Introduction

This chapter will cover:

Coping with legal and ethical matters is one of the most important and difficult aspects of managing Special Collections. These matters are important because they crop up throughout Special Collections work and, if not managed properly, can have serious consequences for the organization. ‘Furthermore, Special Collections librarians have extraordinary responsibilities and opportunities associated with the care of cultural property, the preservation of original artifacts, and the support of scholarship based on primary research materials’ (Association of College & Research Libraries, 2003).

The following factors make legal and ethical issues difficult to manage:

How can librarians cope with these challenges? By understanding the law, building effective policies and practices, and collaborating with others in and outside their sector.

This chapter covers the elements of law most commonly met with in Special Collections practice and for which the management is generally devolved to the library. I have not attempted to cover the complexities of contract law, beyond the areas of donation and deposit, already discussed in Chapter 4. Librarians generally engage with this element as part of large capital projects such as digital libraries or new buildings, and their institutions should be seeking qualified legal advice as part of the process.