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The paper describes the stations of a study tour to selected US American libraries which give particular attention to their special collections and whose special collections contribute to their distinctive image. Of particular interest was the question of what German libraries can learn with regard to practice and strategy related to their special collections. The authors visited among other libraries the New York Public Library, the Pierpont Morgan Library, the Yale University Library with the Beinecke Library and the Harvard College Library with the Houghton Library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Herzogin Anna Amalia Library in Weimar/Germany was the victim of a ravaging fire on the evening of September 2, 2004. The article gives a report on the organisational aspects involved in dealing with the accident and describes the internal organizational structure which was instrumental in mastering this challenge. Finally the author gives a short survey on the status of the progress in the areas of book restoration, replacement of lost books, and public relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces this special issue of the journal, which contains contributions on preservation management for heavily damaged library materials, originally presented at a colloquium on November 7, 2012, dedicated to surveying reconstruction efforts after the 2004 fire at the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek in Weimar, Germany.