ACRL College & Researc Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

PRESERVATION NEWS

Prepared by Barbara Brown

College Libraries Committee

Commission on Preservation Access

• Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Shadek- Fackenthal Library of Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) arranged with the local fire department to conduct a series of “full dress” fire drills in one of the library buildings. The purpose of these drills was threefold: 1) to give the fire department the opportunity to practice fire routines; 2) to familiarize each fire department shift with the physical layout of the library and the location of the priority salvage areas; and 3) to allow the preservation officer to test one of the critical components of the disaster preparedness plan. The dates and times of the drills were announced to the library staff, but no notice was given to the library users. Previous to contacting the fire department, the preservation officer, the college’s insurance representative, and a member of the college’s facilities office had completed a physical assessment of the library building. The assessment documented potential fire hazards, fire prevention systems, and overall environmental conditions of the building. The final phase of implementing F&M’s disaster preparedness plan is to practice materials salvage and to coordinate the disaster planning with other area libraries. The college has received a small LSCA Title II grant to conduct a hands-on disaster preparedness workshop which will include disaster team members from the five area libraries—Elizabethtown College, Millersville University, Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster Theological Seminary, and the Lancaster County Library. For more information contact: Charlotte Brown, archivist, Franklin & Marshall College, (717) 291-4160.

• Wellesley, Massachusetts. Jane Hedberg, bibliographic services Librarian at Wellesley College, will assume responsibility for the Preservation News column in C&RL News in January 1992. She was selected by the College Libraries Committee of the Commission on Preservation and Access to succeed Barbara Brown who has been editing the column for two years. Hedberg may be reached via phone at (617) 235-0320 x2103; fax (617) 239-1139; or e-mail JHEDBERG@LUCY.Wellesley.edu.

• Los Angeles, California. The California State Library has awarded a grant of $19,063 in federal Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) funds for a cooperative project called Performing Arts in Los Angeles. The grant will support an assessment of the conservation and microfilming needs of selected manuscript collections, serials, and monographs in the performing arts held by six Los Angeles-area libraries: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, California State Univer- sity-Los Angeles, the Huntington Library, Los Angeles Public Library, Thousand Oaks Public Library, and the University of Califomia-Los Angeles. The idea for this cooperative venture was developed jointly by the Los Angeles Preservation Network Subcommittee on Preservation Microfilming and the Performing Arts Libraries Network of Greater Los Angeles. UCLA is administering the grant. Brigitte Kueppers, head of the Art, Architecture and Urban Planning Library’s Special Collections, and Christopher Coleman, the library preservation officer, are the project coordinators.

• Washington, D.C. Three recent reports are available from the Commission on Preservation and Access. Report on the Preservation Planning Project, prepared by the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, is a final report on their work to develop a new management strategy for a library preservation program that would operate with a high level of participation from contracted services. The Care and Handling of Recorded Sound Materials by Gilles St-Laurent, National Library of Canada, is an expanded version of an article St-Laurent wrote for the National Library of Canada’s National Library News. This article provides advice on the care and handling of recorded sound materials in collections ‚ focusingprimarily on the nature and composition of the recording media. The Commission’s Annual Report July 1,1990-June 30,1991 includes a special report called “The Agony of Choice: Strategies for Preservation and Scholarship” by Henry W. Riecken, senior program advisor. All three reports are available free from Trish Cece, Communications Assistant, Commission on Preservation and Access, 1785 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. #313, Washington, DC 20036-2117; phone (202) 483-7474.

• Washington, D.C. The College Libraries Committee met at the Commission on Preservation and Access office in October and agreed to move ahead in planning a second seminar on preservation management to be held in the northeast in summer 1992 with tuition held at the current rates. The first one-week preservation management seminar, developed jointly by the commission and SOLINET (Atlanta, Georgia), was held July 20-27, 1991, at Washington & Lee University. Further information on application procedures and location may be obtained from SOLINET, (800) 999-8558. ■ ■