Stack maintenance

We want to formalise the housekeeping arrangements within the stacks
of Special Collections in our Library.  Until now, things have been
a little ad hoc with student assistants doing some book cleaning
whenever funds have become available [ i.e. for a few weeks
annually]. To summarise, the situation is this:

    *   there appear to be no funds for extra 'outside' help over
        and above what's been mentioned

    *   cleaning books and shelves is not considered the prerogative
        of professional librarians

    *   the Head of Special Collections is not keen on having the
        stacks peopled by volunteers

    *   the conservation staff here is very small with a great
        number of other commitments, so both cleaning the collection
        initially and keeping on top of things is a tall order

These must be common problems and we would like to know how other
institutions have tackled the issue of housekeeping.  Any
suggestions or advice would be gratefully received.

Sharon Connell
Assistant Conservation Officer
University of Leeds Library

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:7
                   Distributed: Monday, July 12, 1999
                        Message Id: cdl-13-7-013
                                  ***