It is extremely challenging to establish and continue developing a library preservation program. The three most obvious and immediate needs are money, staff, and space, commodities that seem to be in increasingly short supply, even for more traditional and proven library departments. As relative newcomers on the library operational scene, preservation departments frequently have to fight harder than more well-established departments for resources and defend strategies not easily understood by their colleagues.

In many cases, preservation departments are launched to take advantage of the availability of grant funding. This conditional status imposes a level of stress that is unreasonable for a new program. For these and a variety of other reasons, it is important for preservation administrators to articulate preservation goals objectively, to identify the dimensions of preservation needs, and to develop realistic, cost-effective strategies that emphasize that preservation is an integral part of all other library operations.

In the development of any program, it is necessary to review needs and existing resources, analyze them, and prepare a long-range plan for accomplishing the mission.

Click on the links below to learn more about this subject.

1. The planning process
2. Developing a preservation management plan
3. Needs assessment: Sample condition surveys
4. Needs assessment: Action surveys
5. Documentation and funding
6. Integrated planning
7. Communication