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IFLA Journal
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ContentsRobert Vosper (1913-1994), In Memoriamby Herman Liebaers............................................258
Special Issue on Preservation and Conversation
Developing and Managing Preservation Programmes in the South-East Asianand
Pacific Regions Abstract: This paper attempts to identify the essential aspects of preservation planning at a national level. All too often, the approach adopted in formulating preservation programs is different in developingand developed countries. The establishment of the same goals for all preservation programs and the identification of the factors which must be addressed before these goals can be achieved provides each country withthe capability of developing a preservation program which is appropriate for its level of development. The preservation programs in a number ofselected countries in the region are briefly described.
Conservation Preventative: Grandes Orientations, Strategies et Methodes Abstract: The article sets out the main trends, strategies and methodsfor preventive conservation of library collections. Preventive conservationis defined more as a global approach - almost a state of mind - rather thana discipline with clearly defined boundaries. Emphasis is laid on the necessary cooperation between the various departments within a library,on the training of staff and readers and on raising awareness amongpolitical authorities of conservation of the heritage. In order to reconcile thetwo basically contrasting tasks of preservation of documents and access to information, it is vital to provide libraries with sufficient financial resources for the preservation of their collections.
Al Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation: Its Scope and Achievements Abstract: Since 1989, al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation has been working to assess the contents, condition and accessibility of Islamic manuscripts wherever they are located. This work has culminated in a three-volume "Survey" covering 105 countries. Twenty-two countries in Africa were initially selected for handlisting, on the grounds that manyof their collections are in particular danger. Handlists have arrived from Kenya, Mali and the Comoro Islands, and work is in progress in Mali, Mauritania and Nigeria. Catalogues have been completed in Lithuania and Latvia and have been commissioned in Tatarstan and Belarus. Cataloguing will begin in India this year. First steps have been taken to catalogue collections in Albania and Sudan. A pilot project for preservation is scheduled to start in Nigeria this year. The Foundation has initiated training courses for librarians and archivists, and holds conferences on subjects in the field of Islamic manuscripts. The Foundation's library houses over 8,500 volumes in various fields and a large collection of printed catalogues (ca. 700 titles) classified by country. All materials are recorded in a bi-alphabetic automated catalogue.
Preservation of Palm-leaf Manuscripts in Tamil Abstract: The popular medium of writing and transmitting Tamil wasthrough palm-leaf manuscripts - a medium also used in South and South-East Asia before the introduction of paper. The methods of processing and using palm-leaves is described as background information and a preliminary survey conducted by the Institute of Asian Studies revealed the existence of more than 50,000 palm-leaf manuscript texts in Tamil stored throughout the world. Some of the problems of preserving this material are outlined the use of microfilming projects supported by other work of the Institute in the acquisition of manuscripts and the preparation of an integrated descriptive catalogue.
The Preservation of Leather Bindings of Cartographic Atlases Abstract: The paper sets forth the scientific grounds for the need to elaborate a method for conservation of ancient leather bindings. The impact of diverse factors on the preservation of leather bindings is described.An analytic method for the control of aging of leather bindings isproffered. This conservation method consists of several stages: mechanical cleaning, chemical purification, neutralization of surplus acidity, blocking of noxious influences of cations of iron and copper, moistening and strengthening of leather bindings, and greasing. An advantage of the proffered conservation method in comparison to known ones is that itallows leather bindings to be conserved without any labour-consuming operationsof dismantling them.
Technical Treatment and Preservation of the Photographic Collection ofthe
Brazilian National Library Abstract: The Brailian National Library's Iconographic Division keeps the most comprehensive and precious collection of 19th century Brazilian photographs held by a public institution. It was donated by D. Pedro II, the Emperor who encouraged the dissemination of photography, when he was banished after the proclamation of the Republic. Presently, apreservation and conservation project is in progress, with the financial support of Fundacao Banco do Brasil. The Project aims at the integrated developmentof an extensive work involving research for identification of thousands of photographs that have never been available to researchers; automated cataloguing after specific rules developed by the Library's staff basedon AACRII and a system developed on Micro CDS-ISIS whose record format has compatibility with MARC for Visual Materials; photographic reproductionof the entire collection; basic conservation treatments; production of specific enclosures for photographic materials and housing of the entire collection. The Library and IBM Brasil are starting the development ofthe system for digital storage and virtual restoration of the images, which should be connected to the database that is presently being generated.
Aspects of Mass Conservation Abstract: During the 19th century, increasing demand for paper andadvances in science and technology transformed paper making from a craft to an industrial manufacturing process. Different raw materials and newprocesses have produced paper that is chemically unstable. The increase in atmospheric pollution has accelerated the chemical degradation of paper, while the growth in library use has increased mechanical breakdown. The "brittle book problem" is one which concerns all libraries. It is of such magnitude that conventional hand treatments are no longer sufficient. A number of mass conservation treatments are available, others are stillin an experimental stage. They can be divided into processes that preservethe information content through re-formatting and those that preserve the format as well as the content. Among the former are microfilming (microfiche production) and digitizing, while the latter include mass-deacidification and paper strengthening. Microfilming is by far the most widely used and best tested method. However, it is both costly and slow. The most recent re-formatting method is by digitizing texts, either directly or from microform. A number of experiments have shown that digital preservation depends on copying, noton the survival of the physical media. New media formats themselvesconstitute a preservation problem. Three mass-deacidification processes are currently in use; a furtherthree claim both to deacidify and to strengthen the paper. The basic principles of these processes have been briefly described and their effectivenessand their pros and cons discussed. Notwithstanding the fact that not allthese processes have been properly verified and that the results of comparative studies to analyze and evaluate them have not yet been published, the following observations can be made:
New Technology - Friend or Foe? Abstract: The developments in the world of information technology are bringing together librarians and archivists working in paper-based materials with those working with sound and image recordings.The articleis not an attempt to explain the intricacies of the wide range of new technological developments. This task is performed by the many technical magazines and journals that cover this field. What this article tries todo is to explore the potential of "New Technology" to be a help or ahindrance to a text library - a Friend or Foe. Many librarians are consideringusing these new systems for the storage of traditional printed materials and a number of questions are discussed. Underlying the article is the clear perception that the sheer quantity of decaying material in storage makesa full examination of the benefits and drawbacks of new technology by all custodians of collections imperative.
Copyright Issues in Legal Deposit and Preservation Abstract: Legal deposit is an essential element in preservation programmes but is quite separate from copyright legislation in most countries. The ability to copy something for preservation is determined by such factorsas the age of the material, its format and the reasons for making the copies.The different processes - photocopying, microfilming andelectronic conversion - all pose specific legal questions and also create difficulties. The end-product of preservation programmes can themselvesbe copyright works which need to be protected. As the use of electronicmedia grows so the legal issues surrounding preservation need to be studiedwith care.
UNESCO General Information Programme. Abstract: The "Memory of the World" Programme is a new UNESCO initiative to safeguard endangered documentary heritage, democratic access to it and distribute, on a large scale, products derived from it. There follows an outline of the main features of the Programmes. It is important to stress that this is a new approach which is not intended to replace UNESCO's traditional activities in the field of preservation and conservation of archive and library holdings, but to complement them with vigorous action to raise awareness, stimulate initiatives and develop partnerships tocarry out projects under the emblem "Memory of the World". The criteria used to select projects are set out, together with a brief account of the Programme's technical, legal and financial framework. Lastly, five pilot projects at various stages of completion are briefly described. They are a CD-ROM featuring a selection of manuscripts fromthe National Library in Prague, another CD-ROM concerning the symbolic figure Saint Sophia, patron aint of the capital of Bulgaria, an inventory of nineteenth century Latin American newspapers and their state of preservation, a disc on the Radziwill Chronicle in Saint Petersburg and another disc on Yemenite manuscripts including the Koranic fragments at Sana'a.
IFLA Reports
Copyright Issues
IFLA's Regional Section for Africa's Medium-Term Programme 1992-1997 -Some
Explanatory Notes
News SectionFrom IFLA's Secretariat
IFLA's Executive Board Re-affirms Yearly General Conference.....367 From the Core Programmes About the UDT Core Programme....................................375 From the Divisions, Sections and Round Tables Children's Libraries: "Book for All" Project....................378 From IFLA's Patron Sponsors SilverPlatter's Electronic Reference Library: Today's Solution,Tomorrow's Vision..........................................................379 Reports of Meetings Seminar on Preservation of Maps and other Spatial Information held at the Russian State Library, 27 September - 1 October 1993............382
Publications of International Relevance.........................384
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