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PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS PROCEDURE IS STILL UNDERGOING REVISION AS OF FEBRUARY 2026.
Scope: This procedure describes the LTS procedure for transferring items from campus collections to RMC, provides the context and the steps for LTS staff to transfer items from central-campus collections to the corresponding Rare collections at the Annex. Often called "medium rare" transfers, these are low-use, but historically significant resources that are sent to be housed at the Annex, and whose , but retain the stricter circulation policy, where patrons can view them only in the reading room, much like regular RMC materials.
Unit: Database Quality
Date last updated: February 18, 2026
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Overview
Material Eligible for Rare Annex
Processing PointsLocations
Procedure
Physical Examination of the Book
Editing the Voyager Record
Special Cases
Mulitivolumes
Bound With
Charged or Missing Volumes
Sending A Book To Conservation
Book Returned from Conservation
Slavery or Nathan Location
Provenances (Former Owners)
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A. Material Eligible for Rare Annex At Cornell, all items printed before 1865 must be provided with secure, climate-controlled storage and monitored reading room access. In addition, materials printed after 1850 and before 1930 should be evaluated for significant artifactual, historical, or market characteristics and assigned to a location best suited to ensure long term preservation and use. All items 1864 and earlier are processed automatically for Rare Annex. Items from 1865-1869 are reviewed by RMC staff for Rare Annex; any items not selected for Rare Annex will be processed for the Circulating Annex. Items from 1870-1930 are reviewed by RMC staff for Rare Annex; it not selected for Rare Annex, the appropriate Olin/Uris selector reviews for central campus or circulating Annex. Full criteria for Cornell University Library's transfer guidelines are available on the staff web at Policy on Transfer of General Collection Material to Special Collections. (<--This link is not working. it was on staffweb-- possibly a Collection Dev. site?)Anchor A1 A1
B. Processing PointsLocationsAnchor A2 A2
Currently, transfer of material identified as rare from central campus to the Library Annex has been approved for the following libraries:
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Requests from other unit libraries to send rare material to the Library Annex should be submitted to the appropriate contact in Library Technical Services. DBQ staff will, in turn, contact representatives from RMC, the Library Annex, the LTS Automation Team, Digitization and Conservation Services, and, if necessary, the FOLIO Upgrade Team to set up circulation, programmatic and workflow aspects of executing the transfers.
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A. Physical Examination of the Book Anchor B1 B1
- Determine the binding type from among the following materials:
- Full, 3/4, or 1/2 leather over marbled boards
- Library buckram
- Publisher's cloth
- Pictorial publisher's cloth
- Library pamphlet
- Spine and/or upper cover gilt
- Determine the provenance and/or donor by looking inside the front and back of the book for these indicators:
- Bookplate(s)
- Stamp(s)
- Signature(s)
- Inscription(s)
- If the book is part of a multivolume set, refer to the "Multivolume" instructions in the Special Cases section below
- Check the book for continuous pagination. If it is not continuous and the book is a bound with, refer to the "Bound with" instructions in the Special Cases section below
- If the book requires repair, refer to the "Sending a book to Conservation" instructions in the Special Cases section below
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