Putting It Into Practice

Staff and User Education

Educating staff and users about preservation can be a challenge in cultural institutions, because most damage is caused not by malicious behavior, but by carelessness, thoughtlessness, or lack of knowledge.

The librarian, archivist, or curator has relatively little direct control over the behavior of users. The user is normally focused on his or her own needs (which all too often are contrary to the needs of collections) and must be persuaded that the way he or she treats collections has a significant effect on how long materials will survive.

Educating staff (particularly those within the institution but outside the library, such as facilities personnel or administrative staff) can be just as challenging as educating users. In many cases, staff members have competing priorities (e.g., saving energy or money) or simply too many other responsibilities to give much thought to preservation issues.

How can you implement effective preservation education programs for your staff and users? You will explore some possible activities in this section.