Columbia Library columns (v.14(1964Nov-1965May))

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  v.14,no.2(1965:Feb): Page 20  



20                                  Roland Baughinan

was eventually replaced by the symbol "X," and "Bibliograph¬
ical Museum," later shortened to "B." Those symbols, X and B,
are still retained for all books in Special Collections that are not
part of individual "name" collections. They may have begun to
be used about the time Low Library was first occupied in the
mid-1890's, but the precise date cannot now be fixed. In addition
to the individual rarities that were so identified, certain restricted
en-bloc collections such as those mentioned above were identi¬
fied as "name" collections, sometimes also being given specially
devised classification numbers to take account of the unusual
nature of the materials involved. Reader access was gained, pre¬
sumably, by individual application to the chief librarian or the
reference librarian; and the materials were used—again pre¬
sumably—either in the librarian's private oflice or at some as¬
signed desk where surveillance could be provided. We may
suppose that the professional lives of those principal officers
were somewhat less complex than is now the case, so that such
requests could be honored without undue hardship to either side.

But towards the close of the 1920's rare materials had increased
to such an extent that readers' demands could no longer be met
on so personal and individual a basis. Moreover there were ac¬
quisitions in prospect that would immeasurably complicate the
issue—the Sehgman library on the history of economics (first
part, 1929), the Dale library on weights and measures (193 i),
the Smith library on the history of mathematics (1931), and the
Plimpton library on the history of education (on deposit, 1932;
presented, 1936). Together these collections comprised some
forty or fifty thousand volumes, and their adequate administra¬
tion called for an abrupt and far-reaching change in policy.

And so, to meet the expected need for specialized administrative
standards, the "Rare Book Department" was formally established
in 1930 under the curatorship of Dr. Hellmut Lehmann-Haupt,
quarters being assigned to the fledgling department on the fifth
floor of Schermerhorn Hall. This was accepted as only a tem-
  v.14,no.2(1965:Feb): Page 20