RE: Re: Library or Archive

Of course I would say that the main difference is that Libraries collections consist mainly of published works and Archives consist mainly of unpublished works, although there is considerable overlap between the two, especially because for many organizations they are either co-located or synonymous.
-----Original Message-----
From: CNI-COPYRIGHT -- Copyright & Intellectual Property [mailto:CNI-COPYRIGHT[_at_]cni.org] On Behalf Of Richard Wiggins Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 7:21 PM
To: CNI-COPYRIGHT -- Copyright & Intellectual Property Subject: [CNI-(C)] Re: [CNI-(C)] Library or Archive

I will probably offend every librarian and archivist I've ever met with this attempt to distinguish, but what the heck.  

The main difference is how often the materials are accessed, and what goes into the catalog -- individual items, or boxes of objects that might many years later be of interest.  

A library strives to build a collection that will serve current or potential researchers. A library expects that a substantial portion of its materials will be accessed by patrons. A library catalogs every object -- book, monograph, serial -- so that each individual object can be accessed when someone needs it.  

An archive strives to capture a corpus related to a topic or an organization. The collected papers of Henry Ford, Theodore Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, Pope John Paul II, etc. As such, an archive collects piles of things -- all the papers they can find, all the letters to and from the subject, etc. An archive may catalog letters from John Q. Smith, 1944, as a single item. Later, a scholar who cares about letters from John Q. Smith, 1944, will have to go through each letter one by one. A library would not normally ever think of cataloging each letter individually.  

/rich  

On Apr 7, 2005 6:00 PM, Laliberte, Matthew Dana <mdl[_at_]wpi.edu> wrote:

        This may seem a silly question, but what is considered an "Archive"? Section 108 of the Copyright Act provides exemptions to both Libraries and Archives for the reproduction of damaged, stolen or deteriorating works, or works whose format has become obsolete.          

        What constitutes an Archive?          

        Thanks!          

        Matthew D. Laliberte

        Instructional Technologist

        Academic Technology Center

        Worcester Polytechnic Institute

        100 Institute Road

        Worcester, MA 10609          

        Phone: 508.831.6422

        FAX: 508.831.5881           Received on Tue Apr 19 2005 - 00:05:55 GMT