Archival and manuscript collections often receive items of memorabilia such as badges, emblems, insignias, jewelry, leather goods, needlework, etc., in connection with gifts of personal papers.
Most libraries usually have a well written, legally tight acquisitions policy that rejects beforehand any object which is not some kind of print or text-based document.
Some very large libraries have a public relations department, which can find museum objects useful for enhancing or promoting the general collection.
Examples might include a feather pen believed to have been owned by John Hancock; lead type from Benjamin Franklin's printing press; or a collection of Vietnam War era canteens, mess kits, uniforms, combat boots, etc.
Within the restricted domain of cataloging rules in the field of library and information science, the term "realia" is used to describe those mass-produced objects that incorporate documents or significant amounts of text (such as world globes, decks of quiz cards, and board games), but which have a format which makes it hard to incorporate them in the general collection or to describe them easily in the catalog.
Objects of realia, due to their diverse and compound nature, pose unique preservation challenges for libraries and archives.
In fact, when such items are unaccompanied by written documentation, as is often the case, the intellectual value sought by most library collections is often uncertain.
Unlike books, which are mostly cellulose (paper, boards, natural fibers) and occasionally leather, realia are often the sum of many parts.
One exasperating group of items that might find their way into library collections are textiles and handcrafts: hair, needlework, clothing.
However, much is known of the chemical structure and behavior of human hair, thanks in large part to the cosmetology industry; there is certainly a great deal of scholarship surrounding the care of other protein-based fibers, silk, and wool.
Wool, because of its ability to wick moisture and resist flame, was commonly used in Western textiles throughout history, and might present itself in the form of bed linens, clothing, and needlework.
[3] Under examination with a microspectrophotometer, scientists have discovered that high heat, UV exposure, and even artificial lighting can be quite damaging to human hair.
Small items, such as locks of hair, fragments of cloth, or lace can be stored flat, sandwiched between sheets of tissue or encapsulated in mylar.