Initiative Review Group IV Final Report June 30, 2001

Develop and implement a comprehensive preservation/conservation program.

Members:

Lora Lennertz (leader), Michael Bland, Deb Kulczak, Cassandra McCraw, and Ellen Williams

1. Briefly describe the background, present setting/structure which applies to the initiative

The University Libraries has performed limited preservation activities throughout the last decade. Annual efforts at binding periodicals are consistent with level 3 ARL benchmarking standards. The library has also added security gates which increase the security of the collection and performed barcoding which will assist in inventorying functions. There is no concentrated management of preservation, and therefore activities are performed throughout the library with no centralized guidance, policies, or purchasing. Preservation efforts are primarily focused in the Binding Department and the Special Collections Division. The Binding Department provides most conservation activities for the general collection; however, due to the levels of binding activity, the department is unable to make much headway in conserving materials within the collection. While the library binds at a high level, in all other preservation activities, functions, and staffing the library performs at ARL level 1 for our collection size.

Please see the document "Preservation Program Benchmarks for Selected Core Activities - ARL library with under 2 million volumes" for more information on the University Libraries benchmarking levels in specific areas of preservation and the document "Preservation - Current Situation" for information on status of specific preservation activities in this library.

2. Develop an inclusive list (in ranked order of importance) of issues that must be addressed/considered for the initiative, consulting non-group personnel as appropriate

Please see the document "Preservation -- Current Situation" for an inclusive list of issues and activities to be addressed and the document "Preservation - Ranked Order" for the ranked order of overarching preservation issues.

3. Briefly describe how the initiative fits into the long-term goals and/or fulfills the mission of the University Libraries.

In order for the University Libraries to perform its multiple roles on campus of supporting the information and reading needs of students, faculty, and staff in the areas of classroom assignments, independent learning, research, and public service, the Libraries must maintain and preserve the collections that support these activities. Such collections include traditional print sources and media as well as emerging digital formats. Moreover, because the University Libraries also serve as a statewide resource for other academic libraries, public libraries in the state, and the general public, our role should be that of leader in the area of preservation/conservation initiatives, including resource sharing and consortial agreements. As the goal of the Libraries is to move toward ARL membership, the adoption of standard library practices in preservation and conservation is a necessary step.

4. Indicate other of the initiatives that should be considered in connection to, coordinated with, or that may overlap the initiative.

Initiatives number 1 and 10 theoretically relate to all the initiatives and therefore with IRG 4. The development of a preservation program will require realignment of functions within the library and perhaps reassignment of staff and is therefore closely related to IRG3. Once personnel and functions are determined, specific spaces designed for preservation and conservation activities will need to be delineated (IRG #5). We believe that preservation is closely related to collection development activities and should be considered in discussions of IRGs #6 and #12. We also believe that digitization includes issues of preservation as well as access and is related to IRGs #8 and #9. Finally consortial relationships with regarding to preservation activities and purchases should also be considered (IRG 13).

5. Note any initiatives or considerations that are lacking from those delineated thus far which may be essential to the planning and redefining process.

Communication and outreach

6. Recommend the names of individuals who are essential to the Initiative Planning Team that works on developing and implementing the initiative in the subsequent phase.

The current IRG team supplies individuals from units currently responsible for preservation activities. Deb, Ellen, and Lora are interested in remaining in the group. We recommend that a member of Special Collections and Automation remain on the team as we discuss new technologies and formats. We would also add a member to represent collection development. We recommend that stacks management, acquisitions, and possibly the Kardex 3 person in Serials be added to the group as they are needed for specific topics.

7. Recommend, based on best educated guess, the amount of time that will be required to effectively develop the plan for implementing the initiative.

We believe that analysis of space and personnel needs - including literature analysis, consultation with an AMIGOS representative (or other individual), and a fieldtrip to a nearby preservation facility -- could be accomplished in six months to one year.

8. Recommend the priority level to be assigned to this initiative in the three-to-five-year planning phase: first (1) = mission-critical; places this initiative among the top few to be engaged in as soon as possible; may also be required to be completed before other initiatives may be worked on second (2) = a very important initiative, deserves attention as soon as possible third (3) = important but not essential to be developed in the first year of planning fourth (4) = important but can be deferred till later in the planning process; has less impact on overall revision of services

Please refer to the document, "Preservation - Ranked Order," for information regarding the priority levels of preservation planning activities indicated below.

The committee believes that the review of preservation administration (personnel, structure, and space planning) are mission critical to the planning process and should be assigned priority one. Disaster preparedness should also be considered immediately as a disaster may occur at any time. Disaster preparedness policies and procedures can be developed in tandem with preservation planning and should not be dependent on the completion of preservation planning for their development. The second tier of items on our list are currently being performed and would benefit from an overarching preservation policy and can therefore be assigned a priority level of four. The last tier of items require comprehensive administration to be performed and are therefore outside of the scope of the planning process itself.

Definition of Preservation

"preservation The activities associated with maintaining library and archival materials for use, either in their original physical form or in some other usable way...Preservation tends to include conservation, but also comprehends techniques of partial preservation of the physical object (e.g., a new binding), as well as procedures for the substitution of the original artifact by materials conversion, whereby the intellectual content of the original is at least partially preserved." - The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science. Chicago, ALA, 1983.