Caring for America's Library
Centralization and Modernization of Preservation Activities
A joint conference of the Library of Congress and the Association of Research Libraries in 1965, focusing on the need for a national preservation program, led the Library to re-examine its preservation activities in terms of how well it was fulfilling LC's own requirements and how it could play a leadership role for library preservation action throughout the United States and elsewhere. In addition, the Library recognized "the need for greater emphasis on the application of scientific principles and sound administrative methods to an effective preservation program."
Through such events in the 1960s, the Library became increasingly aware that preservation activities were fragmented and poorly co-ordinated, and that better administrative control, a centralized budget, and a more scientific approach to preservation problems were essential if the vast collections were to be preserved for future generations of scholars. As a result, plans were formulated to centralize most of the preservation activities into one office.
In this way, a more concerted, more efficient approach to preservation problems could be taken, and funds could be better utilized. These plans for an expanded preservation program also provided for the establishment of a research and testing operation and a modern conservation facility under direct Library control.