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Preserving Archives is a brand new and fully updated edition of this seminal work on archival preservation. Access to archival material – Preserving Archivesary heritage of people all over the world that gives them their identity and ensures their rights – is dependent on the survival of fragile materials: paper, parchment, photographic materials, audiovisual materials and, most recently, magnetic and optical formats. The primary importance of such survival is widely acknowledged but sometimes overlooked in a rush to provide ever better means of access. But without the basic material, no services can be offered.
Preservation is the heart of archival activity. Archivists in all types of organizations face questions of how to plan a preservation strategy in less than perfect circumstances, or deal with a sudden emergency. Preserving Archives considers the causes of threats to the basic material, outlines the preservation options available and offers flexible solutions applicable in a variety of situations. It offers a wide range of case studies and examples from international specialists. This revised edition also includes a new chapter on the management and training of volunteers, reflecting a key concern for many archival institutions.
Preserving Archives is a vital handbook for professional archivists, but also for the many librarians, curators and enthusiasts, trained and untrained, in museums, local studies centres and voluntary societies in need of good clear advice.
1. Introducing archive preservation
2. Understanding archive materials and their characteristics
3. Managing digital preservation
4. Archive buildings and their characteristics
5. Safeguarding the building and its contents
6. Managing archival storage
7. Managing risks and avoiding disaster
8. Creating and using surrogates
9. Moving the records
10. Exhibiting archives
11. Handling the records
12. Managing a pest control programme
13. Training and the use of volunteers
14. Putting preservation into practice
Helen Forde is a professional archivist who has worked in local authority, private and national archives. Until 2001 she was Head of Preservation Services at the UK national Archives, where she had previously been in charge of both the library and the Museum. She has taught preservation management and worked as an independent consultant on archives.
Jonathan Rhys-Lewis is preservation and collections management consultant with over 25 years experience within local government and as an independent consultant. He trains, lectures and publishes on preservation and preservation management.
