[PADG:1340] Available Soon: Curriculum for Introductory Preservation Course

["Julie Carlson NEDCC" <jcarlson@xxxxxxxxx>]

NORTHEAST DOCUMENT CONSERVATION CENTER
AND SIMMONS COLLEGE GSLIS ANNOUNCE
NEW PRESERVATION TEACHING RESOURCES

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INTRODUCTORY PRESERVATION COURSE CURRICULUM AVAILABLE ONLINE SOON:
In 2004, the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), in Andover, 
Massachusetts, working in partnership with the Simmons College Graduate 
School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS), in Boston, was awarded a 
grant by IMLS' Laura Bush 21st Century Librarians Program to produce, test, 
and make available curriculum materials for an introductory preservation 
course for students in MLS and archives graduate programs. The goal of the 
project is to facilitate the inclusion of preservation training in the 
formal curriculum, especially through the increased use of adjuncts to teach 
specialized courses.

DOWNLOADABLE LESSON PLANS:
In 2007, the project will make available a curriculum with ready-to-use, 
downloadable lesson plans for a semester-long introductory course in 
preservation. A choice of images will supplement each lesson. Materials will 
be available online to graduate programs in librarianship and archives as 
well as to adjuncts who teach preservation courses.

Topics for the 13 lessons include: Context for the Cultural Record, 
Collections Care, Creating Sustainable Digital Collections, and Disaster 
Planning among others.

The detailed lesson plans are divided into two levels: Essentials, including 
the primary preservation topics, and Taking It Further, including of a list 
of suggested readings and activities for a deeper exploration of the topics. 
This format will make the curriculum adaptable for teachers who wish to 
focus on specific aspects of preservation. The new curriculum was piloted 
during the fall 2006 semester in six GLIS programs in different parts of the 
country.

NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE CREATES CONSENSUS ABOUT CORE CONTENT FOR 
PRESERVATION COURSE:
A project advisory committee that includes distinguished library and 
archival educators, institutional preservation administrators, library 
administrators, and digital experts created broad consensus about the core 
content (topics and readings) for the preservation course. The core content 
reflects the competencies needed by 21st century librarians working in an 
online as well as analog environment.

TO RECEIVE INFORMATION:
Library educators who would like to receive an announcement of the 
availability of the online curriculum materials once they are posted, or who 
would like advice about initiating a preservation course should contact 
Aimée Primeaux at NEDCC, aprimeaux@xxxxxxxxxx

For more information about NEDCC, a nonprofit, regional conservation center, 
go to www.nedcc.org.