Introduction

The online Treasures of Southeast Florida: A Directory of Special Collections was developed to facilitate the use of library resources throughout the five county SEFLIN area: Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin Counties. Its purpose is also to promote awareness of these materials and assist researchers, scholars, the general public, and librarians in locating these specialized resources. This directory was funded by an LSTA grant from the State of Florida and replaces the print SEFLIN Guide to Special Collections compiled 1995-96.

Libraries are encouraged to suggest new entries to the Directory and to keep existing entries up to date.

Definition

Based on the definition in the American Library Association’s Glossary of Library Terms, we will consider a special collection as “a collection of material of a certain form, on a certain subject, of a certain period, or gathered together for some particular reason”, in a library, educational, or research facility in the area. 

A special collection could also be considered to be a collection of books, archives, manuscript materials, photography, and other similar items designated by the repository to have special significance and that document local history, celebrities, local government, industries or other organizations, or were gathered for some particular reason.  These materials are usually separated from the general collection because they are of a certain form, on a certain subject, of a certain period or geographical area, rare, fragile, or valuable for research or monetary reasons.

Floridiania collections will be considered “special” only if all or part of the material is unique.

Materials may be primary or secondary sources.  A primary source is anything that is the original item, i.e. correspondence, manuscripts, diaries, etc.  A secondary source is any commercially or privately published item.

Criteria for Inclusion

The following criteria are intended as guidelines for libraries seeking to identify special collections for inclusion in the Directory.  All criteria need not be satisfied for a collection to be identified in the Directory.

1. The collection is recognized as an important resource at the local or state level.  The collection is considered to be significant within a discipline.
2. The subject field is limited; the focus is on a particular subject or individual.
3. The collection is more than an area of strength in a broader subject field.
4. The collection is separated physically and/or bibliographically from the general library collection.

Criteria for Exclusion

1. Collections which represent the interests of an individual and which do not have an intrinsic focus or historical dimension.
2. Collections which show no evidence of the supporting bibliographic apparatus necessary to access the collection for research purposes.
3. Collections comprised of a series of specimens which do not form a comprehensive or cohesive whole.