Rare book librarianship: an introduction and guide

摘要

A surprising fact about many rare book collections is how recently they were formed. Writing from a North American perspective, Galbraith and Smith observe that the aim of early modern libraries: [... ] was not so much a conscious effort to collect books as rare books as it was the assembly and preservation of the books of the time. [... ] The great rare book collections of Oxford, Cambridge, and [... ] the British Library exist largely because these institutions were there when the books were first printed.