EDITORS' NOTE

Abstract

When we assumed the editorship of this professional journal we asked each other, “what's so special about special collections?” For that matter, “who cares about the rare books, manuscripts, and other artifacts that fall under the rubric of ‘cultural heritage’?” We had a hunch that these seemingly disingenuous questions, when put to a cross-section of scholars, students, booksellers, archivists, collectors, artists, authors, curators, publishers, photographers, filmmakers, performance artists and, of course, librarians, would provoke thoughtful anecdotes, lively discourse, and passionate disputation. We were not wrong.

The responses we received yield evidence of a broad constituency. Despite differing approaches to cultural . . .