[padg] Preservation of ephemera

[<jgrzeg2@xxxxxxxx>]

Dear PADG List Members,

I am an MLIS student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who is currently completing coursework in a general preservation course.  I am gathering material for a short research paper on the topic of the preservation of ephemera.  I would like to focus particularly on the philosophical or theoretical rationale for preserving cultural objects whose creators did not necessary intend them to be preserved in perpetuity.  Do your institutions have in place any policies on the retention and preservation of ephemera?  If so, what types of ephemera (e.g., political pamphlets, theater handbills, concert flyers) do you aim to preserve and why?  Did you base your policy decisions in part on any formal papers, monographs, or other documents?

Objects of popular culture are of great interest to me for this paper.  Both the artifacutal and informational value of such ephemeral objects can often be difficult to assess at the time of their creation.

If anyone attended the 2007 RBMS Preconference, I would also love to hear your thoughts on the seminars and papers presented on the preservation of ephemera. Unfortunately, I was not in attendance, and have been unable to locate detailed information about the content delivered at the conference.

I thank you in advance for your thoughtful assistance and guidance.  You may contact me directly, if you prefer, at jgrzeg2@xxxxxxxxx

Sincerely,

Jessica Grzegorski
Cataloging/Acquisitions Assistant
The Newberry Library
60 W. Walton St.
Chicago, IL 60610

jgrzeg2@xxxxxxxx