392G - Management of Preservation Programs

Spring 2008

Class 3*ARL Preservation Program Models

*Preservation Policy and Planning

*Models for Selection

ARL Preservation Program Models

Review models

Preservation Policy

“Developing an institutional sense of preservation priorities and a firm direction for the program is critical to the success of the preservation effort and enables libraries to make the most effective use of local resources that can be devoted to preservation and make their own unique contribution to cooperative efforts.”

Carolyn Morrow

Developing a Preservation Program: What’s Needed?

Leadership from the library administration Inclusion of preservation planning in overall library

planning A highly focused preservation plan A firm implementation plan that phases in a timeline

for the introduction of new preservation activities Assignment of responsibility for discrete portions of

the program to competent people Cost-effective and sensible elements for the

program Good timing

Preservation Policy Development

Policy development allows a library/archives to establish or shape an institution-specific contract for preservation activities. Process can be crucial to acceptance and promulgation of a program throughout the institution. Institutional consensus defeats “turfdome.”

Policy development establishes lines of authority and assigns responsibility for certain activities, such as selection for preservation or security.

A preservation policy will list explicitly the preservation goals and priorities that have been discussed and agreed upon and will broadcast those decisions with the cachet of administrative sanction.

The development process will reexamine those activities that it may take for granted - such as library binding or reshelving - in light of overall preservation goals and activities.

The development of a preservation policy creates an atmosphere that will support institutional change.

A preservation policy reflects the reality that libraries are systems built on standards and practices. Standardization is necessary to maintain order and ensure quality and cost efficiency; however, unexamined practices lead to entrenchment.

Developing a Preservation Program

Three main sub-activities: Articulation of the program components and

strategy Development of the infrastructure Implementation of preservation activities

throughout the collection

Elements of a Preservation Policy Statement

Statement of need that describes and qualifies the preservation challenge

Definitions of preservation concepts and terms

Descriptions of general preservation practices and principles

Strategies for selection for preservation

An outline of the preservation program, including its organization, staffing, facilities, funding and services to the collection

A discussion of consortial and cooperative relationships and opportunities with other libraries

Example Preservation Policies and Plans

University of Colorado at Boulder

NEH/ARL Preservation Planning Program Final Report. August 1990.

National Archives of CanadaContext: Revision of 1987 Conservation Policy*Include technology-dependent records*Include concept of current and long-term accessibility as purposes for preservation*Need to keep users informed of the effects that preservation actions may have on the meaning which archival records communicate*Change of authority for policy

Review policy.http://www.collectionscanada.ca/preservation/1304_e.html

Columbia Universityhttp://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/services/preservation/policies.html

Yale University

Selection for Preservation

Difficulty of determining what collection items will be needed in the future. Scholarship responds to intellectual discourse and disciplinary trends over time. Materials little used today may be used in innovative ways by future scholars. What to do?!

Assumptions

No one institution can afford to preservation everything in its collection.

Priorities must be set among collections, based on the quality of the collections and the vulnerability of materials to loss.

Not every item needs to be preserved. Ultimately, the decision to preserve must be made

on an item-by-item basis. Each item deteriorates at an individual rate depending on its physical composition and use.

The large scale of preservation issues usually requires that priorities for preservation action be based on considering entire collections. (Do we agree? What do we mean by entire collections?)

Collections as a whole are made of individual items, thus policies and procedures for treating the individual items will be based on the physical condition of the item rather than on the quality of the work. (Do we agree?)

Identification for Preservation

Most often a by-product of other library processes. This approach often identifies materials that are currently used.

Ways to Identify: Condition and Use Condition and Library Processing Condition at Shelf Collection and Condition Scholarly Review Vulnerability to Loss or Deterioration Value or Uniqueness

Decision-Making: “Reselection”

Defining “reselection” Many institutions’ policies dictate that treatment for

items that can be done quickly and relatively inexpensively without consultation with collection development.

Overarching collection development policies, created in consultation with preservation staff, can in many cases obviate the need for direct consultation with bibliographers.

For brittle materials and those with artifactual value, a “reselection” decision must be made, which involves decision-making by collection development. The same applies for de-accession and collection transfer decisions.

Reselection involves selectors, bibliographers, subject specialists or curators--those responsible for the development and maintenance of the collection.

Re-selection Information

What is the relation of the item to the collection? Do other accessible copies exist through

cooperative arrangements, in the geographic area, or through ILL?

Has the item has been preserved elsewhere (e.g. microfilm)?

Are replacements (reprint, facsimile, microform) available commercially?

The information gathering process can require extensive bibliographic searching.

Preservation Options

Based on the information gathered, there are various preservation options:

Treat (repair, treatment, commercial rebind) Reformat Replace Send back to stacks (“planned deterioriation”)

with or without protective enclosure De-accession/relocate Some combination of the above

Collection Level Decision Making

“Great Collections” - Maintain the integrity of the broader intellectual value of whole subject areas regardless of use patterns. Collections may be significant because they meet local academic or community research priorities or because they meet national and international needs.

Research Libraries Group Conspectus