New Zealand Archivist Vol XIV No 1 Autumn/March 2003 ISS 0114-7676 Electronic Access and the Preservation of Heritage Materials Theresa Graham This article was originally a presentation at the annual conference of the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA): "Winds of Change - Libraries into the 21st Century", Wellington, 17-20 November 2002. Access to heritage documents has sands of manuscripts, books, maps, been changed forever by the introduc­ photographs and ephemeral material tion of digitisation. The Auckland which because of their significance, City Libraries have internationally rarity, antiquity and/or fragility, are significant heritage collections. There cared for in a world-class storage fa­ are issues relating to improved dig­ cility, behind the scenes. ital access to heritage collections, and • The Newspaper Reading Room • The Library Shop. the need for long-term preservation The Library was founded as a strategies. Electronic and preserva­ result of the 1886 gift to Auckland by tion initiatives may be complemen­ Sir George Grey of his personal tary rather than conflicting goals, collection of New Zealand and within the research environment. international manuscripts, maps and There is now, I believe, widespread books. Since then, the Special recognition that reformatting of paper Collections have developed heritage documents and the creation primarily from donations, bequests, of e-born products does not and purchases from a modest annual necessarily mean that the original acquisition budget. In 2002, the document is preserved. Digitisation valuation (a statutory requirement of and the linking of scanned images to Audit New Zealand) was put at $126 metadata is not in itself a preservation million for the Collections, which are strategy. There is, or should be, now defined as "appreciating assets recognition of the need to put in place Cards - Easter, 1939, Ephemera of Auckland City". strategies for the preservation of Collection, Auckland City Libraries. paper-based and electronic resources, whether they are Significance of the creation of a heritage websites, e-books, electronic databases or heritage facility in 1997 compact discs. Without preservation there will be no This constituted a public commitment by long-term access. Auckland City Council to heritage. While the traditional rare book collection had been well cared for before 1997, with the opening of the Heritage At Auckland City Libraries we are undertaking Floor, Auckland City Libraries demonstrated a steps to ensure the long-term preservation of and commitment to bi-culturalism (Te Roopu Ratonga improved access to original heritage resources of Maori) and to caring for and making accessible not national significance. only the international rare book collections but also the New Zealand heritage materials, many of which Background: Heritage Collections at Auckland City prior to this time appear to have been valued for Libraries their intellectual content rather than as documentary The Heritage Floor at Auckland Central City Library heritage artefacts. Public support and the opened in early 1997. We have 19 full-time staff, importance of a good press should not be under­ and the following sections in the Heritage Group: estimated. Since 1997, there has been a steady • The Auckland Research Centre. increase in donations and in use of the resources, by • The Special Collections Unit, which has many thou­ all sectors of the research community. How the Heritage Floor came about: the impact of heritage digital projects and strategies, and to work the growth of national awareness of preservation towards ensuring there are preservation standards for needs electronic-bom heritage materials! It was not until the early nineteen-nineties that A great achievement it was too, to have a preservation my own awareness of preservation issues and the management module prepared and presented by role of professional conservators grew. In this National Preservation Officer Jocelyn Cuming included respect I don't think that I was very different from in the training for librarians for the first time this year. my colleagues around the country; that brown Prior to her appointment as National Preservation folders were acidic came as something of an Officer, Jocelyn Cuming worked with us during 1996 epiphany to me in the late 1980s1. on a conservation plan, and survey of our heritage In the nineties there has been a growth of an collections, thanks to a grant from the Lottery Grants awareness in New Zealand libraries of the need for Board. The outcome, a series of guidelines for good preservation management principles and practices, conservation policies and practices, has remained our particularly in the area of documentary heritage blueprint for trying to do "the right thing" regarding collections. The growth of a national appreciation conservation, despite lacking an in-house conservator. that finite and unique heritage materials would The Auckland Library Heritage Trust continue to be put under increased pressure and This is a charitable trust which was formed specifically demand brought the recognition of the need to to assist Auckland City Libraries with fund-raising for address this at a national level. the ongoing preservation of its heritage collections. I have been with the Trust since then, and in the last eleven years, Significant national preservation landmarks Trust projects have been a focus of my work, as we have The Cultural Conservation Advisory Council of promoted, applied for sponsorship, public funds and the Department of Internal Affairs was established support to ensure the ongoing availability of these in 1988, preceded by a number of years as an Interim collections for future generations. Committee for the Conservation of Cultural Property. It made grants to cultural heritage Achievements, 1991 - 2002 institutions, which for the first time included Over the last decade the Heritage Trust has worked libraries. Previously grants had been made with library staff to obtain the following donations primarily to museums. The Interim Council had and grants: established a position of National Co-ordinator for the Conservation of Cultural Property in 1983. • ASB Charitable Trust donation: $175,000 for photo­ A National Preservation Symposium was held in graphic conservation Wellington in 1989, the first since 1978. Chief • ASB Charitable Trust donation: $277,000 for micro­ Executive Officers and senior managers of major film and digitisation projects to increase public ac­ libraries and Archives were invited. As a direct cessibility to specific heritage collections result of attending this forum, our then City • Lotteries Heritage & Environment Committee grant: Librarian, Jan Thompson, became aware of the $125,000 for photographic conservation extent to which our heritage collections were at risk, • Lotteries Heritage & Environment Committee grant: and began an analysis of heritage needs. Jan also $30,000 for completion of Grey manuscript copy­ took immediate action by establishing the Auckland ing project Library Heritage Trust in 1991. • Logan Campbell Trust grant: $10,000 for historic map conservation The creation of the National Preservation Office • Project partnership with the French Government to at the National Library of New Zealand in 1997 describe, preserve, and exhibit the Dumas Collection A thread that has run parallel with the development • Todd Foundation grant: $15,000 for rolled maps of the Heritage Trust in the last decade is the storage unit establishment of the National Preservation Office. • Personal donation of $65,000 for the preservation Made up of no more than two officer positions, the of early printed books Office has had a huge and much-needed impact on • Benefit auction of donated books and art works: education for librarians, archivists and the public about $45,000 raised the need for sound conservation advice and preservation management policies. This list is a tangible reminder of the value of It was a great achievement this year to have a series having such an effective network of support. The of week-long workshops with digitisation training recent ASB Charitable Trust grant would not have sessions taken by Dr Seamus Ross and Dr Ian Anderson been made to Auckland City Libraries directly as the from HATH (Humanities Advanced Technology and Trust does not give funding to central or local Information Institute at the University of Glasgow). The government agencies. Consequently, the Auckland workshops were held in May 2002, and were organised Library Heritage Trust, not Auckland City Libraries, by the National Preservation Office. will be the owner of the microfilm and digital assets What a huge achievement it was also, to have a created by these funds. National Digital Forum (co-ordinated by National Less easily quantified, but in my view of great Library) in New Zealand to develop collaborative value, is the Auckland Library Heritage Trust as a vehicle of community support for the services map. Images will be linked to a DBTextworks provided by the Library's Heritage Team, and their database for maps, which Map Librarian Ian role in preserving the collections and making them Snowden has recently created, to high standards accessible. with good quality metadata. The images will appear on Heritage Images Online, on the website. Into the 21st Century: Preservation Initiatives & Our application for funding included costs of a Electronic Access at Auckland City Libraries conservation assessment by