Mandate and Acquisitions Policy
The Special Collections portion of the Archives and Special Collections division acquires, preserves, provides access to, and promotes the use of a wide range of primary resource materials in their original formats, including books, journals, manuscripts, photographs, artifacts and electronic resources in support of the educational and research activities of Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Special Collections staff collect works that add depth or diversity to the general rare books collection, collecting not merely hard-to-obtain or collectible items but also volumes which require more careful handling. These include works with an early publication date; manuscripts and typescripts; presentation/association copies; first editions of belles-letters and of classics in other subject areas; copies of an edition issued in a limited print run; editions which because of some aspects of their physical makeup are unusually interesting examples of the art of book-design; items which because of their physical condition or format are especially liable to be damaged, misplaced or lost; works or particular editions of works difficult or impossible to replace.
Special Collections staff look to add to strong subject collections in the areas of Folklore, Pre-Raphaelite Literature and Victorian Literature. New collections in other subject areas will be added as they become available.
Additions to the holdings of the Queen Elizabeth II Special Collections come from direct purchase and also from donations.