Book excerpt: First published in 1992, this volume recognises that it is not unusual, when practising librarianship, to come across small to medium collections within the library, which, because they are different from the main collection, are outside the librarian’s experience or are a new type of material not properly managed or exploited. Therefore this volume contains chapters on a range of materials which are united by a certain rarity in the experience of most librarians. It is aimed at those who need to know how to progress from scratch with a collection, but not necessarily to take it into complete specialization. There is information about characteristics of each type of material as well as guidance for their management. Lists of further reading are provided and a note of some important collections.