Abstract:
Both scientists and library professionals display an interest in document acquisition sources
and in the reasons for the different size of individual collections. The article addresses these issues,
using the document acquisition experience amassed in the Manuscript Department of the Vilnius
University Library during more than three past decades. In the Manuscript Department, the personal
collections are the richest. Within them, the most numerous are the archives of Vilnius University
scientists. The article discusses the problems of the acquisition for these holdings, noting that some
personal archives may be dispersed at several institutions.
