[PADG:2242] Preservation Management Institute

[Whitney Pape <Whitney_Pape@xxxxxxxxx>]

The following is being posted on behalf of Karen Novick of Rutgers
University.
wp

Rutgers' Preservation Management Institute Offered 
with Local and National Scholarships Available

"It would be hard to make this program better."
"Unbelievable 
experience." "Tremendous amount of practical advice."
"Well worth the 
time and money to participate." These are just some of the comments
made 
by recent attendees of Rutgers University's Preservation Management 
Institute. The Institute, offered since 1998 and designed for library and
archives staff who have some preservation responsibilities, combines
intensive classroom learning with guided preservation planning activities
that participants complete at their home institutions. 

ABOUT THE CLASSES

The next cycle of the Preservation Management Institute will begin in
fall 
2004. Participants will spend a week at Rutgers University in central New
Jersey during the week of October 25, then a second week in mid-April
2005, and a final week the following September. Class sessions will 
cover the range of preservation management issues, including
environmental 
controls and monitoring, pest control, preservation surveying, 
microfilming, the nature of paper, preservation issues of photographic
materials, care and handling, collection conservation, exhibiting
valuable 
material, selection for preservation, commercial library binding,
holdings 
maintenance, disaster preparedness and recovery, digital imaging and
preservation, preservation policies and planning, resource allocation and
funding, and grant-writing.

The fifteen days of classes include instruction by Evelyn Frangakis,
Preservation Officer at the National Agricultural Library and former head
of preservation at the University of Maryland Libraries and Preservation
Program Director for the Society of American Archivists. On about half of
the days there are presentations by guest speakers who are experts in
their fields, including William Lull of Garrison/Lull, Inc.
(environmental 
issues), Anne R. Kenney from Cornell University (digital issues), and
Christine Ward of the New York State Archives (management and planning).
There is also one field trip each week so participants can see a 
microfilming and digitizing lab in action, a regional conservation lab,
and a large-scale library preservation program. 

PRESERVATION PLANNING ACTIVITIES 

Classroom learning is only half the value of the Preservation Management
Institute. The program offers staff and their institutions help with
building their own preservation program. After the first week of class,
which includes instruction on preservation surveys, participants return
home and have three months to conduct a preservation survey of their
institutions. They submit the surveys to the head instructor who gives
them specific, individual feedback. After the second week of class, 
participants draft or update their institution's disaster plan, which
they 
will submit and get feedback on so that the plan can be implemented.
Participants will also have the opportunity to consider their 
institution's resources and operations to begin setting priorities for a
preservation program. At the end of the year, each participant will have
done the equivalent of two graduate courses in preservation management
and 
taken concrete steps in developing a preservation program for their 
institutions. 

CERTIFICATION

Participants who complete all the work for the program will earn a 
certificate in preservation management from Rutgers University's School
of 
Communication, Information and Library Studies (SCILS). Rutgers SCILS is
home to one of the nation's top-ranked MLIS programs, one of the largest
continuing education programs associated with a library school, as well
as 
a PhD and other undergraduate and graduate programs.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Fifty-two people from 23 states, Washington, D.C., and Jamaica have 
attended the Institute during the three times it has been offered, and
they have come from all types of libraries. Not surprisingly, about 45%
of the attendees have worked in academic or research libraries with 
history or other special collections. About 25% have come from local
historical societies and other special facilities, and 15% have come from
public libraries with local history collections. The remaining 15% came
from K-12 schools (generally private schools with their own archives),
industry (since legal regulations in some industries require maintenance
of lab notebooks and other documents for long periods), or master's 
programs in library and information science.

REGISTRATION AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Due to the nature of the program, the Institute it limited to about 20
participants in each year. The cost of registration for 2004-05 is 
$4,075. Travel and overnight room reservations are not included in the
registration fee. Recognizing the importance of making this unique 
program available to small and mid-size institutions, Rutgers has secured
funding for two types of scholarships to the Institute. The National
Endowment for the Humanities has funded a number of scholarships for
individuals who work in institutions with historically valuable
humanities 
collections; these scholarships cover the entire registration fee and a
portion of the travel. The New Jersey Historical Society has funded 
scholarships for registration for individuals who work in institutions
with New Jersey history materials. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Details about the Institute and the scholarships available, as well as
application and registration forms, may be found on the program's website
at
http://scils.rutgers.edu/pds/pmi.jsp

Questions can be addressed to Karen Novick at
knovick@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx