The Vatican library maintains a total of 5 collections, that hold precious information and Christian Catholic history and tradition dating back to the early centuries. These collections are classified as follow:
· Manuscript Collections
· Archival Collections
· Printed Books Collections
· Prints and Drawings
· Coins and Medals
The collection that most draw my attention is the “Printed Books Collections”, as it not only contains a large amount of historical material but it also has large quantities of new material being added onto it, not without going through a rigorous classification process to ensure that the items going onto the shelves will meet the selection criteria without compromising in any way the value, tradition and well regarded reputation of the library.
There are about one and a half million of printed books in this collection, which are classified in two main categories:
a) Closed collections: Also called the Library of the Pope, are books collections that don’t have any more books added onto it as they are historical, very rich in rare books of inestimable intellectual and material value which have been kept intact and very well preserved. Included in this collection are books written by past popes , donated by important Italian families (e.g. the Barberini Collection) or noted collectors (e.g. the Rossiani Collection) and also princely collections such as the Palatine Collection, which is the main reason that this collection is considered as a truly “library of libraries”.
b) Open collections: Or “General Collections” contain books that are constantly being added onto it. These are most of the material available on the open shelves in the reading rooms and although they also contain old and rare books, their main purpose is to provide readers with reference and secondary literature to aid in the study of the materials which are preserved in the Library.
The Printed Book collections are the responsibility of the “Printed Books Department”, which manages the acquisitions of new publications and the exchanges of published material with other institutions; it selects from the books which are donated to the Library and receives those which are donated to the Holy Father; it catalogues the books which enter the collections and ensures they are adequately preserved in the stacks or assigns it to the open shelves in the Reading Rooms.
The process of selection and cataloguing of new material is undertaken as a daily task by different sections or departments in the library. These departments and their main duties include:
· Accessions Section: Is the most important purchasing organ of the Library as it performs all administrative tasks for the material that ingress the library.
· Catalogue Section: Receives all acquired items from the Accessions Section and catalogues them according to the international ISBD standard in MARC 21 format.
· Reading Rooms and Stacks Section: It is responsible for the care and the supervision of the Reading Rooms and for front Desk services to assist patrons in finding information.
· Books Section: It encourages the study of the history of books by coordinating the specialized cataloguing of old books and making them available to readers.
· The Non Book Materials Section: It deals with the use of the non-book materials which are kept in the Library.
After reading the stringent and complex procedures required to preserve the quality and high value of the collections, it is easy to understand why the Vatican Library is regarded as the largest and one of the more important libraries in the world, which in my opinion it also set high standards of operations that can be used as an operative model for other libraries that are required to maintain and manage old documentations and continually inspect new material to grow their collections without compromising the quality and services of the library.
Bibliography
The Vatican Library Collections, The Vatican Library, viewed 24 September 2011,
Research at the Reopened Vatican Library, Thomas M. Izbicki, viewed 25 September 2011
The Holy See - Vatican Library/Secret Archives, The Holy See Website, viewed on 25 September 2011, http://www.vatican.va/library_archives/index.htm
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