ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


May 1 9 9 6 /3 0 5

Preservation
N ew s

J a n e  H ed berg

C o n w a y  co n sid ers 
d ig ital p re se rv a tio n
Paul Conway, h ea d  o f the 
Preservation D epartm ent at 
Y ale U niversity, has co m ­
p leted a report for th e Com­
mission on Preservation and 
Access titled “Preservation in 
the Digital W orld.” This re­
port is intended to describe 
the changing nature o f pres­
ervation as it encom passes 
new  electronic m edia and to 
create a framework for u n ­
d e r s ta n d in g  th a t c h a n g e . 
Conway postulates that the preservation con­
cepts that have b ee n  developed for print and 
other traditional media during the past twenty 
years may no t all b e ap p ro p riate for digital 
media. He argues that w hile preservation of 
traditional media em phasizes the physical in­
tegrity o f th e object, preservation o f digital 
media m ust em phasize the intellectual integ­
rity o f the object. Access to information stored 
in digital form is so short lived, com pared to 
traditional forms, that preservation management 
should begin before creation o f the digital o b ­
ject. The Commission h o p es this report will 
stimulate discussion an d  exploration o f these 
important issues. Copies are available for $15.00 
from the Commission on Preservation and Ac­
cess, 1400 16th Street NW, Suite 740, W ashing­
ton, DC 20036-2117; phone: (202) 939-3400; 
fax: (202) 939-3407. Prepaym ent is required. 
Commission sponsors receive publications free 
of charge.

ECPA o ffers Internet access
The European Commission on Preservation and 
Access (ECPA) has recently developed both a 
discussion list and a World Wide W eb site. They 
are intended to engender interest in and dis­
tribute information about preservation activi­
ties in Europe. The W eb site contains descrip­
tive material o n  the ECPA, announcem ents, a 
calendar, conference summaries, a list o f p u b ­
lications, an d  a list o f preservation institutes 
an d  organizations, all w ritten in English.

O ne may subscribe to the discussion list by 
sending the one-line message: subscribe EPIC- 
LST <nam e> to listserv@nic.surfnet.nl. The ad­
dress o f the W eb site is h ttp ://w w w .lib rary . 
k n aw .n l/ep ic/ec p atex / w elco m e.h tm .

C o m m issio n /C LR  
p u b lish  project list
T he Commission on Preser­
vation and Access an d  the 
C o u n c il o n  L ib rary  R e­
so u rce s (CLR) h av e p u b ­
lished a n ew  report, “Digi­
tal C o llectio n s In v en to ry  
R eport.” As collections of 
d o c u m e n ts  o n  th e  W eb 
have proliferated, the Com­
mission/CLR rea lize d  th e 
value and inherent difficulty 
in identifying digital collec­
tions of interest to scholars. 

This 64-page report is the result o f their pre­
liminary project to inventory digital collections. 
It lists collections in four broad categories, plus 
Web sites that lead to digital collections.

Copies are $20.00 from the Commission on 
Preservation and Access (see address in first 
item); phone: (202) 939-3400; fax: (202) 939- 
3407. P rep ay m en t is req u ired . C om m ission 
sponsors receive publications free o f charge.

NEDCC o ffers m icrofilm ing w o rk s h o p s
The Northeast D ocum ent Conservation Center 
(NEDCC) has scheduled four m ore w orkshops 
about preservation microfilming. D esigned to 
train project administrators in planning, imple­
menting, an d  m anaging filming projects, the 
w orkshops will also include information on digi­
tal technologies an d  their role in hybrid pres­
ervation systems. Susan Wrynn, director o f Re­
prographic Services at NEDCC, is the principal 
instructor. The first w orkshop is May 13– 15 in 
Sacramento; the second is Ju n e 10– 12 in New 
Mexico; the third is Septem ber 9– 11 in North 
Carolina; an d  the fourth is O ctober 7 -9  in New 
York City. Registration is $210, including p ur­
chase o f Preservation Microfilming: A G uide fo r  
Librarians a n d  Archivists, o r $150 w ithout p ur­
chasing the guide.

For m ore information, contact Gay Tracy, 
NEDCC, 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA 
01810; phone: (508) 470-1010; fax: (508) 475- 
6021; e-mail: nedcc@ world.std.com. ■

J a n e  Hedberg prepares this c o lu m n  f o r  the College 
Libraries Committee, Comm ission on Preservation 
a n d  Access. Subm issions m ay be m a d e  to: J a n e  
Hedberg, Wellesley College Library, 106 C entral St., 
Wellesley, MA 02181; JHEDBERG@WELLESLEY.EDU.

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mailto:nedcc@world.std.com
mailto:JHEDBERG@WELLESLEY.EDU