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Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 313, Washington, DC Organizational Communication DOCUMENT RESUME ED 352 994 IR 054 349 TITLE Commission on Preservation and Access Newsletter, Numbers 1-40, June 1988-November-December 1991. INSTITUTION Commission on Preservation and Access, Washington, DC. PUB DATE 91 NOTE 187p. AVAILABLE FROMCommission on Preservation and Access, 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Suite 313, Washington, DC 20036-2117. PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) JOURNAL CIT Commission on Preservation and Access Newsletter; n1-40 Jun 1988-Nov-Dec 1991 EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Academic Libraries; Access to Information; Administrators; *Archives; Consortia; *Financial Support; Higher Education; *Library Cooperation; Organizational Communication; *Preservation; Private Agencies; Public Agencies; Public Policy IDENTIFIERS Brittle Books ABSTRACT This document is a compilation of 40 newsletter issues published by the Commission on Preservation and Access from 1988 through 1991. The Commission was established in 1986 to foster and support collaboration among libraries and allied organizationsin order to ensure the preservation of the published recordin all formats and to provide enhanced access to scholarly information. The newsletter reports on cooperative national and international preservation activities and is written primarily for university administrators and faculty, library and archives administrators, preservation specialists and administrators, and representatives of consortia, governmental bodies, and other groups sharing in the Commission's goals. The newsletter is not copyrighted, and its duplication and distribution are encouraged. The newsletters in this collection contain the following kinds of information: (1) organizational activities and sponsored projects;(2) funding announcements; (3) reviews of other published informationpertaining to preservation;(4) activities of allied organizations; and (5) public policy developments. (KRN) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Commission on Preservation and Access Newsletter. June 1988-November-December 1991. "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Deco of Edocat.onw flowerer. and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) C Ms document has been reoroguced as rece.ved tree, the CerSOn or orgarnzabon omphaemga C Mmor changes have been made to .morove reprOduCtiOn Quality Pomts of we* Or 000,0he Stated .n torsdOC, ment do not necessardy retwesent gitcuse OERI bos.bon or policy scf cc) 0 o BEST COPY OMR -LE cc 2 CommissiononPreservationandAccess 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. / Washington,D.C. 20036 / (202) 483-7474 No. 1 NEWSLETTER June 1988 (Note to Readers: This is the first issue of an occasional newsletter intended to inform members of theuniversity com- munity about activities of the Commission andinformation related to the national brittle books program. It is being sent to library directors and provosts ofAssociation of Research Libraries member institutions.) SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN N.E.H. FUNDING FOR OFFICE OF PRESERVATION? The House Appropriations Subcommittee that deals with annualfunding for the National Endowment for the Humanities is considering significantincreases in the budget for a national preservation microfilming program. In hearings on March 17 and April 21, the Subcommittee on Interior andRelated Agencies heard testimony from a score of library,foundation and NEH leaders on the need for Federal participation in a national program. NEH Chair Lynne Cheney, at the request of Subcommittee Chairman.Sidney Yates (0-IL), pro- duced alternative, "capability" budgets showing NEH'sOffice of Preserva- tion budget increasing from $4.5 million to$12.5 million for the coming fiscal year (FY89), with continuing increases for thefollowing four years to a level of $20.3 million. Testimony showed NEH and the AndrewW. Mellon Foundation to be the two largest funders of microfilmingefforts in the nation. Decisions on the proposed increases are expectedto be made in House and Senate committees by mid-summer. STRUCTURE OF A NATIONAL COOPERATIVE MICROFILMING PROGRAM In testimony at the March 17 hearing, Commission President Pat Battinproposed a model for a national cooperative microfilming program. A goal of filming 150,000 volumes a year would require 20 institutions to committo filming 7,500 volumes each. At the 150,000 annual rate, it wouldtake about 20 years to film 3 million volumes -- the estimated number ofvolumes it would be important to save in order to preserve a representativeportion of the 10 million or more volumes that will turn to dust by that time. Congressman Yates and Lynne Cheney, NEH Chair, have mentionedalternative strategies -- neither of which has been acted upon -- that would also meet orexceed the 3-million-volume goal. One objective of Battin's model is toshow that the brittle book preservation problem has quantifiable objectives,and is not just an "insur-Juntable problem." MELLON PRESIDENT ENDORSES INCREASED FUNDING FOR PRESERVATION William G. Bowen, former President of Princeton and now President ofthe Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, has also urged support for federal participationin a national (continued on reverse) Patricia Battin Peter Winterble President 3 Program Officer In a letter to Rep.Sidney cooperative preservation microfilmingprogram. wrote: 1) The generalobjective Yates following the April21 hearing, Bowen heritage of the past150 years; 2) The proxi- is to preserve the published (of archival quality) of mate goal is to createmicrofilmed master copies million books that constitute aminimum "common at least the estimated 3.3 achieving this at risk; 3) The national stake in core" of the collections mechanisms are in place to goal deserves emphasis; 4) The institutional 5) There is no inherent"capacity limitation" that get on with the job; 6) Support from other stands in the way of movingahead much more rapidly; of such support should sources must be encouraged,but the likely magnitude 7) A substantial federalinvestment in this area is not be exaggerated, and long-term benefits to the not only badly needed butwill also clearly yield Bowen's earlier testimony,in country as a whole. The letter followed National Endowment for theHumanities was "by far" which he said that the in the nation. the single biggest funding sourcefor humanities activities WITH PRESERVATIONPROGRAMS The number of INCREASE IN NUMBER OF LIBRARIES departments has risen university and research librarieswith preservation authoritative from five in 1978 to 54 in 1988,according to informal but Program Office at the discussions with staff of theNational Preservation Commis- The information wassought as part of the Library of Congress. office during the sion's response to inquiriesfrom Congressman Yates' hearings. Carolyn National Endowment for theHumanities appropriations surveyed a list ofuniversity and re- Morrow of the Library of Congress there are either search libraries and discovered54 institutions where staff persons, and where anotice- designated preservation departments or The five institutions able level of preservationactivity is occurring. components ten years ago were: Columbia Univer- with active preservation Public Library, sity, the Library of Congress,Newberry Library, New York and Yale University. grant FOUNDATIONThe Commission has received a $1.5 MILLION GRANT FROM MELLON bringing the total of of $1,500,000 from the AndrewW. Mellon Foundation, 1986 to $2.8 million. grants and pledges since theCommission's founding in and other activities The Mellon grant, to be usedfor research projects microfilming related to the establishment of anational collaborative large preservation-relatedgrants announced by program, was one of several University of Other awards went toYale University and the the foundation. awarded to the California at Berkeley($500,000 each); $370,000 was universities and Chicago) Committee on InstitutionalCooperation (Big Ten All three cooperative in support of cooperativepreservation programs. funds. microfilming project grants weretied to NEH matching A project to explore the SURVEY OF FOREIGN LIBRARIES' PRESERVATIONRECORDS bibliographic records feasibility of creating aninternational database of in June. Under the direction of Hans for preserved items will begin Association, a Rutimann, former deputy directorof the Modem Language in Great Britaip, France,West and East survey of national libraries (continued next page) 2 4 June 1988 Commission on Preservation andAccess Newsletter to Germany, and Venezuela will be undertakento: 1) Determine the extent 2) Identify the diffi- which preservation records existin each country, entering those culties in converting records tomachine-readable format and bibliographic detail records in a common database,3) Agree on the level of to proceed needed to exchange records easily,and 4) Determine the best way include the database capacity. The project will also to create a shared partici- development of an agenda for a meetingof representatives from the documenting findings and pating countries and t'-%preparation of a report step in determin- outlining possible nex teps. The project will be a key the developing United ing how to avoid overlap infilming of materials in States cooperative microfilmingproject. As many pre- MID-ATLANTIC PRESERVATION
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