RBM: Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage is accepting proposals for its Spring (May) 2027 issue! We welcome articles related to special collections librarianship, archives, or museum practice.
Articles should be written in a formal style and range between 3,000 and 5,000 words. The submission deadline is December 20th. If interested in submitting, get in touch with the Editor, Diane Dias De Fazio (diane.diasdefazio@gmail.com). Guidelines for authors can be found here.
The editorial board for RBMS’ flagship journal, RBM: a Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage will gather for four open business meetings. All are welcome to attend!
The meetings times/dates are as follows:
Weds October 21, 3-4:30 Eastern (1st quarter),
Weds Jan 13, 3-430 Eastern (midyear),
Weds Apr 21, 3-430 Eastern (third quarter),
Weds June 16, 3-430 Eastern (annual)
For information on how to join us virtually, please contact Editor Diane Dias De Fazio at diane.diasdefazio@gmail.com.
RBM is always looking for individuals to join our team of peer reviewers! Complete the form at https://bit.ly/RBMPeerReview
Interested in writing a book or media review? Complete our form at https://bit.ly/RBM_Reviews_Reviewer
Suggest a title or website to review at https://bit.ly/RBM_SuggestReview
Thanks for your time and consideration! On behalf of the Board, we hope you’ll join us for an upcoming meeting.
Vol 27, No 1 (2026)
(open access)
Editor’s Note
Editor’s Note: Organization
Diane Dias De Fazio
Articles
Algae in Special Collections: Making Room for STEM
Lucy Perrin
The Ordinary Numinosity of the Book: A Framework for Understanding Affective Encounters in Book Exhibition Contexts
Susana Sanchez-Gonzalez
Widening the Poison Books Scope: Addressing Bibliotoxicology at a Medium- Sized Public University Library
Judith L Silva, Zachary Voras
Anthology: Papers from “The Power of New Voices”
Cataloging a Life’s Work: Notes from the George Bixby James Baldwin Collection
Indica Mattson
Book Reviews
What Primary Sources Teach: Lessons for Every Classroom
Laura French
Futures of Digital Scholarly Editing
Chelcie Juliet Rowell
From the Editorial Board
On Crafting a Policy: Reflections on Membership and Community
Sarah Allison, Anne Bahde, Jeremy Brett, Juli McLoone with Diane Dias De Fazio
RBM: Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage is accepting proposals for its Fall (November) 2026 issue! We welcome articles related to special collections librarianship, archives, or museum practice.
Articles should be written in a formal style and range between 3,000 and 5,000 words. The submission deadline is June 20th. If interested in submitting, get in touch with the Editor, Diane Dias De Fazio (diane.diasdefazio@gmail.com). Guidelines for authors can be found here.
RBM, Vol. 26, Issue 2, Fall 2025
(open access)
Editor’s Note
Fact Check
Diane Dias De Fazio
Articles
Navigating Social Networks at the Margins: Women in Science Archives, Then and Now
Bethany G. Anderson, Mary Borgo Ton, Kristen Allen Wilson
Neutrality Unbound: The Value of Rare Book Collections in STEMM Classrooms
Chad Kamen
“If This Book Should Chance to Roam”: The Importance of Children’s Marginalia in Rare Books Collections
Elliott Kuecker, Katie Grotewiel, Zoe Thomas
Reviews
Gracen Brilmyer and Lydia Tang, eds. Preserving Disability: Disability and the Archival Profession. Library Juice Press, 2024.
Matrice Young
Andi Gustavson and Charlotte Nunes, eds. Transforming the Authority of the Archive: Undergraduate Pedagogy and Critical Digital Archives. Lever Press, 2023. Print/Open access.
Jeannette Schollaert
Editor’s Note
Editor’s Note: Work Is Work
Diane Dias De Fazio
Articles
“Some Days, My Work Is Unbearable”: The Impact of Chronic Illness and Disability on Recruitment and Retention for Workers in American Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries
Melanie Griffin
“But Do They Really Want Me?”: Reflecting on the Language of DEIA Adopted in Entry-Level Job Postings for Special Collections Librarians in 2023
Ruth Xing, Yuzhou Bai
Moving Forward: Membership and the Future of RBMS
Rebecca Bramlett, Eric Friede, Sophia Dahab, Michael Seminara
Getting Inked? A Survey of Current Institutional Marking Practices in Rare Books and Special Collections
Gemma Steele, Hayley Webster
Anthology: Papers from “The Power of New Voices”
Sustainably Critical Cataloging: Maximizing the Impact of Term Funding with the Black Bibliography Project
Mara Caelin
Making Third Spaces Safe Spaces: How Trauma-Informed Care Informs Librarianship
Lyric Grimes
RBM, Vol. 25 no. 2 (2024)
(open access)
Editor’s Note
Diane Dias De Fazio
Articles
An Analysis of RBMS News Blog Job Advertisements, 2013–2021
Ikumi Crocoll, Kelli Hansen
Artist Interviews as a Tool in the Preservation of Artists’ Books
Jessica Pace, Lou Di Gennaro, Josephine Jenks, Catherine E. Stephens
From Mesoamerican Codices to Twentieth-Century Otomí Artists’ Books: Amate Papers in Rare Book Libraries and Special Collections Departments
Remy Jackson
Reviews
Georgios Boudalis. On the Edge: Endbands in the Bookbinding Traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean. Ann Arbor, MI: The Legacy Press, 2023. Hardcover, xii, 334p. $80 (ISBN 9781953421111).
Diane E. Bockrath
Jessica Brantley. Medieval English Manuscripts and Literary Forms. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2022. Hardcover, 346 p. $65. (ISBN: 9780812253849).
Joshua Hutchinson
Vol 25, No 1 (2024)
open access
Articles
Crafting Connections: Bridging Collections and Communities with Knitting
Jacquelyn Sundberg, Kristen Howard
Narrowing the Lens: Preservation Assessment for Digital Manuscripts
Hafsah Hujaleh, Jess Whyte
“But I Believe Survival Is Based upon the Many and Not the Few:” Connecting Librarians and Artists to Build Special Connections
Courtney Becks, Sarah Carter
Describing Games for Special Collections Libraries
Elizabeth Hobart
Anthology: Papers from “The Power of New Voices”
Practical Book History: Making an MLIS Practicum Work for Me
Anna Opryszko
Overnight College Historian: Historical Whiplash and the Flexibility of New Archivists
Louise LoBello
Archiving Against Professionalism
Lia Warner
Feeling What We Teach: Mitigating the Emotional Labor Slide in Affect-Based Instruction
Anastasia Armendariz
Artists’ Books and Critical Literacy Pedagogy: Kara Walker’s Freedom: a Fable
Sam Regal
The Necessity of Embracing Collection Gaps: Moving Towards Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Collecting
Ruth Kramer
RBMS Notes
Chair’s Note
Sarah M. Horowitz
RBMS 2024 Conference Preview
Alison Fraser, Rachel Makarowski
Reviews
Eliasof, Jane Mitchell. Rebranding: A Guide for Historic Houses, Museums, Sites, and Organizations. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield/AASLH, 2022.
Mindy Price
Fox, Adam. The Press and the People: Cheap Print & Society in Scotland, 1500–1785. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020. (electronic book)
Marian Toledo Candelaria
Join editors for printing history and special collections journals and book reviews on May 1 with your questions about publishing!
Have questions about how to turn your work into an article? Want to know more about the vast landscape that is special collections, printing history, and cultural heritage peer-reviewed publications? Join us for a conversation with editors of the following, who are all confirmed speakers:
Attendance to this special one-time-only event is open to the public and free, but you must register in advance through ACRL.
Register at the following link: ala-events.zoom.us/meeting/register/…
Title: ACRL RBM Editorial Board: Virtual Roundtable on Publishing
When: May 1, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
We looking forward to seeing you there!
CONTENTS
Editor’s Note, Richard Saunders
ARTICLES
Shelving Special Collections Materials by Size
John Henry Adams
Manuscripts in the Flesh: Collections-Based Learning with
Medieval Manuscripts at the University of Victoria
Shailoo Bedi, Heather Dean, and Adrienne Williams Boyarin
Placing Papers Update: The Black and Latino Experience in the
Literary Archive Market
Amy Hildreth Chen
BOOK REVIEWS
Janet Marstine and Svetlana Mintcheva, eds. Curating under
Pressure: International Perspectives on Negotiating Conflict and
Upholding Integrity. Review by Martha Tanner.
Jane C. Milosch and Nick Pearce, eds. Collecting and Provenance: A
Multidisciplinary Approach. Review by Margaret Gamm.
Jamie Simek. Beyond the Bake Sale: Fundraising for Local History
Organizations. Review by Susan Illis.