Technical Services

Mission Statement

The Technical Services Department:

• Provides prompt electronic access to all Special Collections materials and enhanced access to selected materials
• Unifies access to all collections in a single electronic format
• Provides all services in a customer-driven environment

Department Overview

The Technical Services Department provides physical and intellectual access to all Special Collections materials, especially those in major centers and collecting areas.  The Department and its staff have been relocated to Bay 11, Smith Warehouse.

Manuscript Collections

• Accessioning
• Processing involving multiple formats, including paper, audio-visual, and digital
• Encoding the text of finding aids in XML and mounting them on the Web
• Making digital media accessible

Rare Materials

• Pre-cataloging
• Shelving of incoming materials on and off site
• Post-cataloging and serials processing

All Materials

• Cataloging using both item- and collection-level records
• Shelving of incoming materials on and off site
• Catalog maintenance
• Ordering and managing archival supplies

Research Services

• Reference work for materials in selected areas
• Backup to Research Services staff as needed and desk service on a rotating schedule
• On call for interpretation of finding aids and catalog records
• Exhibits, presentations on RBMSCL materials and tours, and contributions to RBMSCL publications

The work of the Department is roughly divided between the processing associated with manuscript and archival collections and the cataloging and description of printed materials, including rare books and serials. In the course of establishing and documenting procedures for the work of this unit, various manuals and procedures documents have been prepared. While understanding that the needs and traditions of other repositories may be different, we offer a sample of these documents in the box on the top right with the hope that they might assist others in understanding and developing their own procedures.