Special Collections
National Library of Finland
The Collection of Rarities
Collection materials in format
Analogue
The Collection of Rarities includes some particularly valuable, foreign books and periodicals selected from the Humanities Collection.
Collection description
The Collection of Rarities includes some particularly valuable, foreign books and periodicals selected from the Humanities Collection. The oldest section of the collection, signum Rar., was separated from the Humanities Collection in the 1920s and 1930s and it includes 252 works. The second part, signum R., includes around 900 works, which have been selected from the Humanities Collection starting from the 1970s. The R. Collection is still accumulating by selection.
Material type
Books
journals
Accrual status
Cumulative
Main collection
Special CollectionsParent collection
Special collections formed in the libraryRestrictions of use
Only for Special Collections Reading RoomCollection themes
Cataloguing principles
The still accumulating R. Collection is catalogued based on the old signums of the Humanities Collection, with R. added as a prefix. To the older Rar. collection a sequential numbering was added after the prefix Rar., which severed its connection to the original location in the Humanities Collection. The collection is mostly catalogued on title level. Complementary cataloguing is being carried out.
Catalogue information
The collection has been described in the reference database
More information about cataloguing
The collection has been described into the National Library Search.
Signum
H R., H Rar.
Provenance
The books of the collection's Rar. section have been selected mainly from the Humanities Collection under the management of Ragnar Dahlberg in the 1920s and 1930s. The Rar. signum includes rare books, of which the library officials (Ragnar Dahlberg, in particular) wrote articles about in their time. The basis for selecting the collection's books is their rarity, special illustrations, appearance, history of ownership or significance in the history of science. The collection also reflects the library values of its times. The R. Collection's collection process began in the 1970s with similar criteria, in connection to the work carried out by the library's rarity book work group. The collection has also been accrued through purchases and donations.