Preservation Web Resources

Resources for finding preservation information. See Caring for Your Personal Collections for a select list of books and websites about caring for personal collections of books, photographs, and other materials.

FINDING ARTICLES [help]

Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts - Coverage includes library science, classification, cataloging, bibliometrics, online information retrieval, information management, and more. Coverage in the database extends back as far as the mid-1960s.

Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA) - Indexes articles from library and information science journals, with an emphasis on journals published in the United Kingdom and countries other than the United States. Covers 1969 to the present.

Library Literature & Information Science - Covers more than 200 library and information-science journals, and more than 600 books per year, from December 1984 to the present. Emphasis is on journals published in the United States.

More Databases ...

FINDING BOOKS [help]

UW Libraries Catalog - Books, journals, videos and more in the UW Libraries.

UW Libraries & Beyond - Books in the UW Libraries, Summit Libraries (WA and OR) and libraries worldwide.

OCLC WorldCat - Books and other materials owned by libraries around the world.

Try Library of Congress subject heading = "Library materials -- Conservation and restoration" or keywords relevant to your search to get started.

ORGANIZATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS

American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) - AIC supports conservation professionals in the United States who preserve cultural materials. Of particular interest are AIC's outreach materials which include How to Select a Conservator and the Caring for Your Treasures series as well as the AIC Code of Ethics

Heritage Preservation - A national advocacy organization for preservation of cultural heritage collections. Heritage Preservation supports several activities including the Heritage Emergency National Task Force and Heritage Health Index.

Regional Alliance for Preservation (RAP) - RAP provides information and resources on preservation and conservation for cultural institutions and the public throughout the United States. Several RAP organizations are particularly strong in supporting preservation of library and archival materials including CCAHA, NEDCC, and Lyrasis. WESTPAS currently offers disaster response training in the West.

There are many more organizations that address the preservation needs of different kinds of institutions:
American Association of Museums, ALA Preservation and Reformatting Section, Association of Research Libraries, Library of Congress, National Park Service, Society of American Archivists

and different formats:
Association of Moving Image Archivists, Association for Recorded Sound Collections, Image Permanence Institute, and National Digital Information Infrastructure Program. Conservation OnLine provides a more comprehensive list of conservation/preservation non-profits.

SELECTED WEB RESOURCES BY TOPIC

Please note that these are merely selected web resources and many excellent resources are only in print.

Starting Points

• AIC's Definitions of Conservation Terminology
• NEDCC's Preservation 101 and Preservation Leaflets -- overview and information on preservation of collections for cultural institutions.
• California Preservation Program -- overview and information on preservation of collections for cultural institutions.
• Conservation OnLine (COOL) -- list of web resources related to preservation
• Principles for the Care and Handling of Library Material [pdf] -- International Federation of Library Associations, 1998

Assessment and Survey Tools

• Preservation Needs Assessment -- an overview from California Preservation Program
• Surveys and Assessments -- an overview from NEDCC Preservation Education Lesson Plan
• Assessing Preservation Needs: A Self-Survey Guide -- a survey tool for small to mid-sized institutions from NEDCC

Audio Preservation

• ARSC Technical Committee Publications -- Includes key documents: Preservation of Archival Sound Recordings (4/2009) and Essential Resources for Audio Preservation
• Audio Preservation and Restoration -- University of Washington Music Library bibliography
• Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs: A Guide for Librarians and Archivists -- Fred Byers, CLIR/NIST
• Cylinder, Disc and Tape Care in a Nutshell -- Library of Congress
• Sound Directions: Best Practices for Audio Preservation -- Indiana University and Harvard University

Binding

• Commercial Library Binding -- overview from California Preservation Program
• ANSI/NISO/LBI Z39.78-2000 - Library Binding -- technical specifications and materials for binding for the rigors of library use.
• Guide to the ANSI/NISO/LBI library binding standard -- Jan Merrill-Oldham and Paul Parisi, 2008.
• Library Binding Institute -- trade association for library binders

Book Repair for General Circulating Collections and Supplies

• Basic Repair -- an overview from California Preservation Program
• Conservation Book Repair: A Training Manual -- Alaska State Library
• A Simple Book Repair Manual -- Dartmouth College Library
• Procedures and Treatments Used for Book Repair and Pamphlet Binding -- University of Illinois Library
• The Conservation Kitchen -- Washington State Library
• Three Basic Book Repair Procedures -- Carole Dyal and Pete Merrill-Oldham
• Preservation Supply Specifications -- Library of Congress

Digital Preservation

• ALA Definitions of Digital Preservation
• Digital Preservation Management Tutorial -- Cornell and ICPSR
• Digital Curation Centre -- UK organization to help institutions preserve digital data
• Digital Preservation Coalition -- UK organization, see esp. the quarterly "What's New in Digital Presrvation"
• Digital Preservation Europe -- see esp. their animation, "Digital Preservation and Nuclear Disaster"
• National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) -- Library of Congress
• PADI: Preserving Access to Digital Information -- subject gateway to digital preservation resources

Disaster Planning

• Disaster Planning -- see resources listed on disaster response page

Education

• Educational Opportunities -- see education page (includes local training and formal programs in preservation)

See entry below for staff and user education.

Environment

• NEDCC's Preservation 101 -- overview of building and collections environment issues
• Image Permanence Institute (IPI) -- preservation tools, environmental monitoring, and Stored Alive
• Environmental Guidelines for the Storage of Paper Records -- NISO TR01-1995
• IPI Media Storage Quick Reference -- evaluates storage conditions for photographs, film, tape, cds and dvds.
• California Preservation Program -- on mold and integrated pest management
• Integrated Pest Management -- NEDCC Preservation Leaflet 3.10
• Emergency Salvage of Moldy Books and Paper -- NEDCC Preservation Leaflet 3.8
• Invasion of the Giant Mold Spore -- Lyrasis, strategies for prevention and control of mold
• Mold: Prevention Of Growth In Museum Collections [pdf] -- NPS Conserve O Gram no. 3/11
• ACRL/RBMS Standards and Guidelines for Security and Reporting Theft

Microfilm

• Microfilm Standards -- list from OCLC
• RLG Guidelines for Microfilming to Support Digitization [pdf]
• Guidelines for Newspaper Preservation Microfilming [pdf] -- IFLA Professional Reports, No. 49
• Digitizing Microfilm and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Links -- National Digital Newspapers Program
• RLG Archives Microfilming Manual and RLG Preservation Microfilming Handbook -- pdfs from OCLC

Moving Images

• Association of Moving Image Archivists Preservation Committee
• Film Preservation Guide: The Basics for Archives, Libraries, and Museums -- National Film Preservation Foundation
• Motion Picture Film Preservation -- Conservation OnLine
• Video Format Identification Guide -- Sarah Stauderman
• Video Identification and Assessment Guide -- Texas Commission on the Arts
• Washington State Film Preservation Manual: Low-cost & No-cost Suggestions to Care for Your Film [pdf]

Photographs

• Care of Photographs -- NEDCC Preservation Leaflet 5.3
• Albumen Photographs: History, Science and Preservation
• Cold Storage of Photographs at the City of Vancouver Archives [pdf] -- Sue Bigelow
• Cold Storage Options: Cost and Implementation Issues [pdf] -- Sarah Wagner
• Graphics Atlas -- print identification from IPI
• Permanence and Care of Color Photographs -- Henry Wilhelm
• Preservation Plan for Diverse Photographic Collection -- LAPnet

Staff and User Preservation Training

• Preservation Training for Student Assistants -- University of Washington Libraries
• Book Care and Handling Tips -- Smith College Libraries
• Care and Handling of Library Materials -- Northwestern University Library
• Proper Care and Handling of Books and Paper Materials -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Librarian [YouTube]
• Preservation Faux Pas [YouTube] -- Kansas State University Libraries
• The FUNdamentals of Book Care in 5 Easy Lessons [YouTube] -- George Mason University Libraries
• Team Digital Preservation and Nuclear Disaster: An Animation [YouTube] -- Digital Preservation Europe
• Team Digital Preservation and the Aeroplane Disaster: An Animation [YouTube] -- Digital Preservation Europe
• Murder in the Stacks (.mov) from Columbia University Libraries
• Murder in the Stacks (.mpg) from Yale University Library

Standards

• NISO Press Online: Standards, Books and Software: Preservation/Storage -- free PDF files of many NISO preservation standards

University Library Preservation Programs