The National Library of Australia has a small but interesting collection of rare books and manuscripts. These collections are the legacy of a remarkable period of growth in the library's history. Strengths are greatest in British and European materials, particularly from the 18th century. The present collecting activities of the library are…

Three papers on special book collections were presented at the 1986 IFLA general conference. They include: (1) "Far Eastern Collections in the United Kingdom" (B. C. Bloomfield, United Kingdom), which discusses the background of Eastern Studies in the United Kingdom (UK) and the coordination of library provision for Far Eastern…

Southeast Asian Studies programs arose in American higher education after World War II, creating special problems for university and research libraries. The major problems were and still are acquisition and cataloging. The Donn V. Hart Southeast Asian Collection, founded in 1963, is unique in Illinois and contains 21,000 Indonesian; 15,000 Thai;…

Since the establishment of Ohio University's Southeast Asian Studies program in 1967, the university library has worked to develop its Southeast Asia Collection. Following a recent loss of federal funding, the library turned to alternative sources of funding for the collection, including interim emergency funding and project grants from the…

This paper discusses access to Asian serials (i.e., Asian and Western language titles, including publications from Asia, as well as serials about Asia produced elsewhere) in Australian libraries. Background is provided on the development of Asian collections since the 1950s. Results of a 1994 national survey of Asian materials are summarized.…