CLRC Preservation Resources Page
The members of CLRC's Preservation Committee are willing to consult freely with libraries in the region about their preservation needs. Please do not hesitate to contact them with questions related to the preservation of your materials.
The CLRC Preservation Committee serves as an advisory committee in the development of grant funded regional preservation projects and as a resource group for referral about preservation issues. The Preservation Committee has developed information useful for the region such as the CLRC Disaster Recovery Resource Guide. For additional information about CLRC regional preservation services, contact
Susan Hughes.
Preservation Committee charge
Current Members
Preservation Committee agenda and minutes
Conservation Referral List
Currently listing only book/paper conservators serving the CLRC region.
Disaster Planning and Recovery Resources
CLRC Disaster Recovery Resource Guide: This revised edition of the Disaster Recovery Resource Guide has been designed for quick and easy use in the event of a disaster. Last updated in 2002, the guide is organized by county, allowing libraries and archives to search for the vendors closest to them. Descriptions of disaster recovery supplies have been separated from the list of vendors, simplifying searches during a disaster. A new section on disaster recovery procedures links to descriptions of procedures for handling wet materials and other disasters.
Disaster Recovery Procedures: This includes contact information for getting started with recovery. Many of the sources listed here describe and illustrate the techniques and procedures for recovery and salvage, especially for wet materials.
Heritage Emergency National Task Force: Co-sponsored by Heritage Preservation and FEMA, this is the source for the Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel. Includes links for disaster preparedness and response for cultural institutions.
In the Face of Disaster: Preparing for Emergencies in Central New York. This manual was revised in 2002 for the Preservation Needs Assessment Project. It includes advice and forms for preparing library disaster plans. The forms in this manual make it easy to gather the information needed for a disaster plan.
Forms from In the Face of Disaster: The forms from the In the Face of Disaster Manual are included here as a separate Word document. Libraries may use them to add the local information needed for the Library's Disaster Plan.
National Network of Libraries of Medicine Emergency Preparedness & Response Toolkit: This site included information specific to disaster planning for medical libraries. Included is the planning template "10 Steps to Service Continuity".
Salvage Procedures for Wet Items: The Minnesota Historical Society Conservation Department offers advice and procedures for salvaging wet collections and possessions.
Disaster Response and Recovery: Tip sheets, documents, articles and web links to information and resources for disaster response and recovery from the Minnesota Historical Society Conservation Department.
Example of Disaster Plan:
Disaster Plan of the Syracuse University Libraries. Instructions for drying of print, non-print, and audio materials.
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental Monitoring and Control: This page was developed in 2003 by the Conservation and Special Projects staff from the Syracuse University Library Special Collections Research Center. It includes a summary of environmental guidelines and references for evaluating a library or museum's environmental and climate controls. Also discussed are options for monitoring the changes in temperature, humidity and light.
The Climate Notebook: Environmental monitoring and analysis for libraries, archives, and museums was developed by the RPI Image Permanence Institute with support from NEH, IMLS, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The site includes a free downloadable Preservation Calculator and the Stored Alive program.
Stored Alive: Interactive online game that illustrates the interplay between environmental conditions, materials and time.
Dew Point Calculator: Explore the relationship of Temperature, Relative Humidity (RH) and Dew Point.
Grant Funding Sources
Conservation/Preservation Discretionary Grants: State funding for New York libraries and other organizations engaged in efforts to preserve deteriorating library research materials.
Foundation Grants for Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums: This publication includes state-by-state descriptions of projects funded in preservation including the foundation's name, limitations of giving, focus for giving, size of grant, and purpose of grant. Also included is a list of all foundations that have donated to preservation with their contact information.
Before and After Disaster: Federal Funding for Cultural Institutions A guide to funding from 15 federal grant and loan programs.
Lower Hudson Conference Conservation Treatment Program: The Conservation Treatment Grant Program, administered by the Lower Hudson Conference (LHC), in association with the Museum Program of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), provides support for treatment procedures to aid in stabilizing and preserving objects in collections of museums, historical and cultural organizations in New York State.
Preservation Assistance for Smaller Institutions: Preservation Assistance Grants help small and mid-sized institutions, such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, town and county records offices, and colleges, improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections. These may include special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine arts, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, and historical objects.
Preservation Information Online
Conservation Manuals: This site from the Syracuse University Department of Preservation and Conservation includes free downloads on book conservation and handling, protective enclosures, and environmental monitoring and control.
Guide to Online Resources: Care for Collections: To help raise the conservation IQ of museums, libraries, and archives, IMLS, in cooperation with the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH), offers the Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, a core set of books, DVDs, online resources, and an annotated bibliography that are essential for the care of collections. Presented here is an extensive collection of online resources.
Custom Archival Book Box: From the Family Tree Magazine YouTube site. After downloading the one-page PDF, click on "watch a demonstration" on the right.
Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Code: Section 108 allows libraries and archives to make reproductions of copyrighted materials. This simple tool can help you determine whether or not a particular reproduction is covered by exemption.
Answers to your Archival Concerns at Gaylord.com: This site offers how-to tips, glossaries and links to more resources for the preservation and storage of books and archival materials. Includes downloadable versions of Gaylord's Guide to Collections Care: Paper, Photographs & Books and Bookcraft Guide: Simple Techniques for the Maintenance and Repair of Books.
Conservation Online: The ultimate preservation resource site. Information on disaster preparedness, environmental control, pest control, links to other resources, and other organizations and publications.
Preservation and Conservation Links: Includes information on digitization and vendors from the Book Arts Web.
Preservation 101: Preservation Basics for Paper and Media Collections. An online course covering the preservation of paper collections and related formats. Learn how to identify deteriorated materials, how to properly care for collections, and how to set priorities for preservation.
SOLINET Preservation Publications: The Southeastern Library Network, Inc. (SOLINET) is a not-for-profit library cooperative serving the Southeastern United States and the Caribbean. Downloadable leaflets include Preservation Budget Planning; Handling Books in General Collections; Collections Conservation: Selected Bibliography; and Preservation Recording, Copying, and Storage Guidelines for Audio Tape Collections.
Preservation Publications Available at CLRC Library and Archives Resource Center (LARC)
The following entries are a selected bibliography. For a complete listing, go to
www.clrc.org and click on LIBRARY. Search under keywords preservation and conservation.
Lowry, Marcia Duncan. Preservation and conservation in the Small Library.
Chicago: Library Administration and Management Association, American Library Association, c1989.
Morris, John. The Library Disaster Preparedness Handbook. Chicago : American Library Association, 1986.
Sitts, Maxine K.. A Practical Guide to Preservation in School and Public
Libraries. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources, 1990.
Ogden, Sherelyn. Preservation of Library & Archival Materials : a manual.
Andover, Mass: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1999. 3rd ed. rev. and expanded
Preservation Planning: guidelines for writing along-range plan. Andover, MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1997.
Preservation Publications Available Online
Preservation Strategies for Public Libraries, Brian J. Baird, University of Kansas Libraries
Northeast Document Conservation Center
Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded
Assessing Preservation Needs: A Self-Survey Guide, by Beth Patkus
Handbook for Digital Projects: A Management Tool for Preservation & Access
Preserving Computer Files and Digital Images
NEDCC Leaflets: Caring for Your Collection leaflets cover about 70 topics, including:
Care of Photographs
Low-cost/No-cost Improvements in Climate Control
NEDCC Offers Hints for Preserving Family Collections
Packing and Shipping Paper Artifacts
Priority Actions for Preservation
Removal of Damaging Fasteners from Historic Documents
Three Basic Book Repair Procedures by Carole Dyal and Pete Merrill-Oldham.
This pamphlet was the basis for a book repair demonstration hosted by the Library of Congress at ALA Annual in 1998. This publication is not copyrighted and may be photocopied and distributed. Printed copies are available; see webpage for details.
Image Permanence Institute Free Publications
Helpful tools offered by IPI free of charge: Media Storage Quick Reference, Storage Guide for Acetate Film, Guide to Traditional and Digital Print Stability, Guide for Recovery of Water-Damaged Prints, and other titles.
Posted on 05/04/09