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 animations starring Team Digital Preservation
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.

Staff and User Preservation Training

Preservation Training for Student Assistants -- University of Washington Libraries
Book Care and Handling Tips -- Smith College Libraries
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 Animations [YouTube] -- Digital Preservation Europe
Murder in the Stacks [YouTube] -- 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