Logistics and documentation

We at Northwestern have developed and used a 'point' system in the
conservation lab for the past three years to good affect. The purpose is
the management of labor and prioritization of collection needs. In our
context we have set certain high priorities for our conservation
resources, including use-based selection (ie. material from the
Circulation Dept.), material generated through our reformatting program,
grant-based material treatments, and 'rush' material. When our projected
labor resources exceed these primary objectives, we quantify the
'excess' labor in terms of hours of labor. In our case we attribute one
'A' point per hour of student assistant labor and one 'B' point per hour
of technician or professional labor. Once this is calculated for an
upcoming period of time (3, 6, 12 months) requests are solicited from
the selectors of the discreet collections within the library that are
not serviced (or only partially) by the above mentioned primary
objectives. These collections are also of special significance and
command a certain priority that goes beyond that of our general
collections. Often these include materials of artifactual value. The
requests given are for materials in the selector's collection that need
conservation and are of high priority. Where possible the treatments
needed are described and quantified. At this point each collection is
'visited' by preservation staff to better identify and understand the
need, which often can include reformatting options. Once this is
established, both the resources and the needs are reviewed by
preservation and the collection management librarian (to whom the
selectors report) for the allocation of the 'points' for that period.
With planning, cooperation, and communication, the system works. It is
also a wonderful tool for educating librarians in preservation. The
'points' also provide a useful means of keeping statistics.

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 5:41
                 Distributed: Wednesday, March 4, 1992
                        Message Id: cdl-5-41-006
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