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Use of general preservation assessments: Outputs

This study describes the extent to which institutions implement preservation recommendations resulting from a general needs assessment, including the time to implementation and the extent of program development. Most recommendations are preventive, with less emphasis on repair or reformatting activities. Data indicate that the majority of institutions accomplish recommended preservation actions with no neglected subject areas. Institutions with the highest rates of success spent more staff time preparing for the site visit, and had a longer site visit, compared to the population as a whole. Preparation of a preservation plan does not correlate to an enhanced capacity to implement preservation recommendations. ********** The purpose of undertaking a general preservation assessment is to define need and initiate a planning process to: (1) enable an institution to reduce risks to the collection, and (2) better allocate resources for preservation over time. The popularity and persistence of several major funding initiatives, including the New York State Department of Cultural Education's Discretionary Grant Program, the Preservation Assistance Grants offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Conservation Assessment Program funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, suggest that general preservation assessments are valuable for guiding cultural institutions in planning for care of their collections. In the literature are several cases in which a study of preservation issues has resulted in the improvement or establishment of a preservation program. (1) However, most of the literature emphasizes the survey process itself, with little research conducted to identify actual outcomes associated with these assessments. Few studies clearly define those activities undertaken as a direct result of the general assessment or demonstrate its impact over time. Funding agents have not published information about the outcomes of general surveys, despite the collection of facts about activity and effect through program reporting mechanisms. (2) In fall 2003, 306 institutions in the United States identified as possibly having undertaken a general preservation assessment received questionnaires inquiring about their involvement with the process (see appendix). Most of these institutions received public funding to support a preservation project; others were identified with support and assistance from the Northeast Document Conservation Center, which receives public funding to assist institutions with preservation surveys, training, and education. One hundred twenty-five questionnaires were returned (40.9 percent), representing institutions in 29 states, including 102 located in the northeast (primarily Massachusetts and New York), 11 in the west and midwest, and 12 in the southern United States. The data were analyzed using SPSS Version 11.5 (statistics software for Windows). Findings, previously reported by this author, were based on the first part of the collected data that characterized the assessment process and appraised key elements. (3) The results provide a foundation that define preservation reviews that have been undertaken since the late 1980s by a range of United States institutions, primarily colleges and universities and public libraries. This paper continues the report of findings by describing the preservation actions, or outputs, realized from the general needs assessment process. The research addressed the following questions: * How long after the assessment are institutions able to implement recommended actions? * Do institutions draft a preservation plan? * What actions, in what subject areas, are most often recommended? * What is the success rate of implementing recommended actions items? * Are institutions successful at obtaining their goals? * What is the extent of preservation program development over time? …