Preservation Education Needs for the Next Generation
of Information Professionals
a study funded by the University of Pittsburgh
Central Research Development Program
Overview of Project
Cultural institutions strive to preserve our nation’s heritage as they
amass immense quantities of materials in a wide array of formats.
Until
recently, their collections were primarily analog, paper-based
media: books, journals, newspapers, maps, and paper
records. In the last ten years, however, librarians and
archivists have been witnesses to and participants in the digital
revolution. This unprecedented change has introduced many
materials that are recorded on increasingly unstable media, and
professionals are now grappling with the long-term preservation
strategies that this media introduces.
This research project proposes to investigate how preservation
education programs have evolved during the last decade.
Preservation is currently integrated into formal training programs in
the library science and archival studies programs based in
universities, as well as through continuing education programs designed
for practicing professionals. This study will reveal how
educational programs have adapted to address the issues and challenges
introduced by the digital revolution, and how these revisions have
affected training in the traditional preservation techniques for books,
paper, and mixed media.
This study represents the first phase of a larger research project
consisting of three stages. The initial phase, for which the
investigators are seeking funding from the CRDF, will consist of a
survey aimed at documenting both the extent and the breadth of
offerings in formal library and information science degree programs and
in continuing education offerings of field service programs sponsored
through regional networks. The survey will also attempt to gauge
the attitudes and views of preservation educators across the spectrum
of preservation education. Building upon the initial results of the
survey, the investigators will follow up with in-depth interviewing of
key informants at selected sites or by telephone. In this first
stage,
the goal is to test a pilot version of the interview guide. Individuals
to
be interviewed will be faculty and professionals involved in providing
preservation
education, in both the formal and continuing education settings.
Our research aims to analyze the strengths and weaknesses in current
preservation education programs, with the goal of identifying those
areas which merit increased attention as preservation curricula are
revised. Furthermore, this research hopes to foster cooperation
among educational programs, encouraging these institutions to focus on
their strengths as they currently exist in certain areas and formats.
This project will also document how education in the preservation field
is in the process of being transformed to reflect new trends, such as
the increasing importance of preserving audiovisual and digital
materials.
The research conducted in this first phase of this study will provide
the necessary foundation for the remainder of the project. At the
conclusion of this study, the investigators expect to formulate
recommendations
to revise the preservation curricula, ensuring that the strengths of
each
program are recognized and gaps are addressed through cooperative
efforts.
Investigative Team
Karen F. Gracy,
Ph.D., Principal Investigator
Jean Ann Croft, M.L.I.S., Co-Investigator
Kate Werner, Research Assistant
Principal Investigator Bio:
Karen F. Gracy holds an M.L.I.S. (1995) and a Ph.D. (2001) in Library
and Information Science from the University of California, Los
Angeles. She also earned an M.A. in Film and Television Critical
Studies from UCLA in 1995. Her dissertation, entitled: "The
Imperative to Preserve: Competing Definitions of Value in the
World of Film Preservation," was directed by Dr. Michèle V.
Cloonan. She was hired as Assistant Professor in the Department
of Library and Information Science in 2001.
Dr. Gracy teaches in the areas of preservation management and archival
administration for the Department of Library and Information Science at
the
University of Pittsburgh, including courses in digital preservation,
archival
arrangement and description, digital preservation, and moving image and
sound archiving. In addition to supporting the teaching mission
of
the Department, another of her charges is to revise and strengthen the
preservation
management specialization. In 2002, she introduced a new
curriculum
which provides students the opportunity to choose from four different
tracks:
preservation of paper-based media, archival preservation, preservation
of
electronic media, and preservation of moving images (view at http://www.sis.pitt.edu/%7Edlis/academics/specializations/preservation_management.html).
Dr. Gracy's areas of research expertise include: the preservation
of library and archival collections; archives and records management,
with an emphasis on moving image archiving; intellectual property
rights as they apply to preservation and access issues; and the social
contexts of information creation, access and use. Her most recent
publications include: "Coming Again to a Theater Near You: The
Lucrative Business of Recycling Film Heritage," published in the Stanford
Humanities Review (vol. 7, no. 2, Fall 1999). "The Process of Film
Preservation," for The Moving Image (vol. 3, no. 2, Spring
2003) and a chapter in the 2003 edition of Advances in Librarianship
(co-authored with Michèle V. Cloonan, forthcoming, 2003),
entitled "The Preservation of Moving Images."
Co-Investigator Bio:
Jean Ann Croft received her MLIS at the University of Pittsburgh and
studied preservation management under the watchful eye of Sally
Buchanan in 1997. In addition, she learned bookbinding under
Melissa McAfee, former Head of Preservation at the University of
Pittsburgh, concentrating on techniques such as rebacking, recasing and
protective enclosures. Ms. Croft has sought out workshops that
offered hands-on skills and attended a number of seminars at Rate Book
School at the University of Virginia to learn more about preservation
and the book arts. In 1997, she became the Interim Head of
Preservation in the University Library System and was appointed the
permanent department head in 2000.
Serving as an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Information
Sciences and teaching the “Introduction to Library and Archival
Preservation”
course offered every fall term has provided her with every opportunity
to
assist in mentoring students that are exploring the possibility of
pursuing
a career in the preservation field. Her work with the Oakland Library
Consortium and Pittsburgh Bibliophiles has provided substantial
experience and a solid background in organizing seminars, speakers, and
workshops for the Pittsburgh region. She has participated behind
the scenes as an organizer and speaker
or instructor for these kinds of programs. Moreover, the
Preservation Department also initiates a series of staff training
workshops in disaster response and recovery, and programs for the
students enrolled in the Library Science program tat the School for
Information Sciences.
Ms. Croft has demonstrated a proficiency in many aspects of conducting
research as it is a fundamental part of her current position. She has
investigated funding opportunities and is currently working on a number
of different projects identified as possible candidates for future
grant proposals. The
National Endowment for the Humanities granted the University Library
System
with an award of $219,388.00 to fund a proposal that she had written,
enabling
the University Library System to preservation microfilm 2,250 books
from
the Bolivian Collection at the University of Pittsburgh. Another
NEH
grant to microfilm materials from the Chinese collection is
pending. Furthermore, she has submitted a review article on the
literature of preservation published between 1999 and 2001 to Library
Resources and Technical Services which is currently under review.
Graduate Student Researcher Bio:
Kate Werner recently received an M.A. from Montana State University in
2003.
She also has an M.Phil. (2001) in American Studies from the University
of
Glasgow. She is currently a first year doctoral student in the
University
of Pittsburgh’s School of Information Sciences.
Want More Information?
See our Project
Description.
See our recent
presentation of results from ALA Annual 2005 in Chicago (PDF
format).
Read our Executive
Summary (PDF format).<><>
<><>
<><>
<><>Research Results Available for Phase 1!
<><>Pt. 1: Graduate Education
(submitted for publication; please do not cite without authors'
permission)
Pt. 2: Continuing Education---coming soon!
Phase 1 of the Study is Completed, Interested in Participating in
Phase 2 of the Study?
Please e-mail Karen Gracy or Jean Ann Croft.
Revised 8/11/05