Preservation Education Needs for the Next Generation of
Information Professionals
a study funded by the University of Pittsburgh Central
Research Development Program
Project Description
Statement of Problem/Issues to be
Addressed:
In this project, the investigators aim to assess the current need for preservation
education in the library and archival community and predict future needs for
the next decade.
The library and archival world experienced a transformation as it engaged
itself whole-heartedly in the endeavor of building digital libraries.
A number of the digital library projects launched in the last decade focus
on the digitization of historically significant material which have artifactual,
as well as informational value. Thus, the preservation community is
now presented with a two-fold problem: the safeguarding of the objects
in their original analog format, and the protection of these new digital surrogates
created to increase access to the content of the originals. At the
same time, libraries have begun to collect materials which are “born-digital,”
i.e., having no corresponding analog original.
Both digitized and “born-digital” material provide serious preservation
challenges to information professionals.. As Lynch notes, “preservation of
digital materials is a continuous, active process […] rather than a practice
of benignly neglecting artifacts stored in a hospitable environment, perhaps
punctuated by interventions every few decades for repairs.” (Lynch, 192-93).
Reformatting, migration, emulation, or data archaeology are several of the
methods currently being explored as possible solutions to the digital preservation
dilemma, but no single technique has yet been identified which will assure
the long-term preservation of digital objects and records (Rothenberg, 1;
Bearman ).
In addition to the digital quandaries preservationists face, the proliferation
of multimedia and other visual materials formats presents another major challenge.
While the previous decades focused on the large quantities of deteriorating
paper-based media, such as books, journals, and newspapers, other media such
as sound recordings, motion pictures, videotapes and DVDs, maps, and architectural
drawings have quietly reached staggering numbers in American research libraries.
Most libraries and librarians are ill-equipped to deal with the difficulties
of preserving these media, particularly those which are in large formats or
which require specialized equipment for viewing or listening to information
recorded on them. Lacking is both information about the nature and handling
of these materials and the significance of them for information and research
(Smith, 13; Nichols and Smith, vi). Additionally, many of them face
the same dilemmas of reformatting and migration in which digital collections
are enmeshed.
Very few opportunities currently exist to allow students to engage in the
hands-on conservation work, particularly in the areas of audiovisual and digital
preservation. A number of moving image archiving programs have been
founded in the last few years (George Eastman House, 1996; UCLA, 2001; New
York University, 2002), however, most preservation courses in traditional
library science programs offer scant coverage of the treatment and management
of moving images, or for sound archiving either. Stand-alone digital
preservation courses exist in various forms in a number of library schools,
most typically as part of archival administration programs (e.g., University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, University of Pittsburgh, and University of Texas,
Austin), but the coverage of electronic formats in introductory preservation
courses appears to be limited, unfortunately, because of the breadth and scope
of material that must be covered at the core level.
Given the gaps addressed above, this study hypothesizes that current preservation
education within traditional library and archival studies programs does not
provide adequate preparation in the areas of technical and managerial expertise
to deal with the preservation of digital collections, audiovisual media, or
visual materials. Although courses in audiovisual and digital preservation
exist, there is a distinct disconnect between the current theories and the
actual implementation of those theories into practice. The study hopes
to collect data that will corroborate this conjecture.
Project Background:
Preservation education in the library and archival communities occurs in
two ways. First, professionals may obtain knowledge of preservation
theory and practice in formal programs which offer a preservation curriculum.
Some schools may teach only one or two courses, while others may offer a specialization,
which includes two or more required courses, multiple electives, and a fieldwork
component, where students may learn preservation techniques hands-on.
Continuing education provides another model for acquiring knowledge of preservation
theory and techniques. Regional library service cooperatives such
as NEDCC (Northeast Document Conservation Center), SOLINET (Southeastern Library
Information Network) and Amigos (which serves the Southwest) provide consulting
and services in many areas including preservation and preservation management.
Popular topics might include book repair, document repair, and disaster recovery.
More recently, courses in electronic preservation have appeared in their
offerings. Finally, regional networks devoted specifically to preservation
concerns, such LAPNet (Los Angeles Preservation Network) and the Oakland
Library Consortium Preservation Working Group (located in Pittsburgh) may
also offer educational opportunities to local library and archive professionals
who live close to a metropolitan area.
The education of preservation professionals has always been marked by the
strong emphasis placed on the practical component of preservation work, whether
it is repair work, rebinding, or other preservation tasks. More recently,
the emphasis has shifted from treatments or interventions to the management
of all preservation activities within an institution. In 1991, the Preservation
Education Task Force of the Commission on Preservation and Access completed
a report on the current state of preservation education and recommendations
for the future, and stated that “boiled down to its essence, the only
solution we see for preservation education is to go beyond the techniques
of preservation to a thorough grounding in managerial decision making” (Task
Force). With this change, we have seen an increased emphasis on life
cycle management, which proposes that preservation can positively affect collections
at the times of creation, active use, and inactivity (an example of how preservation
concepts have impacted the creation of new library materials is the introduction
of acid-free paper as the standard material (ANSI/NISO Z39.48) used in the
printing of most hardbound books; this development occurred in part as a
result of lobbying by constituencies in the preservation community concerned
with the longevity of library materials).
Print materials received the lion’s share of attention in the 1980’s and
early 1990’s, due primarily to the brittle books crisis that endangers library
collections worldwide (Slow Fires). In the mid-1990s, however, a new
concern arose as digital collections reached critical mass: how do we
ensure the longevity of digital information? Cloonan argues that “the
emergence of electronic information will result in a fundamentally different
way of approaching our field which has been object-based (books, broadsides,
maps, etc.) and time-oriented (e.g., permanent/durable paper should last at
least 250 years). Thus the notion of saving object X for Y years may
become obsolete. We will need to secure the longevity of information
so that the information itself does not disappear” (Cloonan, Global Perspectives,
43). Now that we are building new kinds of libraries, ones which are
built with bytes in addition to bricks and books, we need to re-evaluate the
imperative for preservation education: its mission, objectives, and
its plan to cope with the new challenges of multimedia and electronic formats.
The field of library and archival preservation also continues to grapple
with how to define the boundaries between conservation and preservation work.
Conservation refers to the actual physical treatment of objects, and requires
advanced knowledge of chemistry and the physical components that make up an
object, while preservation usually focuses on the management of programs,
including conservation. While educational training programs recognize
this distinction, anecdotal evidence indicates that not all employers understand
this basic difference, leading to the current trend of hiring conservators
who lack the necessary managerial experience for preservation administration
positions.
Questions to be Addressed
- What is the composition of the curriculum at university-based degree
programs and field service programs in preservation education? How has
that curricula changed over the past decade?
- How do educators plan to keep pace with new formats and technological
advancements?
- What do preservation educators see as the key knowledge and values
in preservation education? How are these values reflected in the curriculum?
- Do preservation educators provide students with the opportunity to
put theory into practice? If so, how is this achieved?
Goals and Objectives
- Design and implement a survey to gather descriptive data about preservation
education curricula. Surveys will be sent to every North American school
accredited by the American Library Association (56 programs) and every field
service program in the Regional Alliance for Preservation (14 programs).
Objective: Develop operative survey which will achieve at least a fifty
percent response rate from all programs (response will be facilitated by providing
two ways to return surveys: electronically and through the mail).
- Analyze survey data. Objective: Build a statistical representation
of preservation curricula and preservation educators (i.e., who are the educators,
and what are they teaching?).
- Design pilot interview guide to identify current trends and potential
gaps in preservation education, as well as attitudes and values of preservation
educators. Objective: Develop operative interview guide, which
can be tested and revised in preparation for second phase of study (see below).
- Identify key informants to contact for second phase of study (see
below).
Methodology
This study represents the first phase of a larger research project consisting
of three stages. The initial phase will consist of a survey aimed at
documenting both the extent and the breadth of offerings in formal library
and information science degree programs and in continuing education offerings
of field service programs sponsored through regional networks. The survey
will also attempt to gauge the attitudes and views of preservation educators
across the spectrum of preservation education. At this stage, we will limit
the scope of our survey to North America, but we hope to encompass the international
scene (primarily Europe and Australia) in future phases of the project.
The investigators aim for a comprehensive approach in conducting the initial
survey—asking for the participation of all ALA-accredited library schools
and all preservation field service programs. Cloonan estimated in 1994
that approximately thirty library schools in North America offered coursework
in preservation (Cloonan, Global Perspectives, 5). We expect that this
number is a close approximation of the number of schools presently including
preservation in their curriculum. In addition, fourteen preservation
field service programs currently offer continuing education training and workshops
(Regional Alliance for Preservation website, http://www.rap-arcc.org/welcome/rabout.htm).
Surveys will be mailed to all programs that have been identified as sources
for preservation education. Survey data will be analyzed using the latest
version of SPSS statistical software.
Building upon the initial results of the survey, the investigators will
follow up with in-depth interviewing of key informants at selected sites
or by telephone. In this first stage, our goal is to test a pilot version
of the interview guide, thus we plan to conduct interviews at only two sites:
a university-based preservation administration program situated in a Boston-area
library school, and a field service program based in Dallas. Individuals
to be interviewed will be faculty and professionals involved in providing
preservation education, in both the formal and continuing education settings.
We also plan to interview the dean of the library school and the manager
of continuing education services at the library resource-sharing network
with the goal of ascertaining the attitudes of upper-level administration
to preservation education. The anonymity of all subjects will be maintained
to encourage frank responses to interview questions. Interview data
will be analyzed using the lastest version of QSR’s qualitative data analysis
software, NUD*IST.
Subsequent phases of the project, for which additional funding sources would
be pursued (see below), will include the following activities:
1. refinement of the interviewing instrument based on the results of the
pilot study;
2. expansion of the number of sites visited;
3. analysis of additional interview data;
4. writing up of results; and,
5. formulation of recommendations for directing preservation education in
the next decade.
In subsequent phases of the study, the investigators plan on visiting on-site
or conducting telephone interviews with at least twenty-five percent of all
initial survey participants.
Expected Outcomes and Their Potential
Significance
Recently, Cloonan queried whether preservation as a field is declining.
In 2001, she noted that, “The loss of preservation programs in some Association
of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries and schools of library and information
studies suggest that the field is withering when it should still be blossoming.
[…] At the same time, there is a continuing recognition of the importance
of preservation throughout archives, museums, and libraries. This broad
spectrum of interest should assure that it does not wither. New modes
of collaboration present many possibilities as to whither preservation might
go. (Cloonan, “W(h)ither Preservation?” 240-41).
Cloonan’s observations provided the impetus for this study. Our research
aims to analyze the strengths and weaknesses in current preservation education
programs, with the goal of identifying those areas which merit increased attention
as preservation curricula are revised. Furthermore, this research hopes
to foster cooperation among educational programs, encouraging these institutions
to focus on their strengths as they currently exist in certain areas and
formats. With limited resources and expertise, programs can no longer
afford to offer practical training in all specializations. Instead,
all programs must focus on providing a stronger foundation in basic principles
and practices, as well as an increased emphasis on managerial expertise for
all types of library and archival materials, regardless of format.
This project will document how education in the preservation field has changed
during the last decade, reflecting trends, such as the increasing importance
of preserving digital materials that are occurring in the profession.
Currently, digital preservation is viewed as the most pressing challenge in
libraries and archives (Kenney and Stam, 9). Although employees understand
the issues and implications that these challenges present, they are still
unsure of how to deal with the problems in the field. Field service
programs may be well placed to offer professional development opportunities
and training programs in this area. Similarly, cooperative efforts may
also meet the overwhelming needs for more training and expertise in handling
audiovisual media and visual materials.
In conclusion, the research conducted in the first phase will provide the
necessary foundation for the remainder of the project. At the conclusion
of this study, we expect to formulate recommendations to revise the preservation
curricula, ensuring that the strengths of each program are recognized and
gaps are addressed through cooperative efforts.
Additional Potential
Funding Sources
The project investigators foresee that the second and third phases of this
research project will be suitable for funding from the Institute of Library
and Museum Services (National Leadership Program, which funds at the level
of $15,000-$500,000) or the National Endowment for the Humanities (Research
and Development Projects for Preservation and Access Program, which funds
at the level of $130,000-350,000).
Bibliography
Bearman, David. “Reality and Chimeras in the Preservation of Electronic
Records.” D-Lib Magazine (Apr. 1999). http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april99/bearman/04bearman.html
Cloonan, Michèle V. Global Perspectives on Preservation
Education. Munich: Saur, 1994.
Cloonan, Michèle V. 2001. W(h)ither Preservation? Library
Quarterly 71, no. 2: 231-42.
Kenney, Anne R. and Deirdre C. Stam. The State of Preservation Programs
in American College and Research Libraries: Building a Common Understanding
and Action Agenda. Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and
Information Resources, 2002.
Lynch, Clifford. “The Coming Crisis in Preserving Our Digital Cultural
Heritage.” In To Preserve and Protect: The Strategic Stewardship
of Cultural Resources. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress,
2002.
Nichols, Stephen G. and Abby Smith. The Evidence in Hand:
Report of the Task Force on the Artifact in Library Collections.
Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and Information Resources, 2001.
Rothenberg, Jeff. Avoiding the Technological Quicksand: Finding
a Viable Technical Foundation for Digital Preservation. Washington,
D.C.: Council on Library and Information Resources, 1999.
Slow Fires: On the Preservation of the Human Record. Terry
Sanders, producer/distributor. VHS 3/4-inch cassette, 16mm film; 60-minute
or 30-minute versions. Santa Monica, Calif., 1988.
Smith, Abby. The Future of the Past: Preservation in American Research
Libraries. Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and Information
Resources, 1999.
Task Force on Preservation Education, Commission on Preservation and Access.
Report. Washington, D.C.: CPA, 1991. http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/marcum/eductask.html
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