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.
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Description.
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