I agree with everything Mr. Miller says on this subject. I would also add that a factor that argues against collecting textbooks in archives is their lack of uniqueness, a quality much published material shares. While old textbooks do have some research value, there are some libraries out there that specialize in collecting them, and circulating many of them by interlibrary loan. You may also want to consider such questions as: Is there an especially strong demand for historic textbooks at your institution? Can the demand me met conveniently by other collections? If the textbooks were published, produced or authored at your institution, that may tip the balance in favor of collecting them. But as a general rule, I would think collecting them might be better left to others. Thomas J. Wood Archivist Archives/Special Collections LIB 144 University of Illinois at Springfield One University Plaza, MS BRK 140 Springfield IL 62703-5407 217-206-6520 | [log in to unmask] | <http://www.uis.edu/archives/> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>