ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Preservation News

Jane Hedberg

CLIR publishes digital report

The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) recently published a report about one aspect of planning digital conversion projects titled “Selecting Research Collections for Digitization.” Written by Dan Hazen, Jeffrey Horrell, and Jan Merrill-Oldham of Harvard University, the report focuses on the role of selection in building coherent digital collections by considering the nature of the original collections, their use, and their institutional context.

Technology is presented as a tool to achieve specific collection’s goals, so available technologies are evaluated for assisting or hindering access and preservation of collections. The authors use a series of questions to facilitate planning decisions and provide a chart of the resulting decision-making matrix. This publication is an outgrowth of work done by a Harvard University Library task force on digital projects.

Copies are available for $15, including shipping and handling, from CLIR, 1755 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20036-2188; phone: (202) 939-4750; fax: (202) 939-4765; e-mail: info@clir.org; Web: http://clir.stanford.edu. Orders must be prepaid.

UMCA field services

The Upper Midwest Conservation Association (UMCA) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has received funding from both the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to support field service activities in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

UMCA has established programs for mentoring, subsidized preservation surveys, emergency planning assistance, and preservation education. Three institutions have already been selected for the first two-year mentoring program and six institutions have been selected to receive subsidized surveys. In the fall of 1998 and spring/summer of 1999, UMCA will offer two basic workshops, one on the care of library and archival materials and the other on preservation planning for cultural institutions, in each of the five states it serves.

It will also hold three advanced workshops in the Minneapolis area on guidelines for collections environments, fund-raising for collections care, and integrated pest management. For more information about UMCA or these particular programs, contact their Field Services Department, 2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404; phone: (612) 870-3120; fax: (612) 870-3118; e-mail: umca@mtn.org; Web: http://www.preservart.org.

UCSD Web site

Sally Lancaster at the University of California, San Diego, has created a Web site called Preservation Education and Awareness for Library Users. It is designed to help libraries educate its users about preservation by providing useful information and examples. It covers topics such as mission statements, creating Web sites, exhibits, graphics and bibliographic instruction. This site was developed as a thesis project for Lancaster’s MLIS degree. The URL is http://gort.ucsd.edu/preseduc/. Questions and comments may be e-mailed to Lancaster at sally_lancaster@ucsdlibrary.ucsd.edu.

Middleton republished

Oak Knoll Books has published a new edition of Restoration of Leather Bindings by Bernard C. Middleton. It is a revised and expanded version of the 1984 classic work, providing up-to-date information on techniques (both good and bad), materials, tools, suppliers and references. Copies are available for $35 (hardcover) or $20 (unbound), plus shipping and handling, from Oak Knoll Books, 414 Delaware St., New Castle, DE 19720; phone: (302) 328-7232; fax: (302) 328-7274; e-mail: oakknoll@oakknoll.com. ISBN: 1-884718-

Jane Hedberg prepares this column for the College Libraries Committee, Commission on Preservation and Access. Submissions may be made to Jane Hedberg, Wellesley College;JHEDBERG@WELLESLEY.EDU; fax: (781)283-3690