Preservation Management for Libraries, Archives and Museums

Citation

Matthews, G. (2007), "Preservation Management for Libraries, Archives and Museums", New Library World, Vol. 108 No. 11/12, pp. 569-571. https://doi.org/10.1108/03074800710838326

Gorman and Shep have brought together eminent individuals from around the world with experience and expertise in different aspects of preservation management. The contributors' 11 essays “…chart the diversity of preservation management in the contemporary landscape” and “represent the most current and forward‐looking viewpoints in their respective fields”. Their reputation is emphasised by the editors' statement that “They have been selected as much for their specific expertise as for the contribution they will make to the field of preservation management in the next 40 years and beyond”. Indeed, they have already made considerable contributions. A strength of the book is that the contributors not only present a current overview of activity and achievements but they also try to look forward, not easy when digital technology, a key factor in preservation management and access, is advancing so rapidly. Each chapter offers references to further sources; there is an index.

In the opening chapter, John Feather neatly sets the scene for the rest of the book. He addresses: heritage and culture, documentary heritage, defining the domain, accidental heritage, selection for survival, the digital dilemma, and the future of the documentary heritage and provides examples from archives, libraries and museums. Most significantly, Feather helpfully situates the documentary heritage within the context of the broader heritage.

Next, Mirjam Foot discusses preservation policy, strategy and planning, linking these to the aims, purposes, functions and activities of the library or archive, and considers issues such as storage and access, lending, exhibitions and reprographic services. She rightly stresses the significance of resources – people and funding – with regard to strategy and planning, and the need to be selective. In this respect, she offers advice as to the criteria to consider: value, rarity, use, condition, and the costs and monitoring of a preservation programme. She also draws attention to risk assessment and management and the need to coordinate preservation activities effectively to maximise use of resources and to facilitate “strategic prevention rather than belated cures”.

In Chapter 3, David Grattan and John Moses move the reader on from archives and libraries to museums and the intangible heritage, “such as language, music, theatre, attitudes, gestures, practice, customs … ” But they underline that the tangible must be considered too as it is “… impossible when considering any artefact to disassociate the intangible from the tangible”. The “documentation of intangible heritage such as language or traditions, but also of the attributes, history and creation of objects in the collection” must also be preserved. This, they reflect, is complicated by the sheer range of modern media museums and other are using for storage. They discuss briefly migration, digitization and costs and conclude that non‐traditional techniques may be necessary to safeguard the intangible heritage.

In the next chapter, Marilyn Deegan considers surrogacy, analogue and digital, and the use of digital data as a preservation alternative. Issues addressed include: how to authenticate digital documents, whether surrogates can replace originals and the disposal of originals. A key lesson here is that “ The relationship between an artefact and its various surrogates is a problematic one, and has to be carefully though through in all aspects of preservation management”.

In Chapter 5, Yola de Lusenet continues with the theme of surrogacy, with a focus on reformatting, preservation and access, and the role of digitization. She reflects on the conflicting demands of political pressure to increase access and cultural participation though digital means and the responsibility to collections handed down over the centuries that demand “stable solutions … in a search for permanence”. She covers microfilming, hybrid approaches and digital preservation and addresses images and photographs as well as text. With regard to the future, she points out that this may depend “ on how the heritage sector will be positioned in the digital environment and to what extent they will be able to shape this environment themselves”. Ownership and rights and the sustainability of digital collections will play a key part in this.

In Chapter 6, Hank Porck and colleagues outline the role of conservation research in preservation management. They attest that “to establish a coherent paper conservation research agenda, the setting of research priorities is necessary” and describe the “Valuation Model for Paper Conservation Research” they have developed.

In Chapter 7, attention is turned to audiovisual material, where Bob Pymm provides an up to date and interesting account of the preservation of traditional to interactive formats, looking at physical storage, monitoring, active preservation monitoring and digitizing and digital broadcast materials. He concludes with a most pertinent point, emphasising that preservation is a never‐ending management process, “ And while it may be that technological development, particularly in the area of emulation, will mitigate this process for digital objects, preservation will remain a major, resource‐intensive task for all of the ‘memory’ institutions”.

In the following chapter, Barbara Reed considers the challenges of managing the digitally born artefact, and urges information professionals not to adopt a wait and see approach while experience of and research into new technologies develop. She puts the case that “No cultural heritage institution can afford to postpone the challenges of managing the digitally born artefact”. This chapter covers why digitally born artefacts are different, conceptual challenges, specific challenges, challenges to professional practice and some implemented initiatives and experience.

Next, René Teijgeler addresses preserving cultural heritage in times of conflict and outlines international law. He provides examples of breaches and successes from around the world. “Sadly, the wilful destruction of cultural property has a lengthy history. It should be clear … that it does make perfect sense to prepare for the future, even if it has many disasters in store for us. At least then our heritage has a chance to survive … Some of our colleagues were very inventive in finding solutions under pressure. Let us learn from them and prepare for the worst.” Cautionary words, indeed, but as the examples he provides underline, sound advice.

Helen Forde considers access and preservation with a focus on memory institutions and the right to information and the enabling of information retrieval in the e‐society. She argues for a balance between electronic access and appropriate preservation, noting that electronic access is currently more important, but whilst this might be the case, memory institutions need to ensure that there are no gaps in knowledge for future generations.

In the final chapter, “Redefining the collection in the twenty first century”, the editors consider preservation in the light of current collection management practice, where they assert new models of collecting and access are developing.

At the same time, the notion of the collection itself as a static and fixed assemblage of items housed in a single institution in perpetuity has been defined. Distributed collections with multiple custodial and guardianship roles and rights, particularly for archives and indigenous cultural property, are joined by travelling collections temporarily housed in flexible spaces, and virtual collections of digitized surrogates which erase geopolitical as well as institutional boundaries. The establishment of collaborative networks … emphasize cross‐domain collaboration among institutions in the cultural heritage sector. While the aim is to facilitate seamless, networked access to collections, an integrated stewardship strategy underwritten by sound preservation management principles brings together domains that have hitherto operated in isolation and with little recognition or appreciation of essential commonalities and constructive differences.

Between them, the contributors address the issue raised in the editors' final chapter. The theme of preservation versus access in the context of recent digital activity runs through the book, which offers insight into the business, political social and technical influences at play. The different kinds of collections, their management and access to them that we can expect in future is outlined. Key to the success of preservation of the heritage in archives, libraries and museums is their managers understanding of this and their ability and effectiveness in fighting the corner of their institutions and users/visitors in an environment with an increasing number of stakeholders with different agendas. In this respect, the book is thought provoking and should be of interest to policy‐makers, practitioners and students alike.