Appraisal of reprint collections or large series of reprints within manuscript and archival collections is of particular interest to archivists working with voluminous contemporary scientific collections. They have sought to identify and eliminate from collections material that is not unique and has little research value. A dozen articles and books in the archival literature have discussed the collection and appraisal of ephemera, near-print material, and reprints. While several authors have suggested that reprints be appraised closely, they have failed to provide appraisal guidelines.
A review of the existing literature and a set of questions to ask in appraising reprint collections are provided in this article.
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