Initiative Review Group IV Progress Report April 30, 2001
Develop and implement a comprehensive preservation/conservation program.
Members:
Lora Lennertz (Chair), Michael Bland, Sandye McCraw, Ellen Williams; Carolyn Henderson Allen, liaison
The Preservation Initiative Review Group has been meeting weekly at 9:30 on Wednesdays. Our first order of business was to locate and approve a definition of "preservation" for use in our discussions. That definition is attached.
After agreeing upon a definition, we began by listing aspects of preservation. We categorized those aspects into three areas - "Prospective Preservation" which deals with preventative methods, " Retrospective Preservation" which handles the preservation and conservation of materials which are already in the collection, and "phased conservation" which consists of planned, long-term preservation efforts. An outline of the areas that we have identified in preservation is included.
We have begun the process of identifying where and when aspects of preservation occur in our current setting. The attached outline is our preliminary report on current preservation activities. Bulleted items indicate areas of concern where the committee feels our current efforts need more attention or further evaluation.
We located ARL "Preservation Program Benchmarks for Selected Core Activities" from the 1991 publication entitled Preservation Program Models: A Study Project and Report. A copy of the benchmarking tool indicating our program levels is attached. Further analysis of the benchmarking tool against ARL statistics will be performed at a later date.
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.
Prospective - preventative methods
Note: Some preventative methods include entries for retrospective aspects
Note: Bulleted items require additional review and consideration
acid free enclosures
Circulation uses Tyvek envelopes for diskettes and CD-ROMs
Periodicals buys acid-free envelopes for microfiche
Binding has envelopes, Phase boxes
Acid-free slide pockets
Binding contract includes all acid-free or acid-neutral products
Binding uses acid free adhesives
- All materials are purchased through individual departments and not collectively
- Materials were not routinely housed in acid free containers until the mid-1990's. The percentage of the collection effected is unknown
- Not all materials in Special Collections are in acid-free envelopes.
mylar encapsulation
Used on selected materials in Special Collections - maps are done by Jan; manuscripts, Vera and Todd.
Data storage
Automation backups library catalog daily - copies are maintained in a fireproof box in MMRC
Automation also backs up Giovanni and Personify.
Automation has ability to burn data onto a CD
Circ sends Automation diskettes to make copies
disaster preparedness
fire mold computer flood bugs/mice other acts of God
insurance
Automation - backs up library data onto tapes which are housed in MMRC
Automation - server is guaranteed by Dell for 3 day turnaround in case of disaster.
Insurance - university is self-insured
Bugs - Physical plant performs routine spraying for pests.
- Inconsistent temperature and humidity controls in buildings
- No disaster plan that we can find (outside of Automation plan)
- Persistent flooding in Chemistry
(Water damage in last 10 years include: Fine Arts library sheet music collection, leak on 4th floor in QA's during summer break, Special Collection leaks due to renovation, persistent leak prior to renovation over Periodicals Index and NUC, several occurrences of leaks in Chemistry, small leak due to air conditioning in 4th floor T's)
- No UV filtering on windows near collections?
- No filtering of light fixtures?
- Few disaster supplies - dry vacs available from Physical Plant (though sometimes in use at other locations), hood in Physical Plant, Visquene, dry cleaning sponges in circ, use freezer in breakroom for small quantity of moldy books.
- Bi-monthly changes of air filters in new addition. Old addition uses electronic filters. Filters in other buildings are unknown
- Food and drink policies throughout public areas. Office areas allow both.
New forms of storage
AV purchases new packaging for kits and audio materials before shelving
Some materials such as scores are commercially bound before shelving
Dissertations and theses are bound before shelving
Media and maps are removed from materials and shelved in alternate locations
Special collections rehouses materials in folders and boxes as necessary per collection
- No permabinding is performed on purchased soft-covers
stacks maintenance
height of shelves / type of shelving
Aetnastak brand shelving is used throughout most of the collection.
Commercial shelving in storage facility
SpaceSaver shelving in level one - closed collections
Special collections utilizes a mix of these types of shelving as well as wooden shelves and cabinets.
Standard microform cabinets are used in periodicals
Standard cabinets are used for CDs and audiocassettes
- Height of shelves, particularly in east and in storage, make retrieval difficult.
- Inappopriate number of kickstools in stacks
- Materials are shelved very close to light fixtures in east and in storage
- Oversized collection not shelved in quarto or folio shelving
- Video tapes shelved in standard shelving
- While slotted shelving is used in specific areas of the collection - music scores, government documents, it is not throughout other collection areas
material used for shelves (will it harm the material?)
Most of the collection is housed in standard library-grade cabinets and shelves.
- Chemistry shelving is old and has areas of rust from damp conditions.
- Fletcher collection and display cases are wooden. No barrier materials are used.
shelving techniques
Basic shelving techniques are followed. In the main library, materials are sent to a sorting area, are placed in call number order on trucks, and are then shelved in their locations. In small collections, the shelving process is less formalized.
- Insufficient number bookends are used throughout the collection
- foredge shelving is prevalent,
- Unbound materials are very visible throughout collection and are not routinely placed in boxes.
- Bookends are often too short for the materials, providing inadequate support
- Several locations - such as FAL are experiencing overcrowding
- Book trucks are flat shelved (LRC has some sloping shelves or split shelf trucks). Some trucks are lined with no-slide tape so that books do not slide.
physical environment - temperature, lighting, humidity, dust, etc.
The environment of the libraries are controlled for the most part by Physical Plant. The following specifications were given by the library with regard to the storage facility:
"4. Climate control (heat, air, and humidity) is essential. Optimum temperature and humidity conditions for long-term storage of materials are constant, not fluctuating, and are 65 degrees +/- 5 degrees and 50% humidity +/- 5%. Space should be well sealed and insulation and vapor barriers should prevent condensation in all areas."
- While parameters have been set as to temp and humidity control the attainment of such goals has been difficult if not impossible.
- The temperature of buildings holding library collections is not held stable over the winter holidays.
- The collections are not dusted or cleaned
- There is no regular playback of media collections
- There is no regular rewinding of film collections
- The AV unit is too hot for preservation
- STOR - temperature and humidity gauge checked but often not standard, high dust, poor conditions
- Collections in the east and in storage are very close to light bulbs
- Inadequate lighting and replacement of bulbs makes proper handling of materials difficult
- There is no automated lighting in low-use collections or light sleeves
education on care of materials
for staff
Short orientation is given to staff who regularly use Special Collections materials
AV training on CD and LP care has been instituted
Staff are sent to seminars and workshops whenever possible
- no staff education given for general collection
- no education given during workstudy training
for patrons
- no training given to patrons
University Archives
Some materials that we have would fit the criteria
We have stopped collecting faculty reprints although older ones are retained
*****
electronic media [discussion tabled for entire committee]
how to store it
AV - storage of CD-ROMS in CD cabinet
how much do we store - keep every update to a web page?
AV /CIRC projects to review 5 1/4" floppies and CD-ROMS
digital media
maintaining equipment to run media
AV - no established regular review of equipment (needles, tape players, etc)
electronic format of theses/dissertations (it is coming)
Electronic format of books
******
Policies for accessibility
Reference collections in REF, GOVRF, AVREF, FALRF do not circulate
Red dot collection FAL, AV have limited circulation
Gold dot collection in AV has limited circulation
Limited circulation of media collections
Reserve room activities provided in circ, FAL and Chem
Special Collections and media collections are closed stack collections
Periodicals collections (including micro-formats) are open stack collections
Special Collections has controlled photocopying
Special Collections limits backpacks and other carry-ins as well as writing implements and provides lockers for personal belongings
- High theft items are often been put in reserve which limits their use (computer books, Beatles, etc.) - no current alternative except potential of e-books
selection of material
should classics be purchased in paperback?
should frequently updated (or outdated) manuals be purchased in hardback?
What materials should be purchased electronic?
- Current policy is to purchase paperback over hardcover in all instances
- Acid free is not specifically requested in purchasing
- AV and Automation are not informed of media acquisitions or of equipment needs at time of purchase
surveys and evaluation of materials
collection
Smart Barcoding provided inventory of collection, continued barcoding increase inventory effectiveness
Shelf-reading of general collection occur sporadically
Inventory has been completed in smaller collections such as AV
Non-labelled or mis-labelled materials are pulled as they are found during shelving
Special Collections has begun a shelf-reading project
- No regular inventory mechanism
- No initial or regular review of collection for preservation purposes
environmental conditions
Building is checked for major problems in general walk through every morning and evening
- No regular check of environmental conditions
- Building problems are reported in a cumbersome and inefficient manner
processing procedures
labels
Call number labels are purchased by Cataloging and Serials and are of PH-neutral materials
Call number labels for Special Collections materials are placed on acid-free strips
Call number labels for CDs and DVDs are on PH-neutral paper and adhesive and are applied to the center of the disk - no labels are directly applied to the disks
Gov Doc labels - foil-backed labels coated with a special formulation of Perma-Seal acid-free acrylic adhesive.
Map call numbers are stamped for larger sets and handwritten on smaller. The stamp pads are not known to be acid neutral
property stamps
Stamping occurs at Serials, Acquisitions, Government Documents, Reference, and Circulation.
Special collections materials are not stamped
- Stamp pads are purchased by individual departments and are not known to be acid-free/neutral
security strips
Stripping occurs at circulation, government documents, reference, serials, FAL, AV, and at the commercial bindery
- Security strips are not known to be acid-free
barcodes
Barcodes are applied to exteriors of books and media materials and onto envelopes for microforms
- Barcodes applied before 2001 were applied to front and back headers of microfiche
- Barcodes are applied to the back of maps
Barcodes specifications call for acid-free stock and archival quality adhesive
Date due slips
Purchased by circulation and adhered by cataloging and circulating units
Temporary, post-it slips are used for reference materials and are removed after circulation
- Slips are not listed as PH-neutral
Pockets
Acid-free pockets purchased and applied by binding
providing access points in cataloging
There is no policy prohibiting the cataloging of preservation photocopies or other preservation media.
other procedures
- Shelvers and circulation personnel are instructed to remove foreign objects from books but this is not part of specific education activities
book drops
- There is one central book return on the circle to the south of the library - this bookdrop serves all campus library locations. It has a bin with spring-loaded platform and is fire-proof. The drop is emptied at least once a day.
- West outdoor book return - large spiral drop, empties into Special Collections processing area (security?), locked during the day to prohibit unnecessary use. Emptied every morning.
- East outdoor book return - fireproof with spring-loaded platform, locked during the day to prohibit unnecessary use. Emptied every morning.
- Guard desk book returns - each entrance desk has a spring-loaded book return. The return at the east entrance is rarely used - while the west is used frequently.
- Circulation desk - two book returns are available at the circulation desk. Both are spring-loaded. The east side drop is seldom used. The drop on the front of the desk is emptied every two hours (at most).
- AV - Materials are returned to individuals at the AV desk - there is no book return
- Periodicals - A book return is available at the Periodicals desk and is spring-loaded. Few unbound journals are placed in the drop as most are left on tables in the room. There is an open box for returned microfiche and film on the microfiche reader/printer table.
- Copy room - There are no book returns in the copy room. Books are returned directly to booktrucks.
- Reference and Government documents are returned to individuals at the desks.
- FAL - bookdrop at desk, after hours slot in wall materials slide onto the floor.
- Chem, PHYS, LRC ?
cleaning of materials
AV has begun cleaning LPs and CDs after use
Cleaning (covers, erasure of markings) occurs in Circulation and Binding as needed.
- No dusting of general collections
- No rewinding of materials regularly occurs
comprehensive administration
budget
- Materials purchased through separate departments and not coordinated - Automation, AV, Binding, Cataloging, Circulation, Serials, Special Collections, etc.
overall view of all activities and how they work together
- Activities have been independently managed and implemented.
- Preservation activities have often been on case-by-case basis
consortia - collaborative efforts (i.e. deacidification projects, etc.) [some will go in retrospective when we get there a work in progress]
The state contracts binding services for the entire UofA system. Members of this library have been very influential in the development of the service RFPs etc.
The library participates in consortial purchasing of indexes and full-text databases through ARKLink.
We belong to Big 12+ and participate in SPARC; however, future storage and accessibility is still in question
We belong to AMIGOS which provides preservation training and some opportunities for consortial purchasing of materials and products
We belong to OCLC which not only provides bibliographic access to original materials and preservation substitutes but also is the escrow agent for NetLibraries
- Purchase of full-text does not ensure indefinite use of backfiles (PsychInfo is example) and few vendors provide.
- We are beginning to review escrow clauses in contracts for electronic books, etc. to ensure long-term content storage. This, however, does not ensure long-term access.
- Different members of staff have been reviewing offers through the "Brittle Books" program but no orders have been made for preservation photocopies and only small samples of our collection have been reviewed against the lists.
- No consortial microfilming, or reprography currently is underway
- While consortial agreements were proposed for the Arkansas Digital Project, the project was not funded.
- We are not participating in consortial deacidification projects.
Reprography / playback equipment
Foredge copiers available in copy room for patron use.
AV has playback equipment for VCRs, PALs, CDs, DVDs, DAT, LPs, Beta, TV Beta, Reel-to-reel, Filmstrip
Special collections copying is mediated
- No foredge copiers available in staff areas including Special Collections
- Little review of media types when equipment was deaccessioned - ex. We have some 78s in the collection but no turntable to play them
- Program for cleaning and replacement of AV equipment in planning stage
- In-house microforming activities have been discontinued
- Color copying services are not offered in the libraries. Scanning equipment is offered in some locations
Library and collections Security
The library has several security systems - a perimeter door system, a fire escape system, and two motion detection systems.
Paper materials are tattle-taped. Reference materials are double tattled taped. FAL has security gates. Fire extinguishers are checked monthly by stacks employees
- CHEM, PHYS, LRC do not use security gates
- Library fire alarms are not audible in all areas of the building
- The Special Collections motion system has not been implemented.
- CHEM and PHYS faculty have key access to collections after hours
- CHEM, PHYS, and LRC do not currently use the circulation system.
