«Trusted stewards of cultural heritage materials». Special collections processing skills in light of the study day “Nuovi strumenti per le collezioni speciali: dalle linee guida IFLA alle alle realtà professionali”

Abstract

On 7 February 2025, the National Commission for Special Libraries, Archives and Author Libraries, together with the AIB section Campania and the Library of the Agricultural Area of the University of Naples Federico II, promoted the study day Nuovi strumenti per le collezioni speciali: dalle linee guida IFLA alle realtà professionali. During the meeting, translations of two tools issued by IFLA, Gifts for the Collections: Guidelines for Libraries e Competency Guidelines for Rare Books and Special Collections Professionals, were presented. The panel discussion on the competencies of special collections professionals offered a plurality of voices and mapped out the most pressing issues to be addressed. The day ended with the presentation of the book edited by Lorenzo Baldacchini, “Le collezioni speciali: esperienze ed orizzonti. Atti della giornata di studio promossa da Biblioteca nazionale centrale di Roma, Commissione nazionale AIB Biblioteche speciali, archivi e biblioteche d’autore”. The meeting addressed some key issues in the treatment of special collections. Firstly, the terminological issue, which was also addressed in relation to foreign vocabularies; the difficult management of the complexity inherent in such collections; the need for hybridisation of skills; the role of special collections in relation to community involvement and public history; university training of future professionals and the regulatory framework governing the certification of skills.