Preservation in the University Libraries

Efforts to preserve library and archival materials take place throughout The University of Southern Mississippi Libraries. These preservation actions extend the life of information, whether by conserving the original media or transferring to another format, to maintain access to it as far into the future as possible. All forms of material have some kind of inherent weakness that will cause them to deteriorate over time: paper brittles, photographs fade, audio and video tapes become sticky, CDs and DVDs suddenly quit working. Little can be done to change this. Nevertheless, by controlling external threats to materials—rough handling, fire, water, insects, excessive light, wildly fluctuating temperature and humidity—we can greatly slow the natural rate of deterioration of library items. By such actions, we not only keep information available, but also reduce the costly and troublesome need to replace, repair, or reformat severely damaged items. Nothing in a library will last forever, but the conscientious preservation efforts of librarians, archivists, and building managers can postpone that wasteful loss indefinitely and keep information available for generations of users.

The University Libraries' preservation efforts have been organized under eight categories of action. These functions and some practical examples of each are:

1. Building Management

• Preventing water damage from pipes and leaks
• Overseeing fire prevention and suppression
• Coordinating services and maintenance provided by the university

2. Environmental Control

• Controlling temperature, humidity and light
• Preventing pest infestation, mold and pollutants

3. Holdings / Stacks Maintenance

• Shelf dusting and vacuuming
• Cleaning, foldering and boxing archival accessions
• Properly storing and maintaining machine-readable media
• Inspecting all media for damage, deterioration or obsolescence

4. Reformatting

• Microfilming fragile or bulky material
• Creating digital surrogates of archival records
• Preservation photocopying of archival records
• Reformatting of machine-readable media

5. Item Treatment

• Repairing and rebinding books
• Binding periodicals
• Performing conservation measures on especially valuable items

6. Control of Human Handling

• Creating and enforcing policies of use
• Regulating the making of reproductions for patrons
• Providing security from theft or unauthorized use
• Constructing exhibitions to reduce handling of special items

7. Disaster Preparedness & Recovery

• Making efforts to prevent or at least prepare for potential disasters
• Maintaining a disaster preparedness and recovery manual
• Training employees in disaster recovery procedures
• Responding to disasters in a timely, effective, and responsible manner

8. Educating Users of the Importance of Preserving Library Materials

• Training employees and student workers in the various actions of preservation
• Explaining careful handling of materials to patrons in instructional classes

Building Management

Access Services: The stacks maintenance supervisor is responsible for monitoring the stacks and the building as it affects the stacks. Monday through Friday, she makes twice daily walkthroughs to check for problems. After heavy rains, she checks vulnerable areas of Cook Library to inspect for leaks.

Bibliographic Services: The department tries to get a technician to make a monthly walk-thru to look for problems.

McCain Library & Archives: The McCain Library & Archives building has leaks from gaskets that can't be universally fixed. Each leak is fixed individually when it occurs. A plumber from Physical Plant has seen the leaks and has fixed all they can. The drip in the de Grummond Collections archives area should be fixed at this time. It results from a drip plan overflowing and spilling through a crack in the floor of the penthouse. McCain Library prevents water damage with the assistance of the Physical Plant.

Emergency Management recently did a demonstration on the use of fire extinguishers, the escape plan, etc. The staff currently is researching fire suppression systems to replace the Halon fire suppression system in place now. The system was damaged and rendered inoperable by Hurricane Katrina. The university checks fire extinguishers regularly. A person from Emergency Management does a walkthrough with a checklist, but they do not know how often this occurs. Building management in McCain Library is generally awful.

Physical Plant: The libraries' liaison with Physical Plant is Teresa Loveless, administrative assistant.

“ Physical Plant personnel conduct inspections of all campus buildings on a continuing schedule to determine major and minor items of maintenance or compliance with certain standards. Items noted are routinely corrected. Departments are advised of items that are departmental services responsibilities. If departmental personnel see items of health or safety concern, it is requested that such concerns be reported to the Physical Plant.”—Physical Plant Services Web Site

Cook Library is protected by both thermal and smoke detection systems.

“The Safety Department works closely with the Electronic Services Department to ensure all smoke detectors function properly. … All automatic sprinkler systems are flowed and tested by the Safety Department.”—Physical Plant Safety Department Web Site

“The Safety Inspector inspects all buildings biannually. After each inspection an inspection report is written up and mailed to the building liaison, the appropriate dean or chairman and the state fire marshal. During inspections the inspector looks for violations of the Fire Prevention Code and The Life Safety Code.”—Physical Plant Safety Department Web Site

“The purchase and maintenance of fire extinguishers, including hangers, is the responsibility of either the using department or the University Safety Office, depending on whether or not it is an academic location. Placement, inspection, and servicing of all fire extinguishers are the responsibility of the University Safety Office. For specific information, call extension 6-4414. Fire control devices, other than fire extinguishers are the responsibility of the Physical Plant Division for all academic buildings and the using department in self-supporting organizations.”—Physical Plant Services Web Site

Environmental Control

Access Services: Access Services keeps a thermometer at the circulation desk to monitor the temperature. When the temperature fluctuates too much (b elow 70°F or above 76°F) , they notify the Administrative Offices or the University Police to contact the Physical Plant to fix the problem. Physical Plant's desired temperature for Cook Library is 73 ° -75 ° F and desired relative humidity is 55%.

Bibliographic Services: The department is always reporting temperature fluctuations. Staff members check books for mold, but they may have a need for training in spotting mold. When found, they put moldy books into plastic bags and try to replace them through companies dealing in out-of-print books if they are special collections books worthy of inclusion. They may replace moldy or damaged gift items if judged important enough, but they usually just discard them. They assume the McCain Library staff is more attentive to spotting moldy books before sending them for cataloging, but Bibliographic Services staff found mold in the de Grummond Collections books that had been kept in the basement of McCain Library. The Gulf Coast Library has been vigilant in inspecting gift books before sending them for cataloging. There is an outstanding question of how the gift areas are maintained regarding mold and pests.

Information Services (Second Floor): The media ought to be kept cooler, but the temperature is beyond the control of the Media Unit.

McCain Library & Archives: The staff strives ideally for a temperature of 68°F and a relative humidity of 55%, but it can not control the temperature and humidity anywhere. Maintaining temperature and humidity is the number one problem in the library. Temperature changes outside the building affect the temperature inside. The HVAC fluctuates and they suspect it is being turned off on the weekends. The staff calls Physical Plant to address temperature problems when necessary. McCain Library is part of a 5-building system, but ought to be on its own. The basement has higher humidity than the rest of the building, but they get no leaks from the ground. The Woods Room was constructed to be the rare books room, so its temperature can be controlled to keep it cool. It has thermostats, but so do other rooms and they don't seem to work. The Woods Room may keep cool for lack of windows.

The university sprays for pests and the library has few problems with insects. McCain Library can't prevent mold without temperature and humidity control. When mold is found on a book, they either clean it off or discard it. Books are checked for mold before sending them to be cataloged. They have no space to isolate new accessions when received. The fumigation room in Cook Library would be impractical to use and it's being used to store boxes anyway.

The glass doors to the reading room are kept closed to keep out some pollutants, as are the doors to the stacks areas. Blinds are kept closed in exhibit and stacks areas to protect from light.

Patrons are not allowed to bring food or drink into the reading room. For staff, food must be kept in the break room. They actively prevent staff from bringing food into the stacks. Drinks in closed containers are allowed in offices and in the stacks. No food or drinks are allowed in the Woods Room.

Physical Plant: Physical Plant's desired temperature for Cook Library is 73 ° -75 ° F and desired relative humidity is 55%.

Services for pests are provided monthly with the exception of fleas, which is by request. “ To request pest control services, call extension 6-4414. The Physical Plant Division administers the service contract for pest control on campus. Pest control for academic and administrative buildings is funded in the Physical Plant budget. Pest control for auxiliaries, athletics, and fraternities is paid for by the respective departments. A log of all call-in requests is maintained.”—Physical Plant Services Web Site

Holdings / Stacks Maintenance

Access Services: The stacks maintenance supervisor's students dust shelves once each semester, dusting only those parts of the shelves not covered by books. The entire shelf is dusted only when shifting books. The books themselves are never dusted or vacuumed. The students dust shelves only in the stacks; they are not responsible for other areas. The books were vacuumed once when they were transferred into the new section of the library after expansion was completed in 1996.

Audio formats in the Music Resource Center are cleaned annually. The staff uses a mixture of distilled water and alcohol on LPs, which are wiped with a cloth that will not scratch them. A special cleaner, a special cloth, and the Disc Doctor are used for CDs. The MRC has no trouble with media deterioration or obsolescence. The only formats they can't play are the ones that are scratched.

Bibliographic Services: All purchases are quality checked by a student upon arrival because they have only 30 days to return them. They check if the item inside the box is the same as what the box says it is, check for quality problems, and do a wind/rewind of tapes. They check all machine readable material to make sure it functions before sending it out after it is cataloged.

The staff does a cleaning, dusting, and vacuuming of the department twice a year, which maintains work areas and library items. During a recent major relabeling project, the staff wound/rewound all video tapes because these particular TLRC tapes were very old and needed winding/rewinding.

Information Services (First Floor): There is relatively little systematic cleaning, straightening, or reading of the shelves in the reference collection. Information Services students rarely are able to work in the stacks—other than at shelving—owing to their desk duties, although they occasionally do some stacks maintenance between sessions. Students shelve reference books, atlases, indices, and documents, as well as shift books when needed. They do some shelf dusting in the reference area, but it is less systematic than that does by Access Services. Access Services reads the reference shelves once a year to maintain its students during slack times.

Information Services (Second Floor): Students dust the shelves for journals, media, micro and newspapers about once a semester with cotton cloths. The newspaper shelves are cleaned with soft scrub once a semester. All televisions, VCRs, and similar equipment are professionally cleaned periodically by Physical Plant at no charge, unless repairs are needed. Document Technology cleans all micro format readers.

The media unit holds laser discs, 16mm movie film, ½” VHS, ¾” VHS, CD-ROMs, DVDs, CDs, slides, audio cassettes, 35mm microfilm, 16mm microfilm, microfiche, and microcards. It has functioning equipment to play all these media, no matter how old.

McCain Library & Archives: The staff seldom dusts and never vacuums the stacks. They clean, folder, and box archival accessions. Students wrap the dust jackets of de Grummond Collection books in Mylar before sending them to be cataloged. They properly store machine-readable records in the digital lab, although they have no temperature or humidity control. They monitor the records in the digital lab for obsolescence.

Reformatting

Access Services: The Music Resource Center copies music to new formats when the old formats become obsolete.

Bibliographic Services: The library once did its own microfilming, but that equipment is in the Digital Lab now. Bibliographic Services once had copied cassettes before putting the master copy into circulation, but doesn't do that anymore.

Information Services (Second Floor): Safety copies of CDs and DVDs are not made owing to copyright concerns and the low cost of feature films, which comprise the majority of the DVD collection. If the media unit acquires more expensive academic DVDs, then safety copies may need to be made.

McCain Library & Archives: The staff microfilms The Student Printz which is kept in Cook Library. McCain Library retains the print originals in boxes because binding had damaged them previously. The Digital Lab makes digital surrogates of archival records for online viewing. The archives staff performs preservation photocopying of less-valuable fragile records (newspaper clippings, fax sheets, etc.) and reformats machine-readable media when necessary.

Item Treatment

Access Services: Books are inspected for damage when they are returned and sent either to the Preservation Unit for repairs or to the Binding Specialist for rebinding. If an item cannot be rebound, then it is replaced if possible.

The Document Delivery Unit uses padded mailers (“jiffy bags”) when mailing library material.

The in-wall book return drop outside the north door of Cook Library contains a beanbag to break the books' fall. The outdoor drop on the west side of Cook Library works on a spring so that the platform is high when no books are inside and it lowers as it grows heavier with more books. Both drops are pretty well resistant to vandalism. The in-wall drop room has a drain and tile floor.

Bibliographic Services: National Binding of Atlanta has been the library's binder for the last 10-15 years. Paperback books ordered go from the vendor to the binder to the vendor to the library. The price paid to the vendor covers both the cost of the book and the cost of binding. Journals are bound in Library Binding Class A. It is treated cloth to protect against mold and infestation. It is heavy, high quality, but suitable only for journals, not paperback books because it would stress the binding of a paperback book. It runs $9 per journal volume. Paperback books are done in Textmount (Class C), which is paper treated with the same chemical as Class A. It doesn't compromise the binding and extends the life of the book beyond the usual 12 circulations of an unbound book. Class C binding runs $4.75-$5.50 per book.

Periodical binding has been affected by the rise of e-journals. Negotiations with Elsevier Publishing for online access to journals in Elsevier's Science Direct database have resulted in the dropping of hundreds of print titles.

Plastic covers are applied on request (e.g., music scores, the Gulf Coast Library) or on items that will become dated quickly. Otherwise, they are applied on a case-by-case basis. Bibliographic Services tends to prefer the binding of paperbacks because of its comparable cost to plastic covers and better ascetic quality. The department also has acid-free microfilm boxes to replace boxes when needed.

The Preservation Unit performs conservation and repair work for most of the libraries' departments. It repairs circulation books, pambinds music scores, and covers juvenile book jackets for Access Services; repairs, boxes, and pambinds books and pamphlets for McCain Library; applies plastic covers to Gulf Coast Library books; and repairs books and serials for Information Services. Generally, the Preservation Unit performs repairs without regard for the artifactual value of an item. An exception exists for McCain Library books and pamphlets in the Mississippiana, Special, and de Grummond Collections that are boxed or placed in pamphlet binders without altering their physical integrity. More information on the Preservation Unit's conservation and repair procedures is available on this web site.

Information Services (First Floor): Information Services regularly refers items from the reference collection to the Preservation Unit for repair, although such referrals are made only when particular items happen to come to the attention of librarians during shelving. Student workers are aware of the need for book repair and keep alert for problem items when shelving. Items that may have only a short life as reference items may receive only minimal mending. There is an acknowledged need for a systematic evaluation of the preservation needs of the reference collection.

The repair of multi-volume sets is rather inconsistent, owing to the preference to repair sets as sets . Consequently, several sets are in need of repair. The librarians also have some concern with the possible loss of the original bindings, which sometimes are valued for their opulence.

Less attention is paid to the preservation of print government documents. More flimsy documents are bound, while documents originally in hard covers are repaired. Particularly older documents are boxed to preserve the original bindings.

The atlas collection is particularly troublesome because of the oversize items and the challenge of tipping-in pages in such as manner as to prevent the loss of information close to the gutter. Newer atlases are of particularly low quality and only average use can damage them. The map collections appear to be in good physical condition, although little is known of the state of the newly acquired maps from the Geology Department.

Overall, item treatment in the Information Services reference collection has been rather haphazard over the years, owing to a lack of expertise and the view of the reference collection as a working collection accepting of brutal treatment and equally coarse repairs. The situation has improved over the past 10-12 years with more conscientious item treatment, although a lack of preservation skills and experience among the staff is still a problem.

Information Services (Second Floor): Items are examined for problems only upon return and then because of either suspicion of a problem or a complaint from a patron. The Media Services Specialist rewinds VHS tapes to avoid snags, etc., although no program exists to check everything regularly. She also repairs VHS tapes and can cut as much as 1 foot of tape without it being noticeable. Damaged VHS cases are replaced and the new case is noted in the bibliographic record.

CDs and DVDs are cleaned with a cloth and spray upon return if needed and the “ Skip Dr. ” system is used to repair scratched discs that will not play properly. The Reading Room Specialist splices and repairs microfilm, but the micro formats are not cleaned. Books and other items in need of repair are sent to the Preservation Unit.

McCain Library & Archives: McCain Library doesn't repair or rebind books, but they do have periodicals bound. Manuscripts & Archives does some conservation, such as flattening rolled documents and deacidifying and encapsulating especially valuable items.

Control of Human Handling

Access Services: Access Services regulates control of human handling primarily by enforcing the library's circulation policy . It also maintains the security gates at the main entrance to call back items that were checked out improperly. Its staff also reacts to other audible alarms.

The Music Resource Center is entirely closed stacks. The CD number is attached to both the compact disc and the case and verified both before and after checkout as a security precaution.

Bibliographic Services: Staff may not remove uncataloged items from the department without permission. The need to keep uncataloged items within the department led to the creation of a rush cataloging policy to avoid loaning out uncataloged items.

Information Services (First Floor): Information Services interprets policies of use, but does not create them. It is consulted in making decisions regarding which items will circulate. Circulation decisions are based primarily on demand, but somewhat on preservation. Information Services never claims items for the reference collection that are not suitable for reference solely on account of a need for preservation, but instead places these items in the stacks as non-circulating items.

Information Services (Second Floor): The Information Services Media Unit regulates control of human handling primarily by enforcing the library's media circulation policy . Media may not be put in drop boxes, but must be handed to staff at the circulation desk. A $2.00 fine is charged for all media put in a drop box. All formats circulate, except for current periodicals; however, current journals are desensitized for 2-hour checkout by faculty.

The Media Unit uses two security systems. Checkpoint, a radio frequency system, is used for all media and current journals. By relying on a radio frequency system rather than a magnetic one, there is no danger of erasing magnetic tapes. The radio frequency targets are covered for nullification before sending periodicals to the stacks. Journals also have a 3M strip. DVDs and CDs are kept in plastic lock boxes that can be opened only at the desk.

The only closed stacks area is the reserve area. English Language Institute tapes and other items not owned by the Media Unit are kept on permanent reserve. The Chronicle of Higher Education and the Wall Street Journal also are kept on reserve owing to their popularity.

No limitations are put on people playing any type of media.

Public Relations Work Group: The Public Relations Work Group manages the exhibits program for Cook Library.

McCain Library & Archives: Guidelines for use govern patrons' use of the material and are given to patrons as they enter. Staff members do photocopying of archival materials and fragile books, but patrons may make copies from other books.

Someone is at the reference desk at all times. Lockers are provided for personal possessions because no bags are allowed in the Reading Room to prevent theft.

McCain Library staff members construct exhibits for special collections (in the Brooks Reading Room) and de Grummond Collection (in Cook Library Room 203) items. When making exhibits, Mylar and other acid-free materials are used. Preservation is always in mind when making exhibits.

Everything is closed stacks except for the ready reference, which includes Mississippi genealogy books, university catalogs and yearbooks, Mississippi reference books, and history reference books concerning the university, state, and area cities and towns.

Disaster Preparedness & Recovery

Disaster Response Action Team: The DRAT is responsible for preparing for and responding to disasters in the Hattiesburg campus libraries. It maintains a disaster preparedness and recovery manual with up-to-date procedures, priority lists, and contact information. All of the members are trained in disaster recovery procedures and attended a disaster preparedness workshop in August 2004. It responds to both small and large disasters, providing recovery assistance within its means. It may advise the Gulf Coast libraries in disaster recovery when requested.

Educating Users of the Importance of Preserving Library Materials

Access Services: Access Services distributes a book preservation bookmark for one month each semester.

Bibliographic Services: Staff and students are trained to handle library materials properly.

Information Services (First Floor): Preservation is not included in bibliographic instruction because of limited time and the imperative to emphasize computer skills. Workshops to train staff in proper handling of items had been held occasionally.

Information Services (Second Floor): No education is done regarding proper handling of media, although “please rewind” stickers are now attached to the ends of VHS tapes.

McCain Library & Archives: The staff conveys the value of the material through visual and behavioral cues to patrons as well as by distributing the guidelines for use, but they still would like to have more signage to educate users. The Special Collections Librarian explains the rules of use in orientation sessions.