Preservation: Issues and Planning

Citation

Feather, J. (2002), "Preservation: Issues and Planning", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 58 No. 1, pp. 139-140. https://doi.org/10.1108/jd.2002.58.1.139.15

This collection of 18 original papers on preservation is designed to give a current, practically oriented, overview of the field; in the editors’ words (p. xiv), it is an “up‐to‐date survey of key issues”. The book was planned by the late Carolyn Harris and seems to have languished somewhat after her death in 1994. It was revived by the present editors because they felt the concept was too valuable to lose. The subjects of the chapters range from planning and funding issues to technical matters of bindings, security and preservation microfilms. The writers are all American, but many of them have international reputations, and several are established leaders in their respective fields. Problems of balance and variations of quality are inevitable in collections of this kind, but seem to have been generally avoided.

The first chapter, by Carolyn Clark Morrow, sets the scene by defining the parameters of a library preservation programme. There is little here that is new, for the ground has been well tilled by many writers, including Morrow herself, over the last decade and more. Nevertheless, this is a useful and authoritative summary which encapsulates both the strengths and the weaknesses of the book as a whole. In its favour is the fact that it is written by a leading specialist and deals in a straightforward but not simplistic way with major issues. To set against this, we have the familiarity of the material and the comparative sparseness of the list of suggested readings. Both the positive and negative points raise a fundamental question about the intended audience for this book. The beginner will find some of it too advanced; the expert will learn little in his or her own specialism. The student will need a more coherent and connected account; the practitioner will perhaps not have the time to read such a substantial volume.

Despite the claims of the editors, there are overlaps between chapters, although they are often instructive. The policy‐level chapters by Morrow, Christine Ward (on archives), Jutta Reed‐Scott (on planning for preservation) and the late Carolyn Harris (on selection for preservation) give sound insights into the issues and sound advice on addressing them. These will be useful to librarians and archivists in many institutions and countries. So too will some of the practical chapters on issues which arise from exhibiting rare and delicate materials (by Roberta Pilette) and on those which surround preservation microfilming and photocopying (by Eileen F. Usovicz and Barbara Lilley). Inevitably, some of the contributions are so American as to be of doubtful value outside the USA. This is most obviously true of the chapter on funding (by Margaret Child and Laura J. Word), although this will be an exceptionally useful part of the book for its American readers. The same considerations apply to John F. Dean’s very knowledgeable contribution on commercial library binding. The assumptions about institutional structures and administrative arrangements which inform some chapters are not always easily applicable outside the USA, and perhaps even there not outside the major academic and research libraries. But that is a warning rather than a criticism, for this is a book produced by the ALA as a service to its own members.

It is inevitable that in a book of this kind some chapters are outstanding. The most notable of these is that by Paul N. Banks himself on the physical environment and design of library buildings. The co‐editor has indulged himself in terms of length (over 30 pages against the 10‐20 which is all that his colleagues are allowed!), but he has used it to good purpose. This is indeed a state‐of‐the‐art survey, which is at once learned and practical. Common misconceptions are quietly corrected and endless sound advice is proffered. At the same time, there is a clear awareness of the practical limits within which librarians and archivists must work. There are sensible suggestions about how to preserve materials in the indifferent and often badly maintained buildings which most institutions actually occupy. It is unfair to the other contributors to say that the book is worth buying for this chapter alone, but it certainly makes a major contribution to the overall quality of the collection.

On the whole, the fact that the book was planned almost a decade ago has not damaged it. Clearly the chapters were written – or revised – much more recently than the first half of the 1990s. It is not clear, however, whether the overall plan of the book has been changed. Only three chapters focus specifically on the preservation of non‐paper materials, and only two of these deal with digital data. One of these (Peter Graham on digital archiving) is one of the best in the book and whets the appetite for more. The other, on digitisation for preservation and access (by Paula de Stefano), is a good survey of a difficult and rapidly changing field which reaches a conservative but probably realistic conclusion. It is, however, disappointing that these two, together with a chapter on audio‐visual media by Banks and Eleanore Stewart, constitute the sum total of the explicit recognition of the need for preservation of documents and information which are not written or printed on paper. Although many of the principles are as applicable to these media as to books and manuscripts (not least the principle of selection enunciated by Harris), their implementation is different and deserved more consideration.

Nevertheless, and with these caveats, this book can be recommended. There is nothing here that will mislead, and much that will instruct. There are few conservation practitioners or preservation managers who will not learn something – and perhaps a good deal – from this book. Despite the price, it is to be recommended as good professional reading.