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Assessing Preservation Needs: a Self-Survey Guide, by the Northeast Document Conservation Center

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Assessing Preservation Needs: a Self-Survey Guide, by the Northeast Document Conservation Center ASSESSING PRESERVATION NEEDS ASSESSING PRESERVATION NEEDS A SELF-SURVEY GUIDE Beth Patkus Northeast Document Conservation Center Andover, Massachusetts 2003 The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership, and a lifetime of learning, supported the publication of this book, Assessing Preservation Needs: A Self-Survey Guide, by the Northeast Document Conservation Center. The National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent grant-making agency of the federal government, provides substantial funding to support field service activities, including publications, at the Northeast Document Conservation Center. Library of Congress Cataloging Number ISBN No. 0-9634685-5-3 Copyright © 2003 by Northeast Document Conservation Center. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes in any form or media, or stored by any means in any storage retrieval system, without prior written permission of the Northeast Document Conservation Center, 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA 01810. This publication is printed on paper that meets the requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992 (R1997). CONTENTS PREFACE ................................................................................................................................. ix INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................... xi I. SURVEYS: Why and How? ................................................................................................. 1 A. Why is a Survey Important? ........................................................................................... 1 B. What is a Survey? .......................................................................................................... 2 C. Who Should Conduct the Survey? .................................................................................. 2 D. How to Use this Survey Guide........................................................................................ 3 II. GETTING STARTED.......................................................................................................... 5 A. Overview ....................................................................................................................... 5 1. The Institution and Collections................................................................................. 5 2. Mission and Collecting Policy.................................................................................. 5 3. Intellectual Control .................................................................................................. 5 Institutional Overview Worksheet......................................................................................... 7 Collections Worksheet.......................................................................................................... 8 B. Preservation Management ............................................................................................ 10 1. Staffing and Funding.............................................................................................. 10 2. Preservation Policy ................................................................................................ 11 Preservation Management Worksheet ................................................................................. 12 III. SURVEYING THE BUILDING......................................................................................... 14 A. The Building ................................................................................................................ 14 1. Characteristics and Condition of the Building......................................................... 14 General Building Worksheet............................................................................................... 15 B. The Building Environment ........................................................................................... 17 1. Climate Control ..................................................................................................... 17 2. Control of Pollutants .............................................................................................. 19 3. Control of Light ..................................................................................................... 19 4. Pest Control/Housekeeping .................................................................................... 20 Building Environment Worksheet....................................................................................... 21 C. Protecting Collections from Loss.................................................................................. 23 1. External Threats..................................................................................................... 23 2. Water Protection .................................................................................................... 23 3. Fire Protection ....................................................................................................... 24 4. Disaster planning ................................................................................................... 24 5. Building Security................................................................................................... 26 6. Controlling Access to Collections .......................................................................... 26 External Threats and Water Protection Worksheet .............................................................. 28 Fire Protection Worksheet .................................................................................................. 29 Disaster Planning Worksheet.............................................................................................. 30 Security and Access Worksheet .......................................................................................... 31 D. Individual Storage and Exhibition Areas....................................................................... 32 Worksheet For Individual Storage/Exhibition Areas ........................................................... 33 IV. SURVEYING THE COLLECTIONS................................................................................. 35 A. General Storage and Handling Practices ....................................................................... 35 1. Storage Furniture ................................................................................................... 35 2. Archival Enclosures............................................................................................... 36 3. Handling and Processing of Collections ................................................................. 36 4. Cleaning Collections.............................................................................................. 38 General Storage Worksheet ................................................................................................ 39 General Handling Worksheet.............................................................................................. 40 B. Storage and Condition of Specific Collections.............................................................. 41 1. Books .................................................................................................................... 41 2. Pamphlets .............................................................................................................. 42 3. Documents and Manuscripts .................................................................................. 43 4. Photographs and Negatives .................................................................................... 43 5. Oversized or Framed materials............................................................................... 45 6. Newsprint .............................................................................................................. 46 7. Scrapbooks and Ephemera ..................................................................................... 46 8. Audiovisual Materials............................................................................................ 46 Worksheet For Mixed Collections ...................................................................................... 48 Worksheets For Specific Formats: Bound Volumes and Pamphlets ..................................... 51 Worksheets for Specific Formats: Documents and Manuscripts .......................................... 53 Worksheets for Specific Formats: Photographs and Negatives ............................................ 54 Worksheets for Specific Formats: Oversized and Framed Materials .................................... 55 Worksheets for Specific Collections: Newsprint ................................................................. 57 Worksheets for Specific Collections: Scrapbooks and Ephemera......................................... 58 Worksheets for Specific Collections: Audiovisual Materials ............................................... 59 C. Exhibition of Collections.............................................................................................. 60 Exhibition Worksheet......................................................................................................... 61 D. Reformatting...............................................................................................................
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