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Preservation is a branch of Library and Information Science concerned with maintaining or restoring access to artifacts, documents and records through the study, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of decay and damage. Image File history File linksMetadata 1951PreservationOfDeclarationOfIndependenceByNBS.jpg NBS preserving the U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1951 Source: Department of Commerce Photographic Services File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata 1951PreservationOfDeclarationOfIndependenceByNBS.jpg NBS preserving the U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1951 Source: Department of Commerce Photographic Services File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
As a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce’s Technology Administration, the National Institute of Standards (NIST) develops and promotes measurement, standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3072x2048, 1965 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Book User:Brighterorange Merton College Library ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3072x2048, 1965 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Book User:Brighterorange Merton College Library ...
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ...
Library and information science (LIS) is the study of issues related to libraries and the information fields. ...
It should be distinguished from conservation which refers to the treatment and repair of individual items to slow decay or restore them to a usable state. Conservation is occasionally used interchangeably with preservation, particularly outside the professional literature. == == == == [[Media:Conservation may refer to the following: Politics and policy Conservation movement, movement seeking to protect plant and animal species as well as the habitats they live in Conservation ethic in relation to preserving ecosystems Energy conservation, reduheck yea cing non-renewable energy consumption Water conservation Wildlife conservation Conservation authority...
History
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Main article: History of preservation
Antecedents - Oral tradition or oral culture, the transmission of information from one generation to the next without a writing system.
- Antiquarian practices, including scribal practice, burial practice, the libraries at Pergamum, Alexandria and other ancient archives.
- Medieval practices, including the scriptorium and relic collection
- Renaissance and the changing conception of artists and works of art
- Enlightenment and the Encyclopedists
- Romantic movement’s imperative to preserve
Oral tradition or oral culture is a way of transmitting history, literature or law from one generation to the next in a civilization without a writing system. ...
Oral culture is a tradition all over the world. ...
Illustration of a 15th century scribe This is about scribe, the profession. ...
For the musician, see Burial (musician). ...
// Founded in the Hellenistic Age, Pergamum or Pergamom was an important ancient Greek city, located in Anatolia. ...
Inscription regarding Tiberius Claudius Balbilus of Rome (d. ...
A Scriptorium was a room or building, usually within a Christian monastery where, during medieval times, manuscripts were written. ...
A relic is an object, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of someone of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial, Relics are an important aspect of Buddhism, some denominations of Christianity, Hinduism, shamanism, and many other personal belief systems. ...
The Renaissance (French for rebirth, or Rinascimento in Italian), was a cultural movement in Italy (and in Europe in general) that began in the late Middle Ages, and spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. ...
Look up Enlightenment in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...
Wanderer above the sea of fog by Caspar David Friedrich Romanticism is an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in 18th century Western Europe during the Industrial Revolution. ...
Significant events - 1933: William Barrow introduces the field of conservation to paper deacidification when he publishes a paper on the acid paper problem. In later studies, Barrow tested paper from American books made between 1900 and 1949 and learned that after forty years the books had lost on average 96 percent of their original strength; after less than ten years, they had already lost 64 percent. Barrow determined that this rapid deterioration was not the direct result of using wood-pulp fibers, since rag papers of this period were also aging rapidly, but rather due to the residual sulfuric acid produced in both rag and wood pulp papers. Manufacturing methods used after 1870 employed sulfuric acid for sizing and bleaching the paper. Earlier papermaking methods left left the final product only mildly alkaline or even neutral. Such paper has maintained its strength for 300 to 800 years, despite sulfur dioxide and other air pollutants. (2. The Library, Edited by Rolland E. Stevens) Barrow's 1933 article on the fragile state of wood pulp paper predicted the shelf life of this paper was approximately 40-50 years. At that point the paper would begin to show signs of deterioration, and he concluded that research for a new media on which to write and print was needed.
- 1966: The Flood of the River Arno in Florence, Italy damaged or destroyed millions of rare books and lead to the development of restoration laboratories and new methods in conservation. This event awakened many historians, librarians, and other professionals to the importance of having a preservation plan. Many consider this flood to be one of the worst disasters since the burning of the Alexandria Library in ancient Rome. It spurred a resurgence in the profession of preservation and conservation worldwide. [1]
- 1987: Terry Saunders releases the film Slow Fires: On the Preservation of the Human Record which examines paper embrittlement resulting from acid decay
William James Barrow (1904 – 1967) was an American chemist and paper conservator, and a pioneer of library and archives conservation. ...
Wood-pulp paper is made from processed tree fiber, and is notoriously acidic. ...
The Arno River flood of November 4, 1966 collapsed the embankment in Florence, killing at least 40 people and damaging or destroying millions of works of art and rare books. ...
A slow fire is a term used in library and information science to describe paper embrittlement resulting from acid decay. ...
Significant preservationists - William Barrow (1904 – 1967) was an American chemist and paper conservator, and a pioneer of library and archives conservation. He introduced the field of conservation to paper deacidification through alkalization.
- Paul N. Banks (1934 - 2000) was Conservator and Head of the Conservation Department at the Newberry Library from 1964 to 1981, and published regularly on bookbinding, book and paper conservation and problems related to conservation. He designed and implemented a curriculum for Columbia University's School of Library Science that dealt directly with preservation training.
- Pamela Darling, author and historian, was Preservation Specialist for the Association of Research Libraries. Her works include materials to aid libraries in establiishing their own comprehensive preservation programs.
- Carolyn Harris worked as head of Columbia University Libraries' Preservation Division from 1981 until 1987, where she worked closely with Paul Banks. She published extensive research throughout her career, especially dealing with mass deacidification of wood-pulp paper.
- Peter Waters delved into the areas of disaster preparedness and the salvage of water-damaged paper goods. His published works outline procedures such as freezing followed by vacuum freeze drying to rescue wet books.
- Nicholson Baker is a contemporary American novelist and author of Double Fold, a criticism of libraries' destruction of paper-based media.
The Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris Preservation Award for outstanding preservation specialists in library and archival science, is given annually by the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, a subdivision of the American Library Association. It is awarded in recognition of professional preservation specialists who have made significant contributions to the field. Banks/Harris award winners: William James Barrow (1904 – 1967) was an American chemist and paper conservator, and a pioneer of library and archives conservation. ...
The Newberry Library is an important research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois, established in 1887 by Walter L. Newberry. ...
Columbia University is a private research university in the United States. ...
The Association of Research Libraries is an organization of research libraries in North America. ...
Mass deacidification is a term used in Library and Information Science for one possible measure against the degradation of paper in old books (the so-called slow fires). One technique proposed was to place books in an evacuated chamber, then introduce diethyl zinc (DEZ). ...
International Paper Company Wood pulp is the most common material used to make paper. ...
Nicholson Baker (born January 7, 1957) is a contemporary American novelist. ...
Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper is a non-fiction book by Nicholson Baker that was published in April 2001. ...
// The Banks/Harris award was established to honor the memory of Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris, two early leaders in library preservation, on behalf of the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), a Division of the American Library Association (ALA). ...
ALA Logo The American Library Association (ALA) is a group based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. ...
- Sally Buchanan 2001 - Buchanan received the award in recognition of years of service in the preservation field while an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Science
- Ellen McCrady 2002 - Since 1975, McCrady has edited and published the "Abbey Newsletter", covering important information for preservation professionals. She also conducts research regarding papermaking and acid testing.
- John F. Dean 2003 - Since its inception in 1985, Dean has led the Department of Preservation and Conservation at Cornell University.
- Jan Merrill-Oldham 2004 - As the Malloy-Rabinowitz Preservation Librarian at Harvard University, Merrill-Oldham oversees the Weissman Preservation Center and the Preservation and Imaging Department.
- Paul Conway 2005 - Conway is a professor in the University of Michigan School of Information and has worked with Yale and [Duke University]] after beginning his career at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. His research and educational work focuses primarily on digital preservation and electronic media.
- Gary Frost 2006 - Currently a conservator at the University of Iowa Libraries, Frost has been an educator and practitioner in the field of library preservation for over 35 years.
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related, doctoral/research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. ...
Cornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA. Its two medical campuses are in New York City and Education City, Qatar. ...
Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ...
The School of Information (SI) at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a graduate school offering both a Master of Science in Information (MSI) and a Doctor of Information (Ph. ...
YALE (Yet Another Learning Environment) is an environment for machine learning experiments and data mining. ...
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library is part of National Archives and Records Administrations presidential library system. ...
The University of Iowa -- or Iowa for short -- is a major national research university located on a 1,900-acre campus in Iowa City, Iowa, USA, on the banks of the Iowa River in East Central Iowa. ...
Practices
Care and handling - Exhibitions
- Circulating collections
- Special collections
Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience, a temporary presentation of art. ...
Special Collections (often abbreviated to or ) is the name applied to the department within a public or academic library that houses rare or old materials including books, theses, incunabula, handwritten manuscripts and other documents. ...
Research and testing With old media deteriorating or showing their vulnerabilities and new media becoming available, research remains active in the field of conservation and preservation. Everything from how to preserve paper media to creating and maintaining electronic resources is being explored by students and professionals in library and information science. The two main issues that most libraries tend to face are the rapid disintegration of acidic paper and water damage (due to flooding, plumbing problems, etc). Therefore, these areas of preservation, as well as new digital technologies, receive much of the research attention.
The American Library Association has many scholarly journals that publish articles on preservation topics, such as College and Research Libraries, Information Technology and Libraries, and Library Resources and Technical Services. Scholarly periodicals in this field from other publishers include International Preservation News, Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, and Collection Management among many others.
Regional centers - The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Phildelphia, PA. CCAHA is a non-profit conservation laboratory specializing in the treatment of art and historic artifacts on paper. The Center also trains museum and library professionals in disaster planning, records and archives management.
- The Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, MA. Since its inception in 1973, the Center has instructed institutions and organizations, as well as librarians, conservators, preservationists and museum professionals in preservation care and procedures.
The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) was founded in 1977 as a reaction to the growing problem of paper deterioration occurring in repositories in the New England area. ...
The Northeast Document Conservation Center was founded in 1973 as a reaction to the growing problem of paper deterioration occurring in repositories in the New England area. ...
Vendor services Because of the complicated and often expensive nature of preservation activities, libraries, museums, and other educational facilities are often unable to adequately repair and preserve their own items. Many private entities have stepped in to provide preservation and repair services. Listed here are many of these businesses.
Archives and Special Collections
Library Binding One method of preserving a library collection is to rebind paperback items in hard cover library binding. Some facilities do this themselves, but there are also commercial companies that work exclusively in library binding. ...
Exhibitions
Branches of Preservation
Standard functions of preservation programs - Collections Care refers to the general maintenance and preventive care of a collection as a whole. This can include activities such as security, environmental monitoring, preservation surveys and more specialized activities such as mass deacidification.
- Conservation refers to the treatment and repair of individual items to slow decay or restore them to a usable state. Conservation is occasionally used interchangeably with preservation, particularly outside the professional literature.
- Digital preservation refers to the maintenance of digitally stored information. This should not be confused with digitization, which is a process of creating digital information which must, in turn, be digitally preserved. Means of digital preservation include refreshing, migration, replication and emulation.
- Disaster Preparedness refers to the practice of arranging for the necessary resources and planning the best course of action to prevent or minimize damage to a collection in the event of a disaster of any level of magnatude.
- Reformatting refers to the practice of creating copies of an object in another type of data storage device. Reformatting processes include microfilming and digitization.
For other uses, see Security (disambiguation). ...
Mass deacidification is a term used in Library and Information Science for one possible measure against the degradation of paper in old books (the so-called slow fires). One technique proposed was to place books in an evacuated chamber, then introduce diethyl zinc (DEZ). ...
== == == == [[Media:Conservation may refer to the following: Politics and policy Conservation movement, movement seeking to protect plant and animal species as well as the habitats they live in Conservation ethic in relation to preserving ecosystems Energy conservation, reduheck yea cing non-renewable energy consumption Water conservation Wildlife conservation Conservation authority...
It has been suggested that Digital obsolescence be merged into this article or section. ...
Digitizing, or digitization, is the process of turning an analog signal into a digital representation of that signal. ...
// Disasters & Information Technology As information technology systems, networks, and organizations become complex, disaster recovery becomes more essential to the continuity of companies worldwide. ...
Many different consumer electronic devices can store data. ...
A roll of microfilm Microfiche Microforms are processed films that carry images of documents to users for transmission, storage, reading and printing. ...
Digitizing, or digitization, is the process of turning an analog signal into a digital representation of that signal. ...
Media specific issues and treatments Ephemera are documents published with a short intended lifetime. ...
In library classification systems, realia are objects such as coins, tools, games, toys, or other physical objects that do not easily fit into the neat categories of books, periodicals, sound recordings, or the like. ...
Acid-free paper is paper that has a neutral or basic pH (7 or greater), although paper having a pH between 6 and 7 is often also considered acid-free. ...
Current Degree and Certificate Programs for Moving Image Preservation: New York University: Moving Image Archiving & Preservation [1] The L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation[2] located at the George Eastman House ...
INTRODUCTION There are multiple manifestations of magnetic media, however this article focuses on recommended best practices for handling, cleaning and storage of magnetic audiotapes in an archival repository, either in the form of open reels or enclosed cassettes. ...
// Oral history is a method of historical documentation, using interviews with living survivors of the time being investigated. ...
An undated color photograph from 1905 to 1915 by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii Color photography was explored throughout the 1800s. ...
Architectural reprography covers a variety of technologies, media, and supports typically used to make multiple copies of original technical drawings and related records created by architects, landscape architects, engineers, surveyors, mapmakers and other professionals in building and engineering trades. ...
Education One of the biggest challenges in the field of preservation today is educating a library's community, especially librarians and other staff, in the best ways to handle materials as well as the conditions in which particular materials will decay the least. This challenge is exacerbated by the fact that preservation is a peripheral element of most library science curricula; indeed, there are few places where one can receive a specialized education in preservation.
The primary degree granting insitution for library and archival preservation is the University of Texas at Austin's School of Information Science. The conservation and preservation program is offered in partnership with the Kilgarlin Center for Preservation of the Cultural Record and trains both conservators and preservation administrators. Other conservation programs in the United States focus on Art Conservation and are considered to be more museum focused than library focused. These programs are all part of the Association of North American Graduate Programs in the Conservation of Cultural Property (ANAGPIC).
The Rutgers Preservation Management Institute (PMI) provides post-graduate training in preservation administration for working librarians who have already completed a Master's degree. UT Austin also offers certificates of advanced study in conservation and preservation to librarians who already hold their MLS.
Another educational resource available to preservationists is the Northeast Document Conservation Center or NEDCC. This institution was founded in 1973 as a reaction to the growing problem of paper deterioration occurring in repositories in the New England area. The Center provides institutions and organizations, as well as librarians, conservators, preservationists, and museum professionals, with help in learning proper care and procedures to better preserve the integrity of their collections. The institution provides a variety of services such as imaging, surveys and consultations, and digitation. They also assist with disaster planning. The educational opportunities it provides include provision of workshops, conferences, and specialized trainings. Additional online courses are also available. For instance, some of the workshops offerred by the NEDCC include: Basic Preservation, Collections Care, Emergency Preparedness, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Identification and Care of Photographs, Basic and Intermediate Book Repair, Basic Paper Repair, Preservation of Scrapbooks, Preservation Technologies, Holdings Maintenance, Creating and Maintaining Digital Collections, Scanning Training, and Grant Writing.
Additional preservation education is available to librarians through various professional organizations, such as:
- American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, AIC
- American Library Association (ALA) [2]
- Amigoes Library Services Preservation Service
- Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) [3]
- Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC)
- Buffalo State College. Art Conservation Department, Buffalo, NY [4]
- [5] Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies, Mount Carroll, IL.
- George Eastman House. School of Film & Video Preservation Rochester, NY [6]
- The Kilgarlin Center for Preservation of the Cultural Record
- Library Binding Institute [7]
- New York University. Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, New York, NY [8]
- North Bennet Street School. Boston, MA
- Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC)
- The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Phildelphia, PA (link below)
- Queen’s University. Master of Art Conservation Program, Ont, Canada [9]
- Rare Book School (RBS) at the University of Virginia [10]
- Society of American Archivists [11]
- Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET) [12]
- University of Delaware. Winterthur Art Conservation Program, Newark, DE [13]
- The National Archives [14]
ALA Logo The American Library Association (ALA) is a group based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. ...
The Association for Information and Image Management or AIIM (pronounced aim) is an international industry association focused on enterprise content management (ECM). ...
Buffalo State College, often referred to colloquially as Buff State, is a public, liberal arts college in Buffalo, New York and is part of the State University of New York. ...
The George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection in Rochester, New York, comprises over 23,000 titles, including features, shorts, documentaries, newsreels, and paper artifacts. ...
...
New York University (NYU) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational institution in New York City. ...
The Northeast Document Conservation Center was founded in 1973 as a reaction to the growing problem of paper deterioration occurring in repositories in the New England area. ...
The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) was founded in 1977 as a reaction to the growing problem of paper deterioration occurring in repositories in the New England area. ...
Queens University, or simply Queens, is a coeducational, non-sectarian university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, on the edge of Lake Ontario. ...
The Rare Book School is an independent non-profit organization that studies the history of manuscripts, rare books, and special collections. ...
The Society of American Archivists (established 1936) is the oldest and largest archivist association in North America, serving the educational and informational needs of more than 3,400 individual and institutional members. ...
The Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET) is a not-for-profit membership cooperative of libraries and other information organizations in the southeastern U.S. Established in 1973 by the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL), SOLINET collaborates with member libraries and local, regional, and national partners to provide leadership for cooperative...
The University of Delaware (UD or UDel) is the largest university in the U.S. state of Delaware. ...
Non-Academic Facilities and Preservation Public Libraries: Limited, tax-driven funding can often interfere with the ability for public libaries to engage in extensive preservation activities. Materials, particularly books, are often much easier to replace than to repair when damaged or worn. Public libraries usually try to tailor their services to meet the needs and desires of their local communities, which could cause an emphasis on aquiring new materials over preserving old ones. Librarians working in public facilities frequently have to make complicated decisions about how to best serve their patrons. Commonly, public library systems work with each other and sometimes with more academic libraries through interlibrary loan programs. By sharing resources, they are able to expand upon what might be available to their own patrons and share the burdens of preservation across a greater array of systems.
Archival Repositories and Special Collections: Archival facilities focus specifically on rare and fragile materials. With staff trained in appropriate techniques, archives are often available to many public and private library facilities as an alternative to destroying older materials. Items that are unique, such as photographs, or items that are out of print, can be preserved in archival facilities more easily than in many library settings.
Museums: Because so many museum holdings are unique, including print materials, art, and other objects, preservationists are often most active in this setting.
Legal issues Reformatting, or in any other way copying an item's contents, raises obvious copyright issues. In many cases, a library is allowed to make a limited number of copies of an item for preservation purposes. Articles with similar titles include copywrite. ...
Criticism There is a longstanding tension between preservation of and access to library materials, particularly in the area of special collections. Handling materials promotes their progression to an unusable state, especially if they are handled carelessly. On the other hand, materials must be used in order to gain any benefit from them.In a collection with valuable materials, this conflict is often resolved by a number of measures which can include heightened security, requiring the use of gloves for photographs, restricting the materials researchers may bring with them into a reading room, and restricting use of materials to patrons who are not able satisfy their research needs with less valuable copies of an item. These measures can seem intimidating to less experienced researchers who might feel that these preservation measures are in place solely to keep materials out of the hands of the public. Special Collections (often abbreviated to or ) is the name applied to the department within a public or academic library that houses rare or old materials including books, theses, incunabula, handwritten manuscripts and other documents. ...
There is also controversy surrounding preservation methods. A major controversy at the end of the twentieth century centered on the practice of discarding items that had been microfilmed. A similar concern persists over the retention of original documents reformatted by any means, analog or digital. Concerns include a scholarly needs and legal requirements for authentic or original records as well as questions about the longevity, quality and completeness of reformatted materials. Retention of originals as a source or fail-safe copy is now a fairly common practice.
Many digitized items, such as back issues of periodicals, are provided by publishers and databases on a subscription basis. If these companies were to cease providing access to their digital information, facilities that elected to discard paper copies of these periodicals could face significant difficulties in providing access to these items. Discussion as to the best ways to utilize digital technologies is therefore ongoing, and the practice continues to evolve.
See also Look up preservation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Conservation is the profession devoted to the preservation of cultural property for the future. ...
Museology (also called museum studies) is the study of how to organize and manage museums and museum collections. ...
The film preservation, or film restoration, movement is an ongoing project among film historians, archivists, museums, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images which they contain. ...
Historic preservation, heritage management, or heritage conservation is the theory and practice of creatively maintaining the historic built environment and controlling the landscape component of which it is an integral part. ...
Architectural conservation describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of immovable objects are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. ...
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been investigated using the discipline of archaeology. ...
Archival science is the study of the safe storage, cataloguing and retrieval of documents and items. ...
It has been suggested that Digital obsolescence be merged into this article or section. ...
The Ancient Library of Alexandria, an early form of information storage and retrieval. ...
Library and information science (LIS) is the study of issues related to libraries and the information fields. ...
// Disasters & Information Technology As information technology systems, networks, and organizations become complex, disaster recovery becomes more essential to the continuity of companies worldwide. ...
Mass deacidification is a term used in Library and Information Science for one possible measure against the degradation of paper in old books (the so-called slow fires). One technique proposed was to place books in an evacuated chamber, then introduce diethyl zinc (DEZ). ...
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