Sidney Berger is well positioned to write Review of Sidney Berger’s Rare Books and Special Collections (2014), bringing to this publication some 40 years’ experience in the book business, ranging from first steps as a student in the University of Iowa Writers Workshop and early forays into bibliography through to his current post as Ann C. Pingree Director of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Other “sidelines” Berger has undertaken paper-making, type-casting and antiquarian bookselling. This book reeks of experience. He is also a courageous man, taking on the challenge of presenting an “overview of the realm” of rare books and special collections. I do not know how long he spent amassing all the information necessary to create this 520-page (minus index) “compendium” for those in the field, but the end result is very satisfying. Indeed, he has achieved the nigh impossible, covering almost everything from so-called realities of the rare book world and running a rare book department, to preservation and conservation and the “rag-tag and bob-tail” stuff, his “issues” which include (among others) ephemera, writing annual reports, fine press and artists’ books. Of course for a book enthusiast, he is adamant about a number of things. His aim is succinctly stated in his introduction: “to make anyone who works with rare books able to speak with authority, using the accepted vocabulary, and not perpetuate the errors that have been canonized over the centuries”, and “to gather in a single volume the essential information that practitioners in the rare book field should have […]”. I think this is a just endeavor, an undertaking to get all those who look after heritage materials (in all their myriad formats) to speak the same language, and know – really know – basic book matter, basic concepts on outreach, handling, security and on talking to others, be they individuals or students or community groups, to not misinform. Importantly, Berger does not want this book and its contents confined to those in the field; it should be read by others. Perhaps today, more than ever, we need these Messiah-like chants to make us all take stock. He rightly states: “These matters affect all in the book world, not just librarians”.
As one who researches how collections are amassed, and who works on projects that revolve around the materiality of the physical items, I perused the “Book Collecting and Handling” and “Physical Materials of the Collections” chapters first. Others who have a specific bend toward fund-raising, legal issues, preservation and conservation and bibliography, will find their chapters, all well-written in an easy, informative style. The “Book Collecting” chapter reinforced the many ways in which librarians can obtain books for their collections, although I had to admit I do very little auction buying; too few good auction houses nearby is but one reason. I was pleased to read Berger’s attitudes toward prices and dealers, something that loosely conformed to something I latched on to when I first started out in the business: “don’t haggle”. In addition, apart from the familiar reminders, I was intrigued by the “Not net” category, which was something I had not yet come across as an antipodean Special Collections Librarian. Then there were the notes that Berger provides, extending from seminal works to Web sites and e-articles. The “physical material” chapter reinforced Berger’s insistence on the right language. Terms and definitions flow, dealing with all aspects of the book: paper, watermarks, marbling, ink, type and typecasting, bookbinding, fore-edge paintings, printing practices and so on, and, again, like in other chapters, there were useful notes and a selected bibliography sequence.
On first receiving this book and perusing its pages in the University Library staffroom, I waved it in front of a library manager who is charged with determining the fate and direction of our University Library Bindery. I muttered “a must read”. While a little taken back by the size of the book, she expressed real interest in the preservation and conservation chapter. As a Berger convert, I will make sure she reads it. Berger’s up-to-date and balanced coverage will no doubt help toward a favorable outcome.
The placement of fund-raising and security before bibliography and book collecting chapters is a personal sequence quibble. The fact that I also tended to bypass the “bubbles” until after reading the text does not negate their presence. Indeed, on returning to them, I found the anecdotes and real cases grounding.
The work contains helpful appendices and an index. This book is a must for all major libraries, and in an ideal world mandatory reading for all librarians.
