ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

Preservation News

Submissions for this column may be made to: Jane Hedberg, Wellesley College Library, 106 Central St., Wellesley, MA 02181-8275; (617) 283-2103; JHEDBERG@LUCY.WELLESLEY.EDU. Submission deadline is the 15th of the month and precedes publication by approximately six weeks.

Librarian of Congress developing film preservation plan

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington is developing a national film preservation plan which he expects to complete by the summer of 1994. In accordance with the National Film Preservation Act of 1992 (Public Law 102- 307), Billington submitted to Congress last June four vol- umes of testimony, written comments, and interviews which detail the problems inherent in preserv- ing films. More recently, he has appointed a National Film Preservation Board Funding Com- mittee and four task forces: Redefining Preser- vation, Public Access and Educational Use, Public-Private Cooperation, and Public Aware- ness. These groups will work over the next five months to develop a coordinated national program to preserve films of cultural and his- toric value and to promote their use.

ARL/OMS publishes SPEC kit on automating preservation management

The Office of Management Services (OMS) of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published “Automating Preservation Management in ARL Libraries” as SPEC Kit no. 198. It includes the results of a 1993 ARL libraries’ survey on how automation is used in the management of preservation activities, plus documentation on preservation management information systems. Administrators are using automation to control files, maintain records, streamline workflow, manage backlogs, record preservation treatments, determine appropriate staffing levels, and generate reports.

Copies are available for $40.00 (prepaid) from ARL/OMS Publications, Department #0692, Washington, DC 20073-0692; phone: (202) 296- 8656.

PLMS presents education program at the ALA Annual Conference

The Preservation of Library Materials Section (PLMS) of ALA’s Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS), in conjunction with the Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT), will present a pro- gram on effective strategies for educating patrons about preservation at ALA’s An- nual Conference in Miami next month. “Selling Pres- ervation: What to Say to the Customer” will be held Monday, June 27, 1994, from 2:00-5:00 p.m. The speakers for the program will include: Peggy Sullivan, ALA executive director; Anne Reynolds, Wellesley Free Library; Cheryl Holland, Washington University, St. Louis; and Lorraine Olley, Indiana University.

Recent Commission publications

• Intellectual Preservation: Electronic Preservation of the Third Kind by Peter S. Graham, associate university librarian for technical and networked information services at Rutgers University, New Jersey. This publication considers and discusses the problem of preserving and authenticating the intellectual content of electronic documents.

• The Digital Preservation Consortium Mission and Goals provides a context for collaborative efforts to advance preservation and access uses of digital technology. The Digital Preservation Consortium has eleven members, representing the University of California at Berkeley, Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvard University, the University of Michigan, Pennsylvania State University, Princeton University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of Tennessee, and Yale University.

Copies of these documents are available for $10.00 each (prepaid) from the Commission on Preservation and Access, 1400 16th St., NW, Suite 740, Washington, DC 20036-2217; phone: (202) 939-3400. (Commission sponsors receive all publications at no charge.)