Opening Up Special Collections to the Public: A Partnership Between Cataloging and the Special and Area Studies Collections Department at the University of Florida

摘要

The age of special collections cataloging has arrived. Today many ways exist to bring to the public the valuable resources contained in special collections through cataloging. As part of a public university, the Special and Area Studies Collections Department of the University of Florida (SASC) has a mandate to make its special collections more accessible and available to researchers, the citizens of Florida, and the broader public. Cataloging at the University of Florida works closely and actively with SASC and other areas of the library to achieve these goals. Cataloging has worked on developing a realistic, flexible, and creative approach that includes working closely with curators, negotiating priorities, flexible staff assignments, exploiting cataloging options, special projects, applying for grants, developing a dynamic cataloging inventory, and other methods.