Preservation survey
Preservation survey (also known as condition survey, conservation needs survey or preservation assessment) is the process of collecting and analyzing data about the physical condition of library materials.
Preservation surveys are used by libraries to determine the condition of their collections and identify necessary actions for preserving, conserving or repairing materials. They are most often conducted at research and university libraries.
Preservation surveys are often the first step when planning and implementing a preservation program in a library. By collecting data and compiling statistics about a collection’s condition, library staff can determine environmental threats and preservation needs. It is also possible to use the resulting data to predict future deterioration.[1]
Since preservation needs usually well exceed an institution’s resources, the data acquired in an assessment can aid libraries in establishing priorities in regard to deteriorating materials.[2] As Ross Harvey wrote in his Preservation in Libraries, the data from surveys can "be used to plan how best to deploy available resources."[3]
History
The need for surveying library materials was born of the increasing awareness of the problem of brittle books. William Barrow’s Deterioration of Book Stock: Problems and Remedies from 1959 alerted the library world to the alarmingly short shelf life of books composed of acidic paper. While major libraries had estimated high percentages of acidic books,[4] it wasn’t until 1979 that an empirical study was conducted on a library collection to determine its condition. This study,[5] at Stanford University’s Green Library, was a benchmark in the field and established the methodology for conducting preservation surveys in research libraries.
Yale University conducted a large-scale assessment of its library materials in 1985[6] that is also considered a landmark in the field. Yale’s survey sounded the warning bell for research libraries worldwide, discovering that 86% of the more than 36,500 books in the sample were either brittle or composed of paper with an acidic pH.[7]
Conducting a Survey
Many preservation surveys are conducted by collecting data on a random sample of items.[8] University librarians may consult with the institution’s statistics department to design a reliable sampling plan.[9] A random sample may be derived by the randomization of call numbers, by the creation of a sampling frame that assigns a unique number to each item in the target population[10] or by generating random numbers and locating volumes by counting on the shelf.[11]
A pilot survey of a small sample population may be run prior to the actual survey in order to address any problems with the sampling plan or the survey questions.[12] The pilot survey may reveal unclear or ambiguous wording, superfluous questions, or existing conditions that have not been addressed.
After the pilot survey, the library may hold a workshop to train surveyors to properly collect data and handle materials.[13]
References
- ^ Robert DeCandido. “Condition Survey of the United States History, Local History and Genealogy Collection of the New York Public Library,” Library Resources and Technical Services, 33,3 (July, 1989), 281.
- ^ Brian J. Baird, Jana Krentz, and Brad Schaffner, “Findings from the Condition Surveys Conducted by the University of Kansas Libraries,” College and Research Libraries, 58, 2 (March 1997), 115.
- ^ Ross Harvey, Preservation in Libraries: Principles, Strategies and Practices for Librarians, London: Bowker-Saur, 1993, pg. 55
- ^ Gay Walker, Jane Greenfield, John Fox, and Jeffrey S. Simonoff, “The Yale Survey: A Large-Scale Study of Book Deterioration in the Yale University Library,” College and Research Libraries, 46 (March 1985), 111.
- ^ Sara Buchanan and Sandra Coleman, “Deterioration Survey of the Stanford University Libraries Green Library Stack Collection,” In Preservation Planning Program Resource Notebook, comp. Pamela W. Darling (Washington DC: Association of Research Libraries, Office of Management Studies, 1987): 159-230.
- ^ Gay Walker, Jane Greenfield, John Fox, and Jeffrey S. Simonoff, “The Yale Survey: A Large-Scale Study of Book Deterioration in the Yale University Library,” College and Research Libraries, 46 (March 1985), 111-132.
- ^ Gay Walker, Jane Greenfield, John Fox, and Jeffrey S. Simonoff, “The Yale Survey: A Large-Scale Study of Book Deterioration in the Yale University Library,” College and Research Libraries, 46 (March 1985), 111.
- ^ M. Carl Drott, "Random Sampling: A Tool for Library Research," College and Research Libraries 30 (March 1969), 119-125
- ^ Gay Walker, Jane Greenfield, John Fox, and Jeffrey S. Simonoff, “The Yale Survey: A Large-Scale Study of Book Deterioration in the Yale University Library,” College and Research Libraries, 46 (March 1985), 127.
- ^ Gay Walker, Jane Greenfield, John Fox, and Jeffrey S. Simonoff, “The Yale Survey: A Large-Scale Study of Book Deterioration in the Yale University Library,” College and Research Libraries, 46 (March 1985), 127.
- ^ Robert DeCandido. “Condition Survey of the United States History, Local History and Genealogy Collection of the New York Public Library,” Library Resources and Technical Services, 33,3 (January, 1989), 276.
- ^ Gay Walker, Jane Greenfield, John Fox, and Jeffrey S. Simonoff, “The Yale Survey: A Large-Scale Study of Book Deterioration in the Yale University Library,” College and Research Libraries, 46 (March 1985), 113-114.
- ^ Tina Chrzastowski, David Cobb, Nancy Davis, Jean Geil, and Betsy Kruger “Library Collection Deterioration: A Study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,” College and Research Libraries, 50, 5 (September 1989): 579.
- v
- t
- e
and issues
- Agents of deterioration
- Archival processing
- Archaeological science
- Archaeology
- Archive
- Bioarchaeology
- Book
- Calendar (archives)
- Conservation and restoration of cultural property
- Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property
- Conservation and restoration of movable cultural property
- Conservation science (cultural property)
- Collecting
- Collection (museum)
- Collection catalog
- Collections maintenance
- Collections management
- Collections management system
- Cultural heritage
- Cultural heritage management
- Cultural property
- Cultural property documentation
- Cultural property exhibition
- Cultural property imaging
- Cultural property storage
- Cultural resources management
- Database preservation
- Deaccessioning (museum)
- Digital library
- Digital photograph restoration
- Digital preservation
- Disaster preparedness (cultural property)
- Film preservation
- Finding aid
- Fonds
- Found in collection
- Heritage asset
- Heritage science
- Inherent vice
- Intangible cultural heritage
- Integrated pest management (cultural property)
- Inventory (library and archive)
- Inventory (museum)
- Media preservation
- Midden
- Mold control and prevention (library and archive)
- Museum
- Optical media preservation
- Preservation (library and archive)
- Preservation metadata
- Preservation survey
- Provenance
- Repatriation
- Ruins
- Sustainable preservation
- Treasure
- Web archiving
and expertise
- Archivist
- Art dealer
- Art handler
- Auctioneer
- Collection manager
- Conservator-restorer
- Conservation scientist
- Conservation technician
- Curator
- Exhibition designer
- Mount maker
- Objects conservator
- Paintings conservator
- Photograph conservator
- Preservationist
- Registrar (cultural property)
- Textile conservator
and techniques
- Aging (artwork)
- Anastylosis
- Arrested decay
- Cradling (paintings)
- Cultural property radiography
- Detachment of wall paintings
- Desmet method
- Display case
- Digital repository audit method based on risk assessment
- Historic paint analysis
- Inpainting
- Kintsugi
- Leafcasting
- Lining of paintings
- Mass deacidification
- Overpainting
- Paleo-inspiration
- Paper splitting
- Reconstruction (architecture)
- Rissverklebung
- Textile stabilization
- Transfer of panel paintings
- UVC-based preservation
- VisualAudio
and restoration
of immovable
cultural property
by item type
and restoration
of movable
cultural property
by item type
- Aircraft
- Ancient Greek pottery
- Bone, horn, and antler objects
- Books, manuscripts, documents and ephemera
- Ceramic objects
- Clocks
- Copper-based objects
- Feathers
- Film
- Flags and banners
- Fur objects
- Glass objects
- Herbaria
- Human remains
- Illuminated manuscripts
- Insect specimens
- Iron and steel objects
- Ivory objects
- Judaica
- Lacquerware
- Leather objects
- Lighthouses
- Metals
- Musical instruments
- Neon objects
- New media art
- Paintings
- Painting frames
- Panel paintings
- Papyrus
- Parchment
- Performance art
- Photographs
- Photographic plates
- Plastic objects
- Rail vehicles
- Road vehicles
- Shipwreck artifacts
- Silver objects
- South Asian household shrines
- Stained glass
- Taxidermy
- Textiles
- Tibetan thangkas
- Time-based media art
- Totem poles
- Vinyl discs
- Woodblock prints
- Wooden artifacts
- Wooden furniture
cultural heritage
preservation
- Ancient music
- Applied folklore
- Dance notation
- Early music
- Endangered language
- Ethnochoreology
- Ethnomusicology
- Ethnopoetics
- Family folklore
- Folklore
- Folk art
- Folk dance
- Folk etymology
- Folk instrument
- Folk medicine
- Folk music
- Folk process
- Folk play
- Foodways
- Folklore studies
- Heritage language
- Heritage language learning
- Indigenous intellectual property
- Indigenous culture
- Indigenous language
- Language death
- Language preservation
- Language revitalization
- Living history
- Oral history preservation
- Preservation of meaning
- Primitive music
- Tradition preservation
- Traditional knowledge
projects
- Conservation issues of Pompeii and Herculaneum
- Conservation-restoration of Ecce Homo by Elías García Martínez
- Conservation-restoration of The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins
- Conservation-restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper
- Pompeian frescoes
- Conservation-restoration of the Shroud of Turin
- Conservation-restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes
- Conservation-restoration of the Statue of Liberty
- Conservation-restoration of the H.L. Hunley
- Conservation response to flood of Arno, Florence
- Modern and Contemporary Art Research Initiative
- Preservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies
- World Heritage Site