In the Age of the Web: Strategies for Building a Collection of Primary Sources for European History from the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century

CHANCESI N TECHNOLOGY and evolving trends in contemporary scholarship are enhancing the role of the research library as the principal custodian of the written and printed artifacts that serve as primary sources for studying the literature and history of western Europe from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century. In order to respond to an increasing desire of scholars to examine original source materials in their original state, the Newberry Library has pursued new avenues of interinstitutional cooperation in collection development. These new approaches include: 1.A unique program ofjoint acquisitions with five midwestern institutions of higher education, 2. The en bloc acquisition of rare book collections from religious colleges and seminaries, and 3. The acquisition of selected books, appropriately deemed out of scope, from museums and historical sites open to the general public. Proceeding in this manner, the Newberry Library has since 1991added eighteen medieval manuscripts and several thousand rare printed volumes, dating from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, significantly augmenting the preexisting strengths of its holdings.