Putting It Into Practice

Preparing a Preservation Plan

Few institutions have the time or the money to meet every preservation and conservation need for their collection. When resources are limited, choices must be made among preservation activities. The physical condition of collections is only one aspect of preservation decision making. As you have seen in Session 1: Introduction to Preservation, other considerations include the intrinsic value of collections, their importance to the institution, their legal and historic value, the ease and cost of replacement, and other factors that can only be identified by the collections' custodians.

There are several basic steps in creating a preservation plan: determining preservation needs, identifying potential solutions, setting priorities, and devising a detailed plan to address the identified needs. Opportunities to address preservation issues sometimes arise unexpectedly, so you will be ahead of the game if you have a preservation plan in place that allows you to take advantage of such opportunities.