One function of libraries is to preserve the scholarly and cultural record. This is a rather diffuse goal, for which libraries feel variably responsible. Of course, national libraries have a particular mandate, usually to gather and preserve the published record of their home country, or in some cases, more broadly, of materials published about their home country anywhere. Sometimes, a library might develop a special responsibility or role, as is the case of the Linen Hall Library and its Northern Ireland Political Collection which it describes as “the definitive archive of the recent troubles”.
So, what are some of the issues that libraries now face in capturing the record? One way to approach this is to think about collection types using the collections grid we developed a while ago.
Common and curated
Bought resources:
Licensed resources: Libraries
Rare and curated
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