Social sciences; Communication and the arts; Indigenous; Intangible cultural heritage; Knowledge management; Library; Special collections; Tibet
摘要
Within the world of library collection and preservation, the focus has historically been on the dual preservation of physical form and intellectual knowledge as represented through symbols (text), images, metadata, and organization of information. Certainly, the philosophy of the library to "enhance learning and ensure access to information for all" (ALA 2008) is paramount in directing resources and collection development in response to the needs of the user community. However, research and educational material may be found beyond the explicit materiality of books and the text they contain; understanding and recognizing spiritual and cultural properties implicitly located within certain library materials may provide additional fields of research, as well as learning and collaboration opportunities. Using adjunct literature within the field of museum studies and ethnography, this paper proposes to discuss how simultaneous recognition of intangible and tangible properties of certain objects is relevant to the library. The special collections library is perhaps the best place where such considerations can be made - it is a library dedicated to preserving not only copies of each work, but variant copies whose tangible and intangible properties may vary from one another - though some examples may apply to academic or public libraries as well. The scope of this undertaking will include a discussion of the adjunct and related literature from the museum world, identification of books, or types of books that have spiritual or cultural values to be considered, collection of cultural or religious viewpoints related to identified materials from members of one of those communities that create or use these items (Buddhist), and discussion of how such findings can inform the ongoing operations of special collections libraries and their mission as cultural memory institutions.
