University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Faculty Publications, UNL Libraries Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln March 1993 Saving the Past to Enrich the Future: A Plan for Preserving Information Resources in Kansas Katherine L. Walter University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libraryscience Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Walter, Katherine L., "Saving the Past to Enrich the Future: A Plan for Preserving Information Resources in Kansas" (1993). Faculty Publications, UNL Libraries. 157. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libraryscience/157 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications, UNL Libraries by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Front and rear covers: The Kansas Constitution, one of tnany documents in the State Archives in need of attention by a skilled paper conservator. Front cozrer plzoto insert: A portion of the mural entitled "The Tragic Prelude," which was painted in the Kafzsas capitol by John Steuart Cuwy in 1940. The central figure is John Brown, the most fanious opponent of slaz~eryin Kansas during the turbulent territorial period. It has been alleged that thefiiy in his expression was caused by concern about the deteriorating condition of the book in his hand. But preservationists haz~ebeen unable to prove tlzis assertion Saving the Past to Enrich the Future A Plan for Preserving Information Resources in Kansas Report of the Kansas Library Network Board's Preservation Committee to the citizens of Kansas Published with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access Published by the Kansas Library Network Board March 1993 Written by Katherine L. Walter, under the direction of the Kansas Library Network Board's Preservation Committee: Chair: Mary Burchill (Associate Director, Kansas University Law Library, Lawrence) Anna Cairney (Director, Benedictine College Library, Atchison) Terry Harmon (Assistant State Archivist, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka) Mike Kelly (Special Collections Curator, Wichita State University) Judy Lilly (Kansas Reference Librarian, Salina Public Library) Norma Strickland (Assistant Director, Grant County Public Library, Ulysses) Robert Walter (Dean of Learning Resources, Pittsburg State University) Page layout, design and production: Michael C. Piper Publication date: March 1993 Published with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access, and no official endorsement by the National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access should be inferred. Paper in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence @ of Paper for Printed Library Materials ANSI 239.48-1984 ii Saving the past to enrich the future Contents Executive summary ........................................................................................iv Preface .............................................................................................................vi Introduction ......................................................................................................1 The scope of preservation problems in Kansas .........................................3 A plan for preserving information resources in Kansas ..........................6 Goal 1: To establish a structure for preservation services ..................7 Goal 2: To develop preservation expertise by providing information and educational opportunities .............................. ........ 11 Goal 3: To preserve resources in all types of repositories while encouraging improved access .................................................... 15 Goal 4: To gain support for preservation by raising public awareness ...................................................................................... 22 Goal 5: To provide the best possible environmental and storage conditions for collections ...........................................................29 Goal 6: To prepare for disasters that threaten information resources ...............................................................................33 Goal 7: To develop avenues for funding preservation activities ..... 35 Appendix A: Preservation Advisory Council ......................................... 37 Appendix B: Basic readings in preservation ........................................... 39 Appendix C: OCLC ........................................................................................46 Appendix D: Glossary of terms ...................................................................47 A plan for preserving information resources in Kansas Executive summaw Preserving infarma- s the twenty-first century The crisis is the disintegration of tio~zilz nzore than A approaches, Kansas librar- the state's information resources. 80,000 volumes of neulspapers is a ians, archivists, genealogists, Documents recording births, priority for the State records managers, and historians deaths, inheritances and laws are Historicnl Society. are seeking solutions to a crisis. all susceptible to the degradation of the materials on which they are recorded. Neither paper nor optical disk will survive forever - acidic paper becomes embrittled in 50- 80 years; optical disks and the equipment to access the informa- rice Cimn e; Sale, tion upon them may not last . , . c fifteen years. NO'THlNC RESEWED. Despite the inevitability of some loss, much can be done to alleviate the problem and to assure that these resources are not lost forever. bDat Winter Clo Wmhin nym ta hV In 1991-92, the Kansas Library ma Mornvn a In rmn's and Network Board Preservation "A,- Committee received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This grant enabled the committee to involve hun- dreds of people across Kansas in developing the solutions pre- sented here. iv Saving the past to enrich the future During the planning process, participants advocated steps to: Establish an administrative structure for providing preser- vation services in Kansas. Develop preservation expertise by providing information and educational opportunities. Preserve information resources while encouraging improve- ments in access. Gain support for preservation by raising awareness of the public, elected officials and administrators. Provide improved environmen- tal and storage conditions for collections in Kansas. Prepare for disasters that threaten information resources. Develop avenues for funding preservation activities. A preservation council must also Presematioll ofhistoric be formed. The council will be doc~ttnentsis pmt?loted E7y The most important objective responsible for starting the pres- placing them in acid-free folders and boxes. for accomplishing these goals is to ervation office and continuing the establish a state office of preserva- efforts of the Network ~oard'i tion within the State Historical Preservation Committee. Society. Participants envision that this office will serve the needs of The council's most important all types of repositories. charge will be to make the public, elected officials and administra- The office will be responsible tors understand the preservation for providing educational pro- crisis and the importance of grams, for producing or dissemi- protecting the state's valuable nating information and literature information resources. on various preservation topics, and for referring institutions and Without this public support, individuals to conservators or our state's recorded heritage will reformatting agencies. continue to disappear. A plan for preseming information resources in Kansas v Preface n response to Objective 1.5 of citizens. Two hundred and fifty Ithe Long-Range Plan for Library one people attended these plan- Cooperation in Kansas, the Kansas ning sessions. Remarkably, the Library Network Board (KLNB) ideas raised by these diverse con- formed the Preservation Commit- stituencies were often similar. tee in 1990. Chaired by Mary Burchill, a Network Board mem- This plan reflects the results of ber, the committee's charge was to those statewide meetings. It out- "develop a plan to support the lines steps to preserve the unique preservation of materials in Kan- resources found in collections of sas Libraries." all types throughout Kansas. You are encouraged to participate in Soon after it began meeting, the the implementation projects out- committee recommended to the lined here, and to think of new KLNB that the heritage of Kansas ways in which to address Kansas needed to be considered in a preservation problems. broader context. Special thanks are due to the Consequently, the committee National Endowment for the obtained a statewide preservation Humanities for the funding that planning grant from the National made the project possible. Mem- Endowment for the Humanities. bers of the committee also wish to This enabled the committee to thank participants in the regional work with other communities of planning meetings. interest. Thanks are also due to mem- This plan is a result of the coop- bers of the Preservation