Preservation and Conservation Practices of Library Information Resources in Tanzania: Perspectives from Librarians

This study sought to assess ways by which librarians in various libraries in Tanzania preserve information resources for current and future use. Specifically, the study identified the kinds of collections and their status, attempted to find out activities carried out in libraries that are related with preservation and evaluated ways in which the existing library materials could be prevented from deterioration. The study used focus group discussions to collect data from 25 librarians from various libraries in Tanzania, who attended a workshop on preservation of library information resources, held at Mbeya University of Science and Technology (MUST). Results reveal that major formats available in libraries include print media, e-resources, microforms, manuscripts and artworks. Activities conducted in libraries that were associated with preservation included refreshing, migration, digitization, proper shelving, collection examination, user orientations, photocopying, restoration, data backup, environmental control, binding and monitoring collections through CCTVs. However, challenges encountered during preservation activities include poor skills among librarians on appropriate preservation activities, harsh environmental conditions such as high temperature and lack of written policies and guidelines on preservation of library resources. The study concluded that preservation activities were actually carried out in libraries although the extent to which librarians undertook preservation activities varied from the nature of the libraries. It was therefore recommended that policies and guidelines on preservation activities be developed to guide preservation activities.