ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


32 /  C&RL News m  January 1998

P r e s e r v a t i o n  N e w s Jane Hedberg

P B S t o  s h o w  “ In to  th e  F u t u r e ”
The Public Broadcast System is planning to 
air Terry Sanders’ new film, “Into the Future: 
On the Preservation of Knowledge in the Elec­
tronic Age,” on January 13, 1998, at 10 p.m., 
EST. The film, focusing on the fragility o f elec­
tronic data, is narrated by Robert McNeil and 
includes interviews with people prominent 
in computing and electronic communication.

C o n fe re n c e  o n  in fo  m a n a g e m e n t
The Northeast Document Conservation Cen­
ter (NDCC), with the National Park Service 
Museum Management Program, the National 
Register o f Historic Places and the National 
Archives and Records Administration, is 
sponsoring “The Information Ecosystem: 
Managing the Life Cycle o f Information.” This 
four-day conference will b e held on March 
10– 13, 1998, at Archives II, College Park, 
Maryland. Attendees will learn how to cre­
ate, manage, adapt, and reuse information, 
particularly in electronic form. Topics will 
include the ecology o f information, stake­
holders in systems, creation o f long-lived 
information, reuse o f existing information, 
integration o f legacy data, new and endan­
gered species o f information, challenges of 
special projects, legal issues, and research 
assistance. For details contact Gay Tracy, 
NDCC, 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA 
01810; phone: (978) 470-1010; fax: (978) 475-
6021; email: tracy@nedcc.org.

C o m m is s io n  p u b lis h e s  d ig it iz a t io n  
re p o rt
The Commission on Preservation and Ac­
cess published “Digitization as a Means o f 
Preservation?” in O ctober 1997. The report 
was written by Hartmut W eber and Marianne 
D o e r r  fo r  th e  D e u ts c h e  F o r s c h u n g s
gemeinschaft (DFG) and translated into En­
glish under the auspices o f the European 
Commission on Preservation and Access in 
July 1997. Recognizing that information in 
digital form is accessible but fragile and in­
formation in microform is robust, the report 
investigates how to best use them as com ­
patible formats. A DFG working group in­

vestigated the technical nature o f digital and 
microform conversion by testing standard­
ized materials and evaluating the results. This 
led to quality requirements for digital cop­
ies, using the same standard for preserva­
tion microfilming, and minimum standards 
for printouts from microforms so digital de­
rivatives can meet acceptable quality stan­
dards. The report is available for $10 prepaid, 
including s/h, from the Council on Library and 
Information Resources, 1755 Massachusetts 
Ave., N.W., Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20036-
2188; phone: (202) 939-4750; fax: (202) 939-
4765; e-mail: info@clir.org. (Commission spon­
sors receive publications free of charge.)

N H P R C  a n n o u n c e s  g r a n t  r e c ip ie n t s
The National Historical Publications and 
Records Commission announced  its rec­
ommendation that 28 projects receive a total 
o f $2,308,182 in funding. Five of the projects 
involve electronic records, with $20,000 go­
ing to the Association of Research Libraries 
and Coalition for Networked Information for 
development o f a pilot workshop on elec­
tronic records issues; $105,845 to the Uni­
v e r s ity  o f  M ic h ig a n  fo r  a n a ly s is  o f 
recordkeeping practices in six private-sec
tor organizations; $90,031 to the Minnesota 
Historical Society for establishment o f elec­
tronic records programs in two state agen­
cies; $381,332 to the Research Foundation 
o f the State University o f New York for de­
velopment o f guidelines for the preserva­
tion o f electronic records o f interest to sec­
ond ary u sers; and $ 1 2 3 ,9 2 8  to C ornell 
University for study o f archival electronic 
records produced at the college-level within 
the university. The other 23 grants were for 
state board planning and editing projects. 
For more information, contact the NHPRC, 
700 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Room 106, Wash­
ington, D.C.; phone: (202) 501-5610; fax: (202) 
501-5601; e-mail: nhprc@archl.nara.gov. ■

Jane Hedberg prepares this column for the College Libraries 
Committee, Commission on Preservation and Access. 
Submissions may be made to Jane Hedberg, Wellesley 
College; JHEDBERG@WELLESLEY.EDU; fax: (617)283-2103

mailto:tracy@nedcc.org
mailto:info@clir.org
mailto:nhprc@archl.nara.gov
mailto:JHEDBERG@WELLESLEY.EDU