College and Research Libraries Integration or Separation: A Preface Donald Farren he Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of ACRL responds to the needs and concerns of li- brarians and specialists respon- sible for the care, custody, and use of rare books, manuscripts, and archives. The section also provides means by which li- brarians and specialists engaged in such work can communicate with others in the library world and beyond. The work of the section is carried out by twenty standing and ad hoc committees, which provide continuing education and which regularly produce standards and guidelines appli- . cable to rare books and special collections work. The section has recently begun issu- ing a newsletter. A major effort of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section is its annual confer- ence, which is scheduled just prior to the ALA Annual Conference and is located close to it. These conferences are intended to serve closely the current interests of the members of the section. For instance, in 1983 in Los Angeles the conference was held on the theme ''The Enemies of Books Revisited,'' that is, on the conditions that limit the effectiveness of the work of rare book and special collections librarians. In 1984 in Austin the conference was held on the theme "Collecting the Twentieth Cen- tury." At the Annual Conferences of the Amer- ican Library Association, the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section cosponsors pro- grams with such ALA units as the Preser- vation of Library Materials Section of the Resources and Technical Services Divi- sion, the Map and Geography Round Ta- ble, and the Library History Round Table; the section also offers its own general pro- gram meeting. The general program meet- ings of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section are intended to appeal to a broad range of library interests, offering views from the perspective of rare books and special collections work. At the 1984 Dal- las Annual Conference, for instance, the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section gen- eral program meeting was held on the theme "What Do I Do with My Rare Books?: Answers for the Librarian and the Patron." The three papers that follow represent remarks made in a panel discussion that constituted the Rare Books and Manu- scripts Section general program meeting at the 1983 ALA Annual Conference in Los Angeles. The theme of that meeting was ''Manuscripts and Archives/ Rare Books and Other Printed Material: Integration or Separation?" The issue dealt with by the panelists was whether manuscripts and archival materials are better separated from or integrated with rare books and printed material in special collections. Three thoughtful practitioners offered dif- ferent perspectives on the issue: Clifton H. Jones, who is director of the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist Univer- sity, Dallas; William L. Joyce, who is assis- tant director for Rare Books and Manu- scripts at the New York Public Library; and Richard C. Berner, who was head of the University Archives & Manuscripts Division in the University of Washington Libraries, Seattle, a post from which he is now retired. Jones was responsible for describing and evaluating the separate traditions, conventions, patterns of training and ex- perience, and peer group identification of Donald Farren is associate director for special collections, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 . He was chair, RBMS General Program Planning Committee, ALA Annual Conference, Los Angeles, 1983. 435 436 College & Research Libraries archivists, manuscripts librarians, and li- brarians dealing with rare books and other printed materials. Joyce was responsible for describing and evaluating the adminis- tration of manuscripts and archives inte- grated with rare books and other printed material. Berner was responsible for de- scribing and evaluating the administra- tion of manuscripts and archives separate from rare books and other printed mate- rial. Quite naturally, the panelists' re- marks ranged beyond the strict limits of the topics assigned them, both in their ini- tial presentations and in the general dis- cussion during the question-and-answer period. There are no fixed solutions to the issues dealt with in these papers. In fact, some aspects of the same issues were taken up again in a panel discussion held during November 1984 the 1984 annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists 1 m Washington. The panel discussion on the theme ''The Chal- lenge of Integration: Promoting Special Collections in the Parent Institution'' was organized by the Manuscript Repositories Section of the Society of American Archi- vists, which invited Washington-area members of the Rare Books and Manu- scripts Section to participate. These three papers reflect the thinking of the panelists at the time they delivered their remarks. By now their thinking has advanced by reason of further contempla- tion, consultation, and experience. It is hoped that readers of these papers will likewise be inspired to continue and to ad- vance their thinking on the issues pre- sented.