Preservation and Library Management

Discusses the results of a questionnaire survey into preservation policies and practice in British libraries, focusing on responsibility for preservation, preservation policies, disaster control planning, staff training and user education, co‐operative initiatives, factors inhibiting preservation activity and spending on preservation. Findings indicate that preservation is considered most applicable to special collections and to rare or valuable items, and that funding is a major problem even in libraries with a strong commitment to preservation. Increased activity in areas such as disaster control planning indicate a greater awareness of preservation issues than in the past. Highlights the advantages of written preservation policies and the success of co‐operative initiatives such as Newsplan, suggesting that a national preservation policy would enable libraries to take a more rational approach to problems such as what to preserve and funding allocation, while helping to clarify their national heritage responsibilities.