Rare Books and Special Collections and Osler Collection Development Policy

Preamble

1. This policy applies to all acquisitions, both purchases and donations.
2. Donations, especially those for which a tax receipt is sought, must adhere to the University’s Gifts in Kind policy.
3. The Head Librarian, Assistant Head Librarian, and Associate Dean, ROAAr, should review the Collection Development Policy and purchases annually.
4. The yearly budget for Rare Book purchases is generated from Endowments and donations. Adherence to the budget is critical. Exceptions must be reviewed and considered by the Dean/Director of Libraries.

The following factors should be taken into consideration when selecting material for the collection:

1. Acquisitions should focus on adding to the existing strengths of the collection, as outlined directly below. The following list is not exhaustive, but rather intended to identify areas of particular depth. For further information, the Rare Books and Special Collections website describes the library’s collections in some detail.
   • Canadiana (Lande Canadiana Collections; Lande Arkin; Lande Inuit; Lande Indigenous; Masson and other North West Company Fur Trade material; Rudolphe Joubert Collection on French Canada; Canadian Pamphlet Collection; Roy States Black History Collection, plus material in the general and other collections). We collect Canadiana broadly. Areas of particular strength include:
     • Exploration and settlement
     • Montreal, including Expo 67
     • McGill University History (non-archival)
     • Travel – vacation
     • Political material
     • Posters (war, travel, colonization)
     • John Bland Canadian Architecture Collection (Works associated with professors and graduates of the McGill School of Architecture)
     • Medicine (Osler Library of the History of Medicine)
     • Natural History (Blacker-Wood Collection)
     • French Enlightenment (especially Voltaire)
     • Napoleon (19th century material)
     • Scottish Enlightenment (especially David Hume)
     • History of the Book and Printing (William Colgate Collection)
     • Cookbooks and menus (especially Canadian community cookbooks, manuscript cookbooks)
     • Children’s literature
     • Incunables
     • Medieval and early modern manuscripts
     • Fanny Burney
     • First and Second World Wars
2. Areas of current usage by faculty, students, and researchers, and teaching and research trends.
3. Formats. Print material – books; ephemera; prints; posters; maps. In rare instances we also collect three-dimensional objects. Unpublished photographs are usually collected as part of albums, scrapbooks, or archives related to major collecting themes. Electronic resources that fit into collecting priorities will also be considered.
4. Endowment or gift requirements. Some endowed funds or gifts have specific requirements that need to be respected. Currently these are:
   • Nathanson: Lincolnia and Americana related to Lincoln, slavery, abolitionism
   • Dorothy MacLean Memorial Fund: Natural History
   • Mildred MacLean: unrestricted acquisitions
   • Eileen B. Thompson: Poetry
   • Harry Gorfinkel: Canadiana
   • David S. Friedman Library Fund: Boy Scouts; adventure; travel
   • Redpath Library Book Endowment (Sir Thomas and Lady Roddick plus Alice Redpath): unrestricted acquisitions
   • Dr Francis McLennan Book Fund: unrestricted acquisitions
   • David Edwards Fund: unrestricted acquisitions
   • Elizabeth Saunders Rare Books and Maps Fund: unrestricted acquisitions
   • Harold Goodman Fund: unrestricted acquisitions
   • RBSC General Endowment: unrestricted acquisitions
5. Donations must meet both collecting criteria and the requirements of the university’s Gift in Kind policy.

26 November 2021