Welcome to the Rare Books and Special Collections Technical Services blog at Princeton University Library. The Technical Services team consists of the archivists, catalogers, and associated staff who create and manage the resource records and discovery systems that connect users to Princeton’s impressive range of rare books, manuscripts, archival collections, and other unique materials.

In addition to creating discovery tools such as catalog records and finding aids, our team is also responsible for overall collections management, including maintaining the data and metadata about our collections, both old and new; overseeing space management, such as organizing the vaults that house rare books and special collections materials; and leading special projects to enhance access and support discovery, to name a few. While our work happens behind closed doors, we play an essential role as mediators to facilitate interaction between users and library materials, preparing collections for the reading room, and increasingly, for online access.

Our aim with this blog is to share some of the highlights of our work with fellow professionals and patrons alike, in order to provide a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes activities of the Rare Books and Special Collections Department as well as to foster important conversations about access, discovery, and use of special collections both in theoretical and practical terms. In the spirit of promoting creativity in our field and sharing what we’ve learned with others, we warmly welcome you to “the other side.”