RLG PRESERV Strategic Plan

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PRESERV—the RLG Preservation Program
RLG PRESERV Strategic Plan
January 20, 1997
Prepared by the PRESERV Advisory Council on behalf of the PRESERV membership
Endorsed by the PRESERV Membership November 1996

I. INTRODUCTION
II. PRESERV Strategic Plan
Goal 1: Develop and Support the Use of Digital Technology as a Preservation Strategy
Goal 2: Address Issues Related to Preservation of Magnetic Media
Goal 3: Pursue International Collaboration in Preservation
III. Appendix A: Statement on Annual PRESERV Member Meetings

I. Introduction

Research institutions have a fundamental responsibility to ensure the availability of research materials by preserving them. The rapid technological changes to which libraries and archives are subject complicates this responsibility with a new multiplicity of options and objectives. The challenge of trying to balance the old and the new--and pay for them both--is nowhere more pressing than in preservation. The almost overwhelming task of continuing to support traditional collections and drive forward into the digital world, combined with shrinking sources of funding, requires PRESERV to take a new approach to its services and the way it stimulates member initiatives.
The most successful activities undertaken by RLG have included: the design and promulgation of guidelines, specifications, policies, and procedures; successful representation of members' interests; organization and management of grant-funded projects; and facilitating the communication of management information among members. In many cases, librarians and archivists from member institutions worked with RLG staff to create products that have become recognized as de facto national standards. Similarly, RLG's energetic preservation efforts have set in motion a general direction for national preservation endeavors. The Strategic Plan recognizes these strengths and attempts to capitalize on them.
RLG's future role must be shaped in the context of the preservation challenge now faced by libraries and archives throughout its membership. That challenge is represented by four main types of activity:
A. Education and Training. It is generally acknowledged that education and training must play an increasing role as librarians and archivists attempt to manage and stay abreast of change. In preservation, education and training must be multi-layered and broad-based, addressing for example, basic conservation skills, the preservation of non-paper materials and media, and the use and management of electronic media. A broad base of staff, from preservation technicians to preservation program directors to library directors, are affected by the need for preservation education and training.
B. Research. Preservation professionals have learned the value of research in the development of standards of practice and specifications, and the results of our efforts have strongly influenced manufacturers, vendors, and legislators. The new information technologies are fueled by dynamic commercial interests, resulting in the rapid development of a wide variety of hardware and software products to capture and distribute information on an unprecedented scale. Libraries must embrace the technology, but also ensure that their interests are being met by pursuing rigorous research in areas of special significance. Similarly, research into traditional preservation and conservation problems must be stimulated to provide answers to a range of fundamental questions that remain unresolved.
C. Standards, Specifications, Benchmarks. A strength of RLG has been its ability to articulate, in clear and unambiguous language, the results of its research in the form of standards of practice and specifications. Librarians and archivists, faced with an intransigent industry and trying to grapple with a confusing array of practices relating to microform, were assured by authoritative standards drawn up by RLG in part to guide a common approach to grant funding. Today, the need for authoritative standards, specifications, and benchmarks is much more essential, but more difficult to obtain because of the growing complexity of the technologies and the fast rate of development.
D. Production. The ability of research repositories to deliver the promise of long-term accessibility is conditioned by the rate at which materials can be conserved, reformatted, and effectively stored. In the final analysis, present and future scholars will judge us by the type and amount of library and archival material and information that we save and make accessible.
While it is understood that all these four types of activity are crucial for preservation to be carried forward within PRESERV member institutions, the PRESERV strategic plan attempts to put forward a realistic agenda for the next five years--one that is tightly focused on initiatives utilizing RLG's strengths. The PRESERV strategic plan is an instrument that articulates a range of actions from three main sources: RLG members acting as a group, RLG staff acting on members' behalf, and individual member libraries, or small subsets of the group, working on PRESERV initiatives.
II. PRESERV Strategic Plan

The PRESERV Strategic Plan covers the next three- to five-year period. The constraints of the plan's timeframe require a firm focus on goals that are of greatest value, that are achievable, and that map closely with RLG's strengths and member institutions' needs. To achieve the following ambitious agenda, it will be necessary to stimulate proactive efforts by PRESERV members and the PRESERV Advisory Council. An annual PRESERV membership meeting (national or regional) is recommended. It should not be tied to other national conferences and thus will provide greater participation opportunity by members (see appendix A). Also, the orientation of new PRESERV Advisory Council members will stress ways in which they can contribute to forwarding initiatives that support PRESERV members' needs.
GOAL 1: Develop and Support the Use of Digital Media as a Preservation Strategy.
1a. Develop strategies for the permanent maintenance and storage of preservation digital files.

Action: Collaborate with the Commission on Preservation and Access and other relevant partners to support a task force to accomplish the following:

Investigate model(s) for centralized digital archiving consistent with the recommendations of the RLG/CPA Digital Archiving Task Force
Create a small PRESERV task force to review the RLG/CPA report for possible action items
Add PRESERV input to the technical task force of the Studies in Scarlet and Global Migration project groups

Timeframe: January-December, 1998

1b. Investigate and establish preservation requirements for digital imaging.
Action: Accomplish the following:

Develop guidelines for image capture considering quality goals, user presentation objectives and care of image surrogates;
Develop model workflows;
Develop model RFPs and contracts for a variety of service needs.
Develop guidelines for digital "queuing"
Investigate issues concerning how users access and manipulate digital images
Explore preservation issues related to digitizing oversized images
Ensure that preservation issues are addressed as the larger community develops guidelines and standards for metadata
Review action list for opportunities to make progress on goals that require consensus

Timeframe: Begin work immediately through a variety of channels, including the contract with Cornell, the Studies in Scarlet project team, and the new Working Group on Preservation and Reformatting Information. Ensure that actions not addressed by an existing group(s) are pursued independently within PRESERV in a timely fashion.

1c. Educate and train practitioners and administrators.
Action: Accomplish the following:

Host a three-day training session where guidelines and models developed in 1b are translated into application.
Follow up Studies in Scarlet and other initiatives for education and training opportunities

Timeframe: October 1997 and beyond (first offering in 10/97; subsequent offerings of workshop in 1998).

1d. Preserve collections through the creation of distributed digital files.
Action: Accomplish the following:

Recommend to the Global Migration project group that participants be selected, at least in part, based on their ability to address the preservation issues folded into the project goals
Develop a consortial grant project to create digital surrogates of specified collections. Project outcomes should include:
----- image capture guidelines
----- model workflow(s)
----- requirements for viewing and manipulation
----- methodology for technically optimizing usefulness of digital resource
----- defer cost studies until we acquire more experience with project implementation

Timeframe: Make recommendations to RLG staff on Global Migration immediately. Obtain any needed funding for new consortial grant project by December 1997 (project to run January 1998 - December 1999).

GOAL 2: Address Issues Related to Preservation of Magnetic Media.
2a. Research and document requirements for preserving magnetic media.
Action: Establish a working group to do the following:

Organize the available research and knowledge;
Develop documentation, including guidelines for storage, care and handling and copying;
Investigate cost and quality (better monitoring of environment, etc.) benefits of PRESERV members sharing a storage facility for magnetic media
Develop a model RFP for contract copying.

2b. Educate and train practitioners and administrators.
Action: Develop and offer a 2- or 3-day training session to share guidelines and provide hand's on experience in the care, management, and re-recording of magnetic materials.
Timeframe: To be developed.

2c. Collaborate with existing organizations (e.g., Association for Recorded Sound Collections, National Media Laboratory, Commission on Preservation and Access, ALA's Preservation and Reformatting Section, the International Association of Sound Archives, and others) to identify areas of overlap in expertise and areas needing further investigation in the international context.

GOAL 3: Pursue International Collaboration in Preservation.

3a. Provide information about preservation activities throughout the world to reduce duplicative effort, stimulate preservation activity, and facilitate cooperation.
Action: Accomplish the following:

Promote member contributions to PRESERV-RLG electronic discussion group.
Continue to support sharing of MARC records internationally.
Support and act on recommendations to be submitted by the Working Group on Preservation and Reformatting Information in May 1997.
Promote broader participation in PRESERV by non-US RLG members.

3b. Encourage cooperation in research by developing a commonly understood research and testing agenda.
Action: Consult with appropriate national and international organizations to review areas of mutual need and interest as well as current levels of activity.

3c. Work towards the development and general endorsement of international standards and protocols.
Action:: to be developed.

Appendix A:
Statement on Annual PRESERV Member Meetings

Meetings of PRESERV membership representatives are presently held through the "roundtable" format in conjunction with the American Library Association's summer and midwinter conferences. The original intent of this arrangement was to provide members with an opportunity to participate in first-hand discussions on PRESERV matters in a convenient and economical way. For those PRESERV members who attend the ALA conferences however, it is often difficult to set aside the time from busy schedules to participate in roundtable discussions, and for those PRESERV members representing institutions other than libraries (an increasing percentage of the membership), ALA conferences are not appropriate and convenient venues. As it is important to secure broad participation of the membership in PRESERV, it is proposed that the roundtables be replaced by annual meetings not tied to ALA conferences.
The only significant drawback to separate annual meetings is the cost to the institutions to support travel and hotel expenditures. The PRESERV Advisory Council believes that the benefits accruing to institutions from such meetings would offset necessary expenditure by providing attendees with the opportunity to participate fully in current PRESERV activities. The annual meeting would, in fact, supplement the electronic communications channels already in use by creating a venue in which working groups can meet, colleagues can share expertise, and staff can stay in close touch with individual and collective interests. With regular input from members during face-to-face meetings, PRESERV initiatives can more accurately reflect the needs of its members and its agenda can be advanced more quickly and efficiently.
A possible solution to the travel and accommodation cost problem is to hold the annual meetings on a regional basis, with annual meetings held on the West and East coasts and in the Mid-West in turn. To take full advantage of the gathering of PRESERV members at the annual meetings, and to help fulfill some of its training and educational objectives, RLG would organize workshops or seminars in conjunction with the meetings that would help to stimulate active discussion and encourage institutions to provide support.

Last updated 2/97

This site was frozen in 2004 and is now out of date. Please go to RLG's current Web site for all information. Questions? Contact us.
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