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B u i l d i n g B l o c k s
for a Preservat ion Pol icy
N ational Preservation O ffice
N PO Pre se rvat i o n G u i d a n ce
Preserva t ion M anagement Ser ies
N ational Preservation O ffice
The Bri t ish Library
96 Euston Road
Lo n do n N W 1 2 D BTe l : 020 7412 7612
Fax : 020 7 412 77 96
E-mai l : n po@bl .uk
www. b l . u k / n p o /
N ational Preservation O ffice
supp orted by
The Bri t ish LibraryThe Publ ic Record O ff ice
The N at ional Library of
Scotland
Tr in i ty Col lege L ibrary D ubl in
The Consortium of U niversi ty
Research Libraries
Cam bridge U niversi ty L ibrary
The N at ional Library of Wales
The Bod le ian L ibrary,O x fo rd U n iversi t y
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W hat is a preservation policy?
Preservation, as i t app l ies to l i b ra ry and a rch ive m ater ia l , can be d e f ined as: a l lmanager ia l and f i nanc ia l cons idera t ions inc lud ing s to rage and accommodat ion
prov is ion, s taf f ing levels , pol ic ies, techniques and methods involved in preserv ing
l ib ra ry and a rch ive mater ia l s and the in fo rmat ion con ta ined there in .
Th e O xford Eng l i sh D ic t ionary puts i t more co ncisely and def ines preservat ion
as the ar t o f k eep ing sa fe , keep ing a l i ve , m a in ta in ing and re ta in ing , w h i le
de f in ing a po l i cy s imp ly as: a course o r genera l p lan o f ac t ion . Therefo re ,
a preservat ion pol icy at i ts most bas ic , is a plan of action for safe keeping .
In som e o f the l i te ra tu re on p reserva tion , the w ords p o l i c y an d strategy ar eo f ten used in te rchangeab ly . Ac cord i ng to the O ED a st ra tegy i s the a r t o f w ar ;
i n o ur case, w ar agains t decay and d est ruc t ion ; i t i s a l so the m anagement o f an
army in a campa ign , i n o ther w ords : the managem ent o f al l the too ls and sk i l l s
at our d isposal to f ight against decay. The d i f ference is that a p o l i c y, a p l a n o f
act ion, shoul d ad dress the q uest ions of wh a t needs to be preserved, w hy, fo r w hat
purp ose and for how long, w h i l e a strategy add resses the qu est ion s of how th i s
sh o u l d b e d o n e a n d in what order .
W hy is a preservation policy needed ?
Accountabi l i ty
The need fo r a p reserva tion po l i cy i s no t new, bu t i t has becom e mo re acu te in
recen t years. W i th ever-dw ind l ing resources and m any m ore c la im s on tho se
tha t a re ava i lab le , the need fo r acco untab i l i t y an d the n eed to ju st i f yexpen di tu re have beco m e mo re pressing. O rganisation s and in st i tu t ions,
part icu lar ly thei r governo rs and fund ers, but a lso thei r users, expect a pol i cy as a
B u i l d i n g B l o c k sfor a Preservat ion Pol icy
1
Author M i r j am M . Fo o t
D esign The Br i t i sh L ib ra ry D esign O f f i ce
Bui ld ing Blo cks for a Preservat ion Pol icy has been
develop ed by Professor M ir jam Foot f rom a
presentat ion m ade by her at the Preservat ionM anagement Sum m er Schoo l he ld in Ju ly 19 99 a t
the Publ ic Record O ff ice, und er the auspices and
w i th the suppo r t o f the European Com m ission on
Preservat ion and A ccess, the N PO , the Publ ic Record
O ff ice, U nivers i ty Col lege Lond on, the Ligue des
Bib l i o thqu es Europ ennes de Recherche and the
In terna tiona l C ounc i l on Arch ives.
January 2001
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r et en t i o n p o l i c y
the sign i f i cance /va lue / ra ri t y o f the m ater ia l
t h e am o u n t a n d k i n d o f u sa ge
t h e p h y si c a l c o n d i t i o n o f t h e m a te r i al .
b Education and Training programm es for :
a l l l i b ra ry sta ff
con serva tion and p reserva tion sta ff
u se r s.
c Risk assessment and risk management strategy.
d D isaster preventio n, control and recover y plans.
e Policy for, or statement on, research and development in preservation
and conservation.
f Policy on treatments, w i th re fe rence to s tandards and benc hm arks fo r a l l
t ypes o f mate r ia l , i nc lud ing non-pr in t mate r ia l .
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Further reading
Feather, Joh n, Preserva tion an d the m anagement o f l i b ra ry co l lec t ion s , 2 n d e d .
London: L ib ra ry Assoc ia t ion , 1996
Feather, Joh n, an d Eden , Paul , N at iona l Preserva tion Po l i cy : Po l i c ies and
p rac ti c es i n ar c h iv es an d rec o rd o ff i c es, Lond on: Br i t i sh L ib ra ry Research and
Innova t ion Cent re : Report 43 , 1 9 9 7
IFLA, Pr inc ip les fo r the care and hand l ing o f l i b ra ry mater ia l s , Pari s: IFLA PACPro g ram m e , 1 9 9 8
Forde , H e len , Preserva tion po l i c ies wh o n eeds them? , Jou rnal o f the Society
o f Arch iv i s ts , 1 8 . 2 , 1 9 9 7 , p p . 1 6 5 -7 3
Foot , M i r jam M . , Tow ards a p reserva tion po l i cy fo r European research l i b ra r ies ,
L IBER Q uarter ly , 9 . 3 , 1 9 9 9 , p p . 3 2 3 -2 8
Br i t ish Standard s Inst i tu te, Recom m endat ions fo r the sto rage and exh ib i t i on o f
a rc h i v a l d o c u m e n t s , BS5454:2000, London: BSI , 2000
N at iona l Preserva tion O f f i ce , G u i d a n c e f o r e x h i b i t i n g l i b rar y a n d a rc h i v e
mater ia l s , Lo n d o n : N PO , 2 0 0 0
N at iona l Preserva tion O f f i ce , Photocopy ing o f l i b ra ry and arch ive mater ia l s ,
L o n d o n : N P O , 2 0 0 0 .
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