Archival Preservation Practice in a Nationwide Context

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Conway, Context
Copyright Year	2017
Abstract	The preservation of historical materials, in a variety of forms and formats, is both a cultural necessity and a central responsibility for professional archivists. Archivists need to define for themselves just what archival preservation entails and assess the capacity of the thousands of archives, large and small, scattered and isolated from each other, to develop and administer sophisticated preservation programs. The author presents the results of the first nationwide study of archival preservation practices in the United States. He describes a model of archival preservation that partially shaped the research project, summarizes the research process involved, reports the major findings, and discusses the implications of the research for archivists and the archival profession. About the author: Paul Conway is currently undertaking a user study for the National Archives and Records Administration. During 1988 and 1989 he served as preservation program officer for the Society of American Archivists, where he carried out the research described in this article. Prior to joining the SAA staff, he was an archivist for ten years at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor. He has an M.A. in history from the University of Michigan and is completing a Ph. D. at Michigan's School of Information and Library Studies. The research was made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views ofNEH or the Society of American Archivists. Archival Preservation Practice 205 THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL materials, in a variety of forms and formats, is both a cultural necessity and a central management responsibility for professional archivists. The findings and implications of a two-year research, evaluation, and planning project, the results of which are described in this article, make it clear now more than ever that archivists confront special challenges in preserving the unique archival materials in their custody. In responding to these challenges, archivists need to develop processes, within the context of a nationwide archival preservation strategy, that improve their capacity to undertake comprehensive preservation programs at the institutional, regional, state, and national levels. Meeting this need is as much an educational problem as a financial one. Until a decade ago, it appeared possible that archivists could fulfill their responsibilities to the historical record, and therefore to society, merely by collecting and housing materials in secure environments and permitting access to those who asked. Today more and more archivists recognize that preservation is a specific set of technical and administrative processes that affect every archival function. The development and implementation of comprehensive, integrated preservation activities in archives can be an expensive proposition. Environmentally benign storage space, for example, comes at a premium price; many treatment activities are labor intensive and often require specialized equipment and supplies and highly skilled personnel. And yet, in the past few years archivists have seen a dramatic increase in popular support and funding from government and private sources for preservation projects. The hypothetical ques'Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, Archives and Manuscripts: Conservation (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1983), 47. The popular acclaim accorded the film Slow Fires: tion that confronts every person committed to the preservation of what Paul Banks calls our "movable culture" is: "If a windfall befell you, could you spend the money wisely?" Some preservation experts have believed for years that wisdom is learned, not bought. Pamela Darling, for instance, concludes that accurate information is crucial to successful administration, and that the real problem is the shortage, not of money, but of knowledge. "Financial constraints are serious and will become more so; but until the preservation field reaches the point at which most people know what ought to be done and how it should be done, the lack of money to do it on a scale appropriate to the need is not terribly significant." Archivists need to define for themselves just what archival preservation entails and assess the capacity of the thousands of archives, large and small, scattered and isolated from each other, to develop and administer sophisticated preservation programs. From this base of information, archivists will then be able to build a nationwide strategy for archival preservation that supports preservation programs instead of recommending how to pour money into flashy but limited projects. It is with these issues in mind that the Society of American Archivists, with the assistance of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), carried out the first nationwide study of archival preservation practices. This article will describe a model On the Preservation of the Human Record (Council on Library Resources, 1987), and the recent major increases in funding for the NEH Office of Preservation are but two examples of the renewed public commitment to preserving cultural resources. Paul Banks, unpublished keynote address to Latin American Archivists Conservation and Preservation Institute, Austin, Texas, 11 September 1989, 2. "Pamela W. Darling, "Creativity v. Despair: The Challenge of Preservation Administration," Library Trends 30 (Fall 1981): 185. 'National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators, Preservation Needs in State 206 American Archivist / Spring 1990 of archival preservation that partially shaped the research project, summarize the research process involved, report the major findings of a nationwide survey, and discuss the implications of the overall project for archivists and the archival profession. What Is Archival Preservation? One distinguishing characteristic of an evolving field of specialization, such as preservation, is disagreement on key definitions. Definition-setting sometimes seems like a trivial exercise. At certain times, however, program development and research both become dependent on clear statements of principles and priorities. In the past decade, archivists and librarians have been approaching such clarity. The following three-part working definition synthesizes an emerging consensus and serves as a structure for the research project. First and foremost, the essence of archival preservation is resource allocation. Archival preservation is the acquisition, organization, and distribution of resources (human, physical, monetary) to Archives (Albany, NY: NAGARA, 1985). This is a national study, prepared by Howard Lowell, concerning the nation's fifty state archives. '"Glossary of Selected Preservation Terms," ALCTS Newsletter 1 (1990): 14-15. The case for consensus is made in Pamela Darling and Sherelyn Ogden, "From Problems Perceived to Programs in Practice: The Preservation of Library Resources in the U.S.A., 1956-1980," Library Resources & Technical Services 25 (January/March 1981): 10. The best preservation bibliographies are published annually in Library Resources & Technical Services (LRTS). See Lisa Fox, "A Two Year Perspective on Library Preservation: An Annotated Bibliography," LRTS 30 (July/ September 1986): 290-318; Carla J. Montori, "Library Preservation in 1986: An Annotated Bibliography," LRTS 31 (October/December 1987): 365-85; Carla J. Montori and Karl Eric Longstreth, "The Preservation of Library Materials, 1987: A Review of the Literature," LRTS 32 (July 1988): 235-47; and Karl E. Longstreth, "The Preservation of Library Materials in 1988: A Review of the Literature," LRTS 33 (July 1989): 217-26. Archival Preservation: A Proposed Definition Archival preservation is the acquisition, organization, an i distribution of resources (human, physical, monetary) to ensure adequate protection of hist< rical inl irmatioi . • . ii g \ ue for access by present and future generations. Archival preservation encompasses planning and implementing policies, procedues, and j ocesses that '.^gether prevent furt ser detcrioratic n or renew the usability of selected groups of materials. Archival preservation management, when most effective, requires that pi •. •>ning precede implementation, and that prevent! >n activities have priority over renewal activities. ensure adequate protection of historical information of enduring value for access by present and future generations. Underlying this first part of the definition are a number of assumptions. First, as its ultimate goal, preservation is for use and not simply for its own sake. Second, preservation largely concerns information and knowledge, in a variety of forms and formats, that has been identified as having longterm values, including historical, legal, evidential, informational, and monetary. Archivists have the primary responsibility for identifying these values. Third, the word "adequate" in the definition implies that there is no ultimate or perfect solution to the preservation challenge and that there are many ways to approach solutions— probably as many ways as there are archivists. Finally, the definition assumes that responsibility for preservation ultimately rests with every person charged with caring for historical materials and pervades every function of a repository. Collection or reArchival Preservation Practice 207 pository level strategies take precedence over activities directed toward individual items. Although these assumptions are echoed by nearly every author who has written on managing preservation programs, a second level of definition is needed that organizes the wide variety of specific preservation activities into a conceptual structure. Archival preservation encompasses planning and implementing policies, procedures, and processes that together prevent further deterioration or renew the usability of selected groups of materials. The statement sugges
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Subject Keyword	Automated planning and scheduling Bank (environment) Bibliography Biologic Preservation Case preservation Charge (electrical) Conway's Game of Life Definition F. Lynn McNulty Feeling despair Fire - physical phenomenon Foremost Histamine Dihydrochloride Html Link Type - glossary Isoelectric Point Librarian Library science List of information schools Manufactured Supplies Money Movable Type National Library of Medicine (U.S.) Partial template specialization Policy Program Development Resource Allocation Scientific Publication Software repository Usability testing archive eric format inL peptide responsibility
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