University of Pittsburgh

School of Information Sciences

 

LIS 2214 - Library & Archival Preservation

 

Fall 2005 (06-1) Term

Wednesdays, 6:00 PM - 8:50 PM

Room:  LANGY A221

 

Instructor:                  Jean Ann Croft

Preservation Librarian

Preservation Department, Room 205

7500 Thomas Boulevard

Pittsburgh, PA. 15260

Hours:  By appointment

Phone:  412-244-7522

e-mail:  jeanann@pitt.edu

 

Teaching Assistant:   Kate Werner

                                    kwerner21@hotmail.com

                                    605 SIS

 

 

Course Description:

 

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to concepts, issues, and challenges in preservation administration for library and archival environments. The course will provide a broad foundation in the historical, theoretical, managerial, analytical, and practical aspects of preservation. Students can expect to explore the field with the understanding that preservation awareness will broaden and enhance their professional careers and better prepare them to communicate preservation concerns effectively.

 

There is no prerequisite for this course; however it is required for students enrolled in the Archive and Manuscripts program. 

 

Course Goals:

 

1.      Explain the issues that surround the long-term retention of varying formats and media such as paper, books, film, and photographs.

2.      Evaluate different preservation principles and implement the most appropriate preservation technique in a library or archival environment.

3.      Combine preservation programming with other units in a library or archive.

4.      Communicate preservation theory to render ultimate explanations and solutions to various challenges in library and archival environments.

 

I hope to introduce the concepts, issues, and challenges in the preservation world.  To this end, I plan on utilizing a series of lectures, discussions, and guest speakers employed in the preservation field to encourage students to embrace the preservation cause.  Secondly, I wish to provide a broad foundation in the historical, theoretical and analytical aspects of preservation through a series of readings and discussions of work published by well-known scholars in the field. Furthermore, I want to instill some practical experiences through demonstrations such as air-drying wet books, dry cleaning of paper, book collation, etc which will enable students to explore the field with an understanding that preservation awareness will broaden and enhance their professional careers.

 

Required Reading:

 

Textbook:  Banks, Paul N. and Pilette, Roberta. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: ALA 2000.  This book is available for purchase from the University of Pittsburgh Book Center. 

 

All readings are on reserve in the SIS Library, with the exception of materials available on the Internet, which are listed with a URL.

 

Grading:

 

1.      Preparation of three short writing assignments – submission dates – September 28th, October 19th, and November 16th.

 

2.      Preparation of one research paper – submission date –Wednesday, November 30th. Paper topic and outline due Wednesday, November 2nd.

 

3.      Participation in preservation planning exercise and presentation – completion dates –December 7th and December 14th.

 

Late Assignments - late written assignments and final projects will be lowered by a total of one letter grade except in cases of extreme circumstances, previously discussed with the instructor, such as prolonged illness or a death in the family. 

 

Grading will be based on 100 points as follows:

Assignment #1 – Format Preservation Fact Sheet                                  20 points

Assignment #2 – Preservation Issues in a Global Sense              15 points

Assignment #3 –Rare Books and Conservation Collation                       15 points

Assignment #4 – Research Paper                                                          40 points

Assignment #5 - Preservation Planning and Administration

In-class exercise and presentations                    10 points

                                               

Total                                                                                                    100 points

           

100                                                                                                            A+

93-99                                                                                                     A

90-92                                                                                                     A-

88-89                                                                                                     B+

83-87                                                                                                     B

80-82                                                                                                     B-

78-79                                                                                                     C+

73-77                                                                                                     C

 

Attendance Policy

Regular and punctual attendance at class is required and defined as attendance and preparation at not less than 80% of the classes (12 classes) for the semester.  Tardiness and leaving class prior to dismissal in excess of 20 minutes will be counted as absenteeism.  Failure to satisfy this requirement will result in the student being certified out of the course with either a grade of "U" (Unsatisfactory -- No Credit) or "F" (Failure).

 

 

Course Schedule and Readings

 

August 31st:  Class 1- Introduction to Library and Archival Preservation

 

  • Overview and class logistics for LIS 2214
  • Historic overview of the preservation field.
  • Concepts and basic definitions
  • Major players in the field
  • Challenges we face in preservation
  • View “Slow Fires”

 

Recommended Readings:

Banks, Paul N. and Pilette, Roberta. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: ALA 2000.  See “Defining the Library Preservation Program: Policies and Organization” by Carolyn Clark Morrow.  Chapter 1

 

Smith, Abby.  The Future of the Past: Preservation in American Research Libraries. Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and Information Resources, 1999.  Available as pub82 at:  http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub82abst.html

 

Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1999. 

Section 1, Leaflet 1

http://user823621.sf1000.registeredsite.com/plam3/index1.htm

 

September 7:  Class 2 - Nature/Structure of Materials

  • Guest Speaker: Miriam Meislik, Archive Service Center
  • Paper (books, manuscripts, maps, newspapers, art on paper, etc)
  • Physical characteristics and aging for photographic media.

 

Required Readings:

Poole, Francis C. “Basic Strategies for Film Preservation in Libraries.” Technical Services Quarterly. Volume 16, Number 4, 1999 pp. 1-10. [available online through PittCat]

 

PRESERVATION 101: An Internet Course on Paper Preservation.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2003. 

See Lesson 1 – “What is Paper Preservation?” and Lesson 7 – “Care of Photographs”

http://www.nedcc.org/p101cs/p101wel.htm

 

DePew, John. “Chapter 1: Paper and Papermaking, “ in A Library, Media, and Archival Preservation Handbook (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1991). Pp. 3-44. [On Reserve]

 

Reilly, James M. Care and Identification of 19th Century Photographic Prints. Rochester, N.Y.: Eastman Kodak Company, 1986, pp. 82-110. [On Reserve]

 

September 14th:  Class 3 - Nature/Structure of Materials

  • Non-Paper – sound recordings, optical, film, digital
  • Technology Obsolescence
  • View “Into the Future” video

 

Required Readings:

Banks, Paul N. and Pilette, Roberta. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: ALA 2000.  See “Preservation of Information in Nonpaper Formats” by Eleanore Stewart and Paul N. Banks: Chapter 18

 

Conserve O Grams. National Park Service: Washington D.C.

Archival and Manuscript Collections and Rare Books:

19/19 Care of Archival Compact Disks
19/20 Care of Archival Digital and Magnetic Media

 http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/cons_toc.html

 

Byers, Fred, R. “Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs: A Guide for Librarians and Archivists.” Washington, DC: Council on Library and Information Resources, October 2003.

http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/reports.html

Pub121

 

Bogart, John Van. “Magnetic Tape Storage and Handling: A Guide for Librarians and Archivists.” Washington, DC: Council on Library and Information Resources, June 1995.

http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/reports.html

Pub54

 

September 21st: Class 4 - Replacement and Reformatting

  • Surrogates
  • Benchmarking
  • History, standards, trends of both:
  • Analog and Digital
  • Paper topic and outline due

 

Required Readings:

Banks, Paul N. and Pilette, Roberta. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: ALA 2000.  See “Preservation Microfilming and Photocopying” by Eileen F. Usovicz and Barbara Lilley:  Chapter 15 and “Selection for Preservation” by Carolyn Harris: Chapter 12.

 

Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1999.  Section 5, Leaflet 1-3

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/index5.htm

 

Fox, Lisa. Preservation Microfilming: A guide for Librarians. 2nd ed. Chicago: ALA, 1996. Chapter 1, pp. 23-72. (Familiarize yourself with this book as a reference tool because it is the standard text for anyone involved in reformatting projects.) [On Reserve]

 

 

September 28th: Class 5 - Disaster planning

  • Preparation and Prevention
  • Response and Recovery
  • Risk management
  • Digital/technology
  • Assignment #1 Due– Format Preservation Fact Sheet

 

 

Required Readings

Banks, Paul N. and Pilette, Roberta. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: ALA 2000.  See “Preservation Management: Emergency Preparedness” by Sally A. Buchanan: Chapter 9

 

Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1999. 

Section 3, Leaflets 1-9

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/index3.htm

 

Nyberg, Sandra. “The Invasion of the Giant Spore.” SOLINET Preservation Leaflet No. 5. Atlanta, GA.: SOLINET, 1987.

http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/nyberg/spore.html

 

PRESERVATION 101: An Internet Course on Paper Preservation.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2003.  Lesson 6

http://www.nedcc.org/p101cs/lesson6.htm

 

October 5th: Class 6 - Collections care

  • Staff & User Education
  • Housing/Storage
  • Holdings maintenance
  • Stack maintenance

 

Required Readings

Banks, Paul N. and Pilette, Roberta. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: ALA 2000. “Collections and Stack Management,” by Duane A. Watson: Chapter 8.

 

Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1999. 

Section 4, Leaflets 1-11

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/index4.htm

 

PRESERVATION 101: An Internet Course on Paper Preservation.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2003.  Lesson 5

http://www.nedcc.org/p101cs/lesson5.htm

 

Buchanan, Sally A. and Mia Esserman. “Staff and User Education.” Wilson Library Bulletin 68. October 1994. Pps. 63-64. [On Reserve]

 

Intner, Sheila S. “Preservation Training for Library Users.” Technicalities 14. September 1994. Pps. 7-10. [On Reserve]

 

Kaufman, Diane. “Building Preservation Awareness.” College and Research Libraries News No. 10. November 1995. Pps. 707-708. [On Reserve]

 

 

October 12th: Class 7 – Commercial Library Binding***

  • Guest Speaker : Gary Wert, President of Wert Bookbindery
  • History
  • Structure of book, methods of leaf attachment
  • Commercial library binder services – including archival; phase boxes, etc.
  • Vendor relations
  • National Standards

Required Readings

Banks, Paul N. and Pilette, Roberta. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: ALA 2000.  See “Commercial Library Binding,” by John F. Dean: Chapter 14

 

Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1999. 

Section 6, Leaflet 1

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/index6.htm

 

Review the Standards for Library Binding

ANSI/NISO Z39.78 - 2000 Library Binding

http://www.niso.org/standards/std_preserv_store.html#Z39.78

 

October 19th: Class 8 – Conservation for Circulating Collections

  • Visit University of Pittsburgh Conservation Laboratory, 7500 Thomas Boulevard
  • Revised class time – 6:30pm – 8:30pm
  • Paper & non-paper
  • AIC/Ethics
  • Paper strengthening
  • Deacidification
  • Assignment #2 Due– Preservation Issues in a Global Sense

 

Required Readings

Banks, Paul N. and Pilette, Roberta. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: ALA 2000.  See “The Conservation of General Collections,” by Jan Merrill-Oldham and Nancy Carlson Schrock: Chapter 13 and “Preservation Programs in High-use Library Collections,” by Sara W. Williams: Chapter 2. 

 

Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1999. 

Section 6, Leaflet 2-6

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/index6.htm

 

PRESERVATION 101: An Internet Course on Paper Preservation.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2003.  Lesson 4

http://www.nedcc.org/p101cs/lesson4.htm

 

Harris, Kenneth E. “Saving the Written Word: Mass Deacidification at the Library of Congress,” Preservation Dictorate, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. 2000. [On Reserve]

 

October 26th: Class 9 - Treatment of Rare Books and Specialized Collections

  • Visit Special Collections, 363 Hillman Library – Meeting time and place TBA

·        Conservation for Archival, Museum, and Specialized Collections

·        Importance of the artifact

·        Descriptive Bibliography

 

Required Readings:

Banks, Paul N. and Pilette, Roberta. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: ALA 2000.  See “Special Collections Conservation,” by Eleanore Stewart: Chapter 16.

 

Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1999. 

Section 6, Leaflet 7-9

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/index6.htm

 

Belanger, Terry. “Descriptive Bibliography,” Book Collecting: A Modern Guide, ed. by Jean Peters.  NY: R.R. Bowker Company, 1977, pp. 97-115. [On Reserve]

 

Conserve O Grams. National Park Service: Washington D.C.

Archival and Manuscript Collections and Rare Books:

19/1 What makes a Book Rare?
19/2 Care and Security of Rare Books
19/3 Use and Handling of Rare Books

 http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/cons_toc.html

 

November 2nd: Class 10 - Facilities Management***

  • Visit to University Art Gallery / Frick Fine Arts Building – Meeting Place - TBA
  • Environmental Control
  • Security
  • Integrated Pest Management
  • Offsite storage facilities
  • Exhibition work
  • Research paper topic and outline due

Required Readings

Banks, Paul N. and Pilette, Roberta. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: ALA 2000.  See “Environment and Building Design” by Paul Banks: Chapter 7; “Library and Archives Security,” by Richard Strassberg: Chapter 10 and “Exhibition Policy and Preparation,” by Roberta Pilette: Chapter 11.

 

Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1999. 

Section 2, Leaflet 1-5

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/index2.htm

Section 3, Leaflets 2, 10, 11, 12

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/index3.htm

 

PRESERVATION 101: An Internet Course on Paper Preservation.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2003.  Lesson 3

http://www.nedcc.org/p101cs/lesson3.htm

 

November 9th: Class 11 – Archives and Manuscripts

·        Guest Speaker:  Kate Colligan, Archivist, University of Pittsburgh

·        How archival and manuscript collections differ from books

·        Organization of materials, nature of use, variety of formats

·        Preservation challenges

Required Readings

Banks, Paul N. and Pilette, Roberta. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: ALA 2000.  See “Preservation Program Planning for Archives and Historical Records Repositories,” by Christine Ward: Chapter 3

 

PRESERVATION 101: An Internet Course on Paper Preservation.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2003.  Lesson 2

http://www.nedcc.org/p101cs/lesson2.htm

 

Conserve O Grams. National Park Service: Washington D.C.

Archival and Manuscript Collections and Rare Books:

                19/15 Storing Archival Paper-Based Materials

                19/16 Housing Archival Paper-Based Materials

                19/17 Handling Archival Documents and Manuscripts

                19/18 How to Care for Bound Archival Materials

 http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/cons_toc.html

               

November 16th: Class 12 - Digital Issues

  • Guest Speaker:  Edward Galloway, Head, Digital Research Library at Pitt
  • Digital preservation vs. preservation of digital information.
  • Hybrid systems
  • Digital reformatting for preservation; institutional commitment.

·        Assignment #3 Due–Rare Books and Conservation Collation

 

Required Readings:

Banks, Paul N. and Pilette, Roberta. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: ALA 2000.  See “Issues in Digital Archiving” by Peter S. Graham: Chapter 6 and “Digitization for Preservation and Access” by Paula De Stefano: Chapter 17.

 

Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1999.  Section 5, Leaflet 4-5

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/index5.htm

 

Gertz, Janet. “Selection for Preservation in the Digital Age: an Overview.” Library Resources and Technical Services. Volume 44, No. 2, April 2000, pp. 97-104. [Available online through PittCat]

 

“Recognizing Digitization as a Preservation Reformatting Method,” By the Association of Research Libraries Materials Committee.  June 2004

http://www.arl.org/preserv/digit_final.html

 

November 23rd – No class.  Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!

 

November 30th: Class 13 - Digital Preservation

  • Current efforts
  • Format selection and migration
  • Digital repositories, digital registries
  • Assignment #4 Due–Research Paper

 

Chapman, Stephen. “Counting the Costs of Digital Preservation: Is Repository Storage Affordable? In Journal of Digital Information 4, issue 2 (2003).

http://jodi.ecs.soton.ac.uk/Articles/v04/i02/Chapman/chapman-final.pdf

 

Besser, Howard, “Digital Longevity,” in Handbook for Digital Projects: A Management Tool for Preservation and Access. Andover, Mass.: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2000. Chapter IX.

http://www.nedcc.org/digital/dighome.htm

 

Lavoie, Brian, F.  “Implementing Metadata in Digital Preservation Systems: The PREMIS Activity,” D-Lib Magazine, Vol. 10, Number 4, April 2004. 

http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april04/lavoie/04lavoie.html

 

Neal, James, G. “The ReCAP Artifactual Repository Planning Project,” Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services.  Vol. 28, 2004, pgs. 25-28. 

[Available online through PittCat]

 

Pinefield, Stephen and Hamish James. “The Digital Preservation of e-Prints,” D-Lib Magazine, Vol. 9, Number 9, September 2003.

http://www.dlib.org/dlib/september03/pinfield/09pinfield.html

 

December 7th: Class 14 - Building an Institutional Preservation Program

 

  • Understanding Institutional Needs
  • Building Preservation Programs Locally
  • Advocating for preservation at institutional and governmental levels.
  • Short Term Goals and Long Term Planning
  • Collection Assessments
  • Fund-raising
  • In-class graded assignment and presentations due

Required Readings

Banks, Paul N. and Pilette, Roberta. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: ALA 2000.  Review “Programs, Priorities, and Funding,” by Margaret Child and Laura Word: Chapter 4 and “Planning for Preservation in Libraries,” by Jutta Reed-Scott: Chapter 5.

 

Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1999. 

Section 1, Leaflet 2

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/index1.htm

 

PRESERVATION 101: An Internet Course on Paper Preservation.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2003.  Lesson 8

http://www.nedcc.org/p101cs/lesson8.htm

Assessing Preservation Needs: A Self Survey Guide. Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2003 - Familiarize yourself with this publication as a reference tool.

http://user823621.sf1000.registeredsite.com/selfsurvey/survman.

 

December 14th: Class 15 - Current State of Need and Looking Ahead

  • International preservation
  • Professional organizations
  • Cultural context “bigger picture”
  • Continuing Education
  • In-class graded assignments and presentations due

Required Readings

Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual.  Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1999. 

Section 1, Leaflets 3-8

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/index1.htm

 

Cloonan, Michele. “W(h)ither preservation?,” Library Quarterly. Vol. 71, No. 2, April 2001, pp. 231-242.[Available online through PittCat]