gold Coast, you have a few masks and other tribal artifacts. A representative oft he government of Ghana has sent you a letter demanding that the masks and artifacts be returned. Identify the major issues involved in deciding what to do.
ORYou are responsible for a small collection of paintings and some sculpture at an art gallery (non-profit) in the Mid-West. One of your landmark paintings is by a notable French Impressionist. A lawyer, representing the family of a German art collector killed in the Holocaust, claims that this painting was stolen by representatives of the Nazi government and demands that it be returned to a grandson of the collector. You purchased the painting from a reputable European firm many years ago. What would you do and why?
ORYou are a special collections librarian at a leading research library in the South. You have purchased the personal papers of a distinguished librarian from a family member. Other members of the family object, saying that the papers belong to the family and cannot be sold. What would you do and why?
You are head of a small special library devoted to model and prototype railroading. The collections consist mostly of books and periodicals plus quite a bit of printed and a small collection of photographs. A board member wants to expand the scope of the collection to include a variety of models, including some that have historical value. Other board members say that models belong in a museum and not in a library. What is the difference between museum collections and library collections? Why?
