“Core Competency F — use the basic concepts and
principles related to the selection, evaluation, organization, and preservation
of physical and digital items and collections.”
Introduction
Preservation is one
of the most essential functions of the information profession. My research has
shown me that one of the first functions of the library was as a repository to
preserve and conserve treasures which included rare books, whether those books
were clay tablets, papyri, or bound volumes. Historical artifacts are treasures
and their preservation and conservation is the domain of information
specialists like librarians and archivists. Historical artifacts contain information;
they give researchers a context and allow visionaries to imagine themselves
within that context. Preservation differs from conservation in that
preservation is simply protecting the materials. Conservation also involves research,
documentation, and procedures to prolong the life of the materials and the
reason we do this is so that these materials can be used because it does no
good to preserve things if they are not used.
Selection
and Evaluation
Because archivists cannot
possibly preserve every piece of material presented, there has to be a protocol
for selection and evaluation of the materials in question. Acquisition starts with selection
and appraisal. A protocol for
selection includes creating criteria for appropriate materials, and many things
must be taken into consideration when appraising materials, including whether
those materials fit the collection and whether they are the best reflection of
the work of the creator of the collection. For example, I visited the ONE
archives which was created by Jim Kepner as a means of documenting LGB culture
in Los Angeles. The collections are many and massive with probably millions of
records, thousands of which still need sorting and processing and preservation
measures applied, but they are all related to LGB issues in keeping with Mr.
Kepner’s original intent. My report of this visit is offered as evidence
towards my competency in this area (see F_Evidence_1).
Provenance is an important issue in acquisition. By
“provenance,” I am referring to the concept of ownership and/or legal custody
of records and materials. This provenance also allows archivists to assess
value and to verify authenticity of materials. This protocol exists
whether materials are preserved physically or digitally.
Somewhere
in the process, an archivist may have to make the difficult decision whether an
item is germane to the rest of the collection and is to be conserved or if it
must be discarded. There is also the issue of privacy and copyright when
dealing with personal papers and whether the collection will be open to the
public for research. Again, much of the value of a collection lies in its
usefulness, especially when space is at a premium.
Organization
Organization of
materials in an archive or repository is twofold. First, the safety and
conservation of the material must be if prime concern. Second, the materials
need to be processed and a finding aid created. I created a finding aid for a
fictitious collection (see F_Evidence_2), so I am
familiar with the process: taking inventory
of the materials, arranging and organizing, then describing the creator of the
materials in the collection and listing the materials with a short descriptor
of each item. All of these can assist a researcher in finding materials they
need. They may also serve as an inventory and catalog aid for the archive or
repository to keep track of which materials are processed or at which stage in
the processing the collection may be.
The
organization of the actual repository, archive, or library is also part of the
preservation process because the type of container in which the material is
located, the stage at which the material is in being processed and evaluated
for repair or conservation procedures, the location in the building or
satellite location (media materials, like film and tape, that are owned by the
ONE related to LGB film and television is located at UCLA) are all part of the
organization of the collection, as are the finding aids and, in some cases, a
map of the building to guide users in finding the materials on their own where
paging is not offered or required. I again refer to my report of my visit to
the ONE; that is a very well organized and very efficiently run repository. The
staff knows exactly where every piece of material and at what stage in
processing each collection is.
Preservation
As
mentioned above, the conditions in which materials are kept are important to
the preservation process. I had to opportunity to complete two projects which
support this notion. I completed both a fictitious Special Collections HVAC Monitoring Report (see F_Evidence_4) and an
actual report of the branch of the County library where I work (see F_Evidence_5).
These projects illustrate just how important atmospheric conditions are to the
preservation of materials. I was able to make recommendations to my Community
Library Manager based upon my study to make the materials in our circulating
collection circulate longer which will save money on replacing worn and damaged
materials.
The preservation and
conservation process of the Ellesmere Chaucer, which is curated by the
Huntington Library in San Marino, California is well documented as is the
process by which it was re-bound. Its facsimile was on display when I visited
the library which led me to the conclusion that creating an accurate facsimile
for display and use was a viable way of providing access and protecting the
actual artifact at the same time. Many images of the folios of the original
manuscript are also available in digital format at the Huntington’s website. My
report on the preservation of this manuscript is linked as part of my evidence
of competency.
The procedures for preserving archival materials are
advancing with technology. The
most obvious use of technology in archival practice is in digitizing records
and born digital records. There are, however, new technological advances in
every aspect of archiving and the practice evolves as the new technology
advances. I wrote a paper discussing how technological advances affect
preservation (see F_Evidence_3). Technology in the form of electronically
stored records of acquisition make the process of tracing provenance, that is
the trail of ownership and custody faster and more accurate. Since conservation
efforts invariably change the materials, recording the conservation procedures
is crucial. Making these records
electronically available allows greater access to others involved with curating
the materials as well as patrons of the repository who may need that
information as part of their research.
Digitized
and born-digital materials have special preservation needs. For example, I have
five inch floppy discs with information I will most likely never be able to
retrieve again, yet I hang onto them" just in case." I don't even
know if they still have the information they originally were used to store
because the material was so fragile; one accidental swipe in front of the monitor
and the magnetism of the screen could wipe out all the memory. I also have many
3 inch floppy discs, but no access to a machine that can read them. An archive
or repository that curated these materials would need to either retrieve the
information on these materials and store it in another medium or invest in
machines that could read the media or even both. In my paper on technological
advances, I briefly discuss the BitCurator project which is a program designed
to assist archives and repositories in preserving and allowing access to
born-digital records which may only be accessed through obsolete machines.
Conclusion
I actually find this
aspect of librarianship the most interesting. I am considering continuing my
education to become a conservator of rare materials, particularly books. As I
have stated previously, I am a bibliophile. Stories in electronic format have
their place, certainly, but nothing can replace the experience of reading a
real, physical book. The material itself holds an intrinsic value for that
experience. In the same way, access to other materials as well as the
information they convey is valuable so those materials need to be preserved,
conserved, and curated. I have experience in this area, as shown by my
evidence. I also have a high level of interest and would love work in an
archive or repository, filling that particular function of librarianship.
Wherever I serve, I will be certain to perform preservation tasks whenever
appropriate.
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