ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

Preservation News

Jane Hedberg

Commission and IPI publish report

The Commission on Preser- vation and Access and the Image Permanence Institute (IPI) of the Rochester Insti- tute of Technology have pub- lished a new report called New Tools for Preservation: Assessing Long-Term Envi- ronmental Effects on Library and Archives Collections by James Reilly, Douglas Nishimura, and Edward Zinn. The report includes some background material on the effect of tempera- ture and relative humidity on collections, and introduces two concepts: Preservation Index (PI) and Time-Weighted Preservation Index (TWPI). PI and TWPI, which are related to Donald Sebera’s concept of the isoperm, quan- tify in years how long it will take for organic materials of all types to show signs of deterio- ration, but not necessarily become totally un- usable. PI indicates the life expectancy of ma- terials kept at stable temperature and relative humidity, and TWPI indicates the life expect- ancy if those conditions vary over time. These concepts are useful to preservation administra- tors because they allow for easy comparison between storage environments, are applicable to mixed media collections (e.g., paper, pho- tographs, magnetic media), and facilitate ex- planation of the effects of improved environ- mental storage conditions.

Also, IPI will develop an environmental monitoring device during the next two and a half years which will measure and display temperature and RH, store up to five years of temperature and RH data for upload to a computer, and display the PI and TWPI values in real time.

The report is available for $10 from the Commission on Preservation and Access, 1400 16th St., NW, Suite 740, Washington, DC 20036; (202) 939-3400; fax: (202) 939-3407. Prepayment is required. (Commission sponsors receive copies of reports free of charge.)

LC to hold preservation event

The Library of Congress’ Preservation Directorate and the Center for the Book will cosponsor a Preservation Awareness Workshop on April 26, 1996. Part of LC’s celebration of National Library Week, the workshop will be open to the public and focus on preserving family documents and pho- tographs.

For more information, contact Merrily Smith, Na- tional Preservation Program Office, Library of Congress (LMG07), Washington, DC 20540; (202) 707-1838.

Dartmouth to put materials on WWW

Dartmouth College Library has received grant funding from the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training to design a multi-media collections conservation training presentation for the World Wide Web. The proposed web site will have text and images related to simple book repair techniques, such as tip-ins, hinge tightening, surface cleaning, etc. For more information, contact Barbara Sagraves, Preservation Services Librarian, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 646- 2458; e-mail: Barbara.Sagraves@Dartmouth.edu.

Commission and ACLS to develop film on digital preservation

The Commission on Preservation and Access and the American Council of Learned Societies are jointly developing a film that will explain to a broad public audience how the benefits of information in electronic formats are coupled with short life expectancies. Much as Slow Fires influenced public perception of the acidic paper problem, this film is intended to influence public perception of the effective management of electronic resources. The National Endowment for the Humanities, Xerox Corporation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation have all provided funding for this project, which will result in a 60-minute film and a 30-minute video.

For more information, contact Maxine Sitts, Commission on Preservation and Access, 1400 16th St., NW, Suite 740, Washington, DC 20036; (202) 939-3402; e-mail: msitts@cpa.org. ■

Jane Fledberg prepares this column for the College Libraries Committee, Commission on Preservation and Access. Submissions may be made to: Jane Hedberg, Wellesley College Library, 106 Central St., Wellesley, MA 02181; JHEDBERG@WEUESLEY.EDU.