Preservation

As with any collection, the types of materials and the plan for the future of the materials must be considered first and foremost. Our collection holds health information, which changes frequently, and we expect our materials to be updated with the information. Therefore, we do no anticipate many extra preservation measures than the library already employs. That being said, there are some issues to think about to ensure that our collection is properly weeded and cared for so that our users will always be able to find the information that they need.

Print Materials
As mentioned, our print collection will only require the basic preservation steps that the prison library already uses for it’s regular collection, even if that means no extra preservation at all. While we expect that our health collection will be needed and used, we think it will sustain the same amounts of wear and tear as the regular collection.

There are a few ways to think about keep (preserve) and what to weed out of the collection. Richards and McClure (1989) give an overview of some of these methods as they pertain to academic libraries, but some apply to our library, as well.

First, the Collection Development Manual of the National Library of Medicine tries to place materials in one of four categories: core, related, peripheral, or out of scope. While these categories are useful when thinking about the most important subjects to keep, they miss out on other important factors to keep in mind. For example, Hazen provides a fuller list of considerations including user demand, cost of material, and availability of alternatives. Richards and McClure add their own suggestions of quality, and type of publication. Together, these authors show that a well-rounded approach must be taken when making decisions of preservation, especially with a topic as important as health information.

CD-ROMs
All of the information contained in the CD-ROM database will be essential to our completed collection. As we can all attest to, CDs are easily scratched, nicked, or smudged in everyday handling and these small imperfections can lead to problems accessing the data on the discs. In an effort to keep all information available to the users at all times, here is a list of tips for the proper handling of CDs provided by King (1991):

• Only handle the CDs by the edges
• Do not bend the CDs
• While not in use, keep the CDs in cases
• Regularly check for scratches
• Regularly check for dust and clean with a soft cloth
• Never use cleaners on the CDs
• Check the return policy with the vendor. If possible, replace damaged discs as soon as the damage is found.

We recommend a tip sheet is printed out and posted next to the computers in the library, or that basic CD handling is discussed during any training sessions that the librarian might have with the users.