Library materials, national preservation

A ny discussion of a national preservation program for library materials must review the documents, concepts, and events that mold our present thinking. Such a program is nebulous in the broad sense, but specific in its component parts. This is attributable partly to the relatively short time the idea of a national preservation program has been a subject of serious discussion and partly to the varied constituencies involved and interested in the preservation of such materials. Librarians, scientists, and conservators relate to such a program in different ways and tend to consider most important those facets of the program most germane to their interests and skills. 

The rare books problem has been a red herring when evaluating the feasibility of a national preservation collection. Because libraries provide better care and protection for rare materials, these works are in less danger of disappearing than the volumes in the general stack areas. The ARL committee s primary concern was and is with the great mass of publications of the last and this century, not the exceptional volume that has been elevated to the status of a rare book. ... 

D. W. G. Qements, Paper Strengthening at the British Library, National Library of Austria Cotference on the Preservation of Library Materials, Vienna, April 7-10,... 

Use of pentachlorophenol as a wood preservative may result in environmental release from treated wood and other materials. It has been detected at low levels in surface water, groundwater, drinking water, soil and urban air samples (United States National Library of Medicine, 1997). 

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