PRESERVATION
POLICY:
THE
VARIOUS TYPES OF STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL PLANS INVOLVED IN LIBRARY
PRESERVATION POLICIES.
Preservation has become
an essential part of human life that cuts across various fields and spheres of
human endeavor. Preservation is simply
put as the act of maintaining the value of an object to prolong the lifespan of
that object. Objects such as bags, books, electronics, and cloths and so on,
whether big or small in size are meant to be handled or used when needed. However, continuous handling and use of these
objects will eventually lead to wear and tear, because each time they are used
they depreciate. A continuous
depreciation of the value of an object will lead to deterioration, damage and
eventual destruction of that object.
Preservation therefore
is vital to every object used by humans.
Humans cannot stop the depreciation of an object but they are can reduce
the rate of depreciation and prolong the lifespan of any object used. Preservation can therefore, be seen as an
effort to reduce the depreciation of an object and ultimately prolong the
lifespan of that object. To preserve
therefore, certain techniques will be carried out and measures will be taken at
intervals to ensure the prolonged life of an object. Common preservation techniques can include
cleaning, washing, applying gum, repairing and so on.
Objects such as
textbooks, serials and other materials in the library therefore require
preservation per time. The library is
expected to provide access to information materials when needed by patrons;
this is the major reason for its existence.
Provision of access to information materials means the materials will be
handled usually without close supervision in the library or at home when the
material is borrowed. Library materials
especially in Africa are mostly in paper form.
Although an increasing quantity of information is captured at its source
in electronic format, a significant percentage of Africa’s library and archival
documents exists solely in paper form (Katundu 200; Ngulube 2002). Documents in electronic formats are usually
printed for easier accessibility, use and distribution. The
use of the information material by patrons will eventually lead to weakening,
folding and detachment of parts of the material. Information materials are used in the library
or borrowed by different individuals who handle the material differently; some
carefully and other carelessly. Humans
are not the only factors of deterioration.
Environmental factors such as sunlight, moisture, light, and dust;
chemical factors such as carbon monoxide, acid, sulphur and other gases all of
which the materials might come in contact with during the course of its use
will cause deterioration of the material.
Acquisition of library
materials without proper allocation of resources to address their future
deterioration, no training of staff on preservation and conservation
techniques, lack of recognition and negligence of the need for preservation of
library materials are also major problems apart from the factors above
responsible for deterioration of library materials and emphasizing the needs
for preservation policy in the library.
Preservation and
conservation of library materials have remained one of the major challenges
facing African libraries today (Popoola, 2003).
It is therefore very vital that libraries devise procedures and policies
that will guide the preservation of library materials used by patrons. The policy can be known as preservation
policy. A policy can be defined as a
course of action adopted by organizations, individuals or businesses for a
particular situation or circumstance. A
policy therefore, is already laid down for future occurrences and will be
referred to for guidance especially by individuals who weren’t there when the
policy was established. The preservation
policy therefore, is a course of action laid down by a library for preservation
of its information materials; the policy is expected to be followed by staff of
the library. Preservation policies vary
from library to library depending on size of the library, amount of collection
possessed, and frequency of use of library materials and so on.
Policy clauses in a
model for digital preservation policy given by Charles Beagrie Limited, 2008
show the following:
-Principle
statement: Addresses how digital
preservation policy can serve the needs of the library and the benefits it will
bring.
-Contextual Links: Highlights how the policy integrates into
the organization and how it relates to other high level policies and
strategies.
-Preservation
objectives: Information about
preservation objectives and how they will be supported.
-Identification of
content: Outline what the policy’s
overall scope is in terms of content and its relationship to collection
development aims.
-Procedural
Accountability: Identify high level
responsibilities for the policy and provide recognition of the most important
recognition of the most important obligations faced in preserving key
institutional resources.
-Guidance and
implementation: How to implement the
preservation policy and/or identification of where additional guidance and
procedures are available in separate documentation or from staff
-Glossary: List of definitions, if required.
-Version control: History and bibliographic details of the
version. Add date of the policy,
intended duration and review process.
The model was used for
digital preservation policy but can also be adopted by libraries in the
preservation of print materials.
Information materials
in digital is seen as the future of library materials in the library, as they
revolutionized the way libraries acquire, process, organize and disseminate
information materials. Digital materials
from the preservation perspective are much easier than the paper form due its virtual
format. Digital materials are usually in
e-formats making just readable but not handled physically. Technology used in the storage of digital
materials become obsolete after a period of time and will have to be replaced
with new technology. An operational plan
used by libraries is to copy digital materials in obsolete formats and convert
them into new ones. Technological
preservation is also a strategy turn operational plan used in the library;
technologies used for the storage of information materials such as computers
will be updated frequently with hardware and software changes that will support
the use of better digital formats.
Libraries also operationally ban the use of flash drives and outside
devices on the computer system to avoid the transfer of computer virus which
will destroy files on the libraries computer system. Backup of files and e-materials is also
another strategy used by libraries for the preservation of digital materials;
hard drives, CD-ROM, and others are used to store the exact copy of e-materials
in cases of unforeseen occurrences.
According to Lee et al (2002), the preservation of digital materials in
the library involves technology preservation, preservation emulation, information
migration and encapsulation.
Library materials in
paper form unlike digital materials are prone to greater risks of deterioration
due to continuous handling. Preventive
plans can be implemented by libraries for print materials like books to slow
the rate of deterioration which will be done during processing immediately
acquisition; use of book jacket covers, paperback reinforcement and pamphlet
bindings. Operational procedures for
policies in preservation of paper materials may include:
-Identification of
materials with minor damage such as loose parts and covers by circulation staff
either weekly or monthly depending on level of use. This makes easier to repair materials.
-In cases of damaged
books, they should be sorted to categories having the same damage
characteristics. This helps to reduce
the cost implication of repairs.
-Training of staff and
updating knowledge on repair techniques periodically.
-Supervision of repair
procedures to ensure the work is properly done.
In addition to this, some
techniques used for preservation of print and non-print materials include:
-Lamination: The use of lamination machines for vital
documents will reduce the rate of deterioration through the thick plastic
covering the original paper provided by the laminating machine.
-Microfilming: Microfilms are used for compressing large
files and storing them in micro form.
Microfilms can only be read with the use of special machines designed by
it. Microfilms not only conserve space
as large volumes of books can be kept in a single microform, it is great tool
for preserving large materials.
-Binding: Binding is a preservation techniques usually
used for books. Binding of books
involves the provision hard covers and repair of spine to damaged books. Books can be brought back to life just
through binding; loose pages and the overall strength of the book will be
renewed.
-Photocopying: Photocopying of worn out original copies of
documents is another great preservation technique. Photocopies can be made over and over again
not only preservation but also distribution.
-Cleaning and dusting
of library materials: Perhaps the most
popular preservation technique used in the library. Although, it sounds sound simple, cleaning
and dusting of library is a vital technique; dust is one of the environmental
factors causing deterioration of materials.
-Installing of air
conditioners: Air conditioners also play
a major part not only in preservation but also in conservation of library
materials. The use of air conditioners
can prevent chemical deterioration factors such as oxides of carbon, rosin and
cellulose and also help maintain the appropriate temperatures to avoid humidity
and damp heat.
Other includes
provision of adequate security to avoid theft, application of insecticides and
fumigation.
The collection
development cycle the library goes through regularly to keep it relevant is
vital to its existence and preservation is key to collection development. The information needs of patrons are met not
only by newly printed books; books published years ago are also relevant for
referential and evidential reasons.
Preservation is therefore key to accomplishment of the library’s major
objective: provision of information materials to satisfy information needs.
References
Katundu, D. R. M.
(2001). Preservation challenges for
Africa’s information systems: the case of electronic records. Information
Development 17(3)179-182.
Lee
K., Slattery, O., Lu, R., Tang, X., & McCarry, V. (2002). The
State of the Art and Digital Preservation.
The Journal of Research of the
National Institute of Standards and Technology.
107(1). Retrieved June 25,
2007 from: http://nvl.nist.gov/pub/nistpubs/jrest/107/1/j71/lee.pdf
Ngulube,
P. (2002). Preservation reformatting
strategies in Selected Sub Saharan archival institutions. African
Journal of Library, Archival and Information Science 12(2) 117-132.
Olatokun,
W. M. (2008). A survey of preservation
and conservation practices and techniques in Nigerian university
libraries. Library and Information Science Research Electronic Journal. 18(2)
1-18.
Popoola,
S. O. (2003). Preservation and Conservation of Information Resources. University
of Ibadan Nigeria: Distance Learning Centre.
