Preservation Strategies for Small Academic and Public Libraries

Preserving collections is an enormous task for libraries, especially for small academic and public libraries where it is often a difficult challenge because of the constant obstacles of limited funding, insufficient staffing, and lack of expertise. The preservation strategies presented in this book will help to reduce immediate and long-term costs, and strengthen a library's collection development goals. Preservation efforts are most effective when they take a pragmatic approach. Designed as a "how- to" manual, this book provides librarians with practical information to help them grapple with specific preservation challenges by identifying areas of concern, optimizing the use of resources put towards preservation, and establishing goals for continual improvement over time. Topics include: · Establishing long-term preservation challenges · Environmental conditions · Preservation needs of specific collections · Establishing use patterns for library materials · Identifying potential threats to a collection · Recognizing readily available preservation resources