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For reasons that are historic, political, economic, and climatic, many institutions in developing countries find it very difficult to ensure the survival of their cultural property. Library and archive materials are especially susceptible to damage and neglect, as they are created on fragile media in large numbers and, unlike museum objects, must be readily accessible to users.

Despite the best efforts of librarians and archivists to address problems of preservation at the local level, information on viable and practical preservation program development is not easy to find, and much that is available seems directed more towards affluent institutions. In many countries, it is difficult to find the model preservation programs on which librarians and archivists can build, and the necessary equipment and supplies are often hard to trace.

Click here for tips on using the tutorial. We recommend that first time users begin with the self-assessment.

management and planning preservation building capacity supporting the effort

Acknowledgements

Support for this tutorial comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities. No part of this tutorial may be reproduced or transcribed in any form excepting for personal research use without prior written permission of Cornell University Library/Department of Preservation and Collection Maintenance. Requests for reproduction should be directed to John F. Dean. All URLs and internal links valid as of December 2004. Last complete revision on December 15, 2004.

Development Team

Content Prepared by:
John F. Dean, Preservation and Conservation Librarian

Graphic Design & Web Implementation by:
Carla DeMello, Design Coordinator (Illustrations and Site Design)
Jenn Colt-Demaree, Web Developer (Site Design and Development)
Ellie Buckley, Digital Research Specialist (Content Architecture)