Section on Conservation

Annual Report 1994-1995

Ms Beatrix Kastaly (Department of Newspapers Preservation, National Széchényi Library, Budavari Palota F-épület, H-1827 Budapest, Hungary (fax: +(36-1) 1327598)) was re-elected Chair of the Section on Conservation. Ralph W. Manning (National Library of Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A ON4, Canada (fax: +(1-613) 9472916; e-mail: ralph.manning@nlc.bnc.ca)) was re-elected Secretary.

Standing Committee and Section Membership

The Standing Committee totals 15 members from 10 countries, four corresponding members and one observer. Members registered for the Section total 114.

Projects

Budapest Seminar

A successful two-day meeting was held in Budapest, 15-17 August 1995 preceding the IFLA Istanbul Conference. In Budapest 30 papers were presented in five sessions, followed by a half-day visit to one of three conservation workshops. Topics discussed were:

national libraries as museums of books and living libraries at the same time: resolving contradictions;
preventive conservation and disaster recovery;
mass onservation: methods and dilemmas;
international and regional efforts in preservation and access;
training for preservation and conservation; and
national and local activities in preservation and training in Central and Eastern Europe. The proceedings of the meeting will be published in due course.

Preservation Data in UNIMARC

The Standing Committee on Cataloguing was looking for input from the Section on Conservation on the question of including preservation data in bibliographic records. Francisca Hernandez (Spain), Ralph Manning and Diane Kresh (USA) will join the Working Group. Jean Whiffin (Canada) and Marie-T. Varlamoff, PAC Core Programme Director, will act as commentators.

Publications

Section brochure

The Section is preparing a revised recruitment brochure, to be distributed at the Beijing Conference.

Leaflet on Permanent Paper

A draft was prepared by Robert Frase (USA) and the Standing Committee prepared comments to the draft. In general it was felt that the leaflet should be more technical and less historical. The primary audience includes publishers, printers and paper makers, but also includes writers and librarians.

Leaflet on Disaster Planning

Distribution plans for the leaflet were decided upon. It will be distributed with the next issue of the Section's Newsletter and possibly also with International

Preservation News, which has over 1000 recipients. Several offers were made to translate the leaflet into Russian, French, Spanish, Japanese, Greek, German and Hungarian. The leaflet will be made available free of charge.

The new editor of the Newsletter is Ralph Manning, Chair of the Section, who plans to issue a Newsletter in November 1995.

Future Conferences

Beijing 1996

The Section's theme will be "Preservation Challenges of the Documentary Heritage of the Asian and Pacific Regions: Approaches from the East and the West", and will deal with the written and oral heritage of different materials specific to these regions. Jan Lyall (Australia) and Beatrix Kastaly (Hungary) will select speakers and papers. The Section also plans to have a joint session with the Round Table on Newspapers on evaluating different reformatting methods for the preservation of newspapers.

Copenhagen 1997

The Section will deal with "The Preservation Challenges of New Media", possibly in a joint session with the AV Round Table and the Section on Information Technology.

Istanbul Meetings

The Section's open session had the theme "The Future of Collections in Library Buildings". There were 43 persons from 18 countries in attendance.

Papers presented

Housing our Collections: Environment and Storage for Libraries and Archives
by MIRJAM M. FOOT

Abstract:
The management of collections in libraries and archives should be determined by the aim and purpose of the library or repository and by the nature of the collections themselves. Standards for the storage and maintenance of our collections are important, but they must be applicable to a wide variety of external circumstances. They must also be interpreted and applied in a way that serves the purpose of the library and the needs of the collections. The prevailing climate, the social and financial circumstances, the nature of existing buildings, the purpose of the collections, all have to be considered when storage conditions are determined. Security, fire risk, chemical and physical deterioration and their causes need to be understood. Storage is a core function of any library, but it must be considered in relation to other library functions and to the needs of present and future library users.

The National Library of New Zealand Building: Purpose-Built for Preservation: What We've Learned in the First Ten Years of Operation
by FRANK FABRY

Abstract:
The National Library of New Zealand Building was opened in 1986. As mandated by the New Zealand government the original architectural brief placed emphasis on the preservation of collections. Consequently the building stands as a superb example of a design where the preservation needs of the building were neither compromised nor dismissed as too costly as too often happens in new library construction. The paper examines the preservation features of the building. This includes the eight controlled atmosphere rooms with different temperature and humidity levels for optimum storage for the variety of collection formats; air filtration and purification; fire protection; security and monitoring of security systems; and earthquake effect minimization. With now 10 years' experience of occupying the building, the changes, improvements and modifications to some of these preservation features are examined. In addition, the critical role of the building manager, and that individual's interaction with the conservation section of the building, is considered.

Die Knigliche Bibliothek bleibt an ihrem Platz Strategien und Erfahrungen
hrend des Ausbaus der Kniglichen Bibliothek in Stockholm.
Der Zustand der Sammlungen in den neuen unterirdischen Magazinen
by WOLFGANG UNDORF

Abstract:
Der umfassende, zur Zeit noch nicht abgeschlossene Um- und Neubau der Kniglichen Bibliothek garantiert fr die nchsten Jahrzehnte den traditionellen Standort der Bibliothek in der Innenstadt von Stockholm. Aufgrund der gewhlten Vorgehyensweise, fr die Bestnde in grossen, vorteilhaft klimatisierten unterirdischen Magazinen im Felsen unterhalb der Bibliothek Platz su schaffen, konnten diese unter klimatisch gunstigen Bedingungen untergebracht werden. Die neue Umgebung verspricht einen, auch konservatorisch gesehen positiven ubergang ins nachste Jahrtausend fr die nationalen schwedischen Bestnde.

Latest Revision: May 28, 1996