If you manage a collection with valuable material, your preservation decisions have a tremendous financial and administrative impact on your institution. You must constantly make difficult choices to meet your mission as well as your bottom line. Emerging technologies have not solved preservation problems, rather they have added to the number of choices to be considered and constraints that must be weighed. What combination of environmental control, collection care, conservation, microfilming, and digitizing will make your collection accessible in ways that are both cost-effective and meaningful for users?

The Preservation Management Institute (PMI) is designed to give those responsible for collection care a grounding in the range of preservation issues, technologies, and management strategies to advance a preservation program. The Institute will help you understand the physical nature of your holdings, the environmental and storage issues that affect them, the options for repairing and replacing them when they are damaged, and the possibilities for providing electronic access to their contents. And PMI will place preservation administration in the context of the other management issues you face daily.

A strength of PMI is that it offers both theory and practice by combining classroom learning with site visits and guided assignments. As part of the work for this Institute, you will conduct a survey of your institution and develop recommendations for improvements, draft a disaster plan, and develop components of a preservation plan. You will get individual feedback on these documents so that at the end of the Institute your plans are ready to be implemented by your institution.

Benefits of participation

PMI will guide you in producing a draft disaster plan which your governing body can adopt.

Many participants have successfully applied for grants as a direct result of their participation in PMI. The creation of a survey and a disaster plan, the credentialing of a staff member, and the time we spend in class discussing funding opportunities have all led to these grant success stories.

Participants have told us that as a result of participation in PMI they have made different decisions about environmental controls, re-housing and re-formatting, hiring consultants and professional services, and these decisions have had financial impact. The expertise they have gained has been recognized and they have been asked to serve on institution-wide committees that make construction, renovation, and disaster preparedness decisions.

Institutions who could not hire a preservation officer have used PMI to "grow their own" by sending a librarian or archivist already on staff who has an interest in moving into this role.

Through PMI participants have become part of a network of professionals who continue to offer preservation reference and assistance.

The program cost is less than a couple of days of consultant time and allows for much greater follow-through since the staff member remains on site.

The Institute has been offered biennially since 1998 and is a nationally-acclaimed program. If you would like to see a list of the institutions from thirty states and three countries who have sent participants to PMI in the past, or if you would like to read what past participants have said about their experience, click here.

Format

PMI includes three week-long sessions held in central New Jersey at the New Brunswick Hyatt at Rutgers University 's New Brunswick campus:

Session I: October 27 - 31, 2008
Session II: March 23 - 27, 2009
Session III: October 12 - 16, 2009

These sessions include full-day and some evening class meetings including presentations, case studies, exercises and discussions, and field trips. On each class day we serve breakfast, lunch, and two coffee breaks. Between class sessions your homework will consist of producing a preservation survey and disaster plan for your institution. (If you are unaffiliated we will match you up with an appropriate collection.) You will receive specific feedback about these planning documents from the course director so they can be implemented by your institution.

Who Should Attend

The Preservation Management Institute seeks to build on the education and work experience of our participants. It is not an entry level program for those new to libraries and archives. We assume participants will have several years of experience in collections care. The best prepared participants already possess a graduate degree in librarianship, archives, history, fine arts, or a related field, although those with bachelor's degrees and management responsibilities may also be good candidates.

Credentialing

Individuals who participate fully in the Institute, including attending all classes and field trips and completing all assignments on time, will earn a Certificate in Preservation Management from Rutgers University 's School of Communication , Information and Library Studies.

Curriculum

FIRST SESSION: October 27 - 31, 2008

Introduction to Preservation Planning and Management
Establishing a context for preservation; elements of a preservation program; steps for planning; professional organizations and national agencies; sources of on-going assistance and information; models for planning and implementation.

The Nature of Paper
The manufacture, properties, and aging of paper; analysis of the characteristics of collections; writing specifications for the procurement of enclosures, containers, and other preservation supplies.

Care and Handling
Proper care and handling procedures and policies for different collection formats; assessment of what is being done at participants' own institutions; educating staff and users; resources available to assist this educational effort.

Environmental Control for Collections
HVAC basics for a conservation environment; types of equipment for monitoring the environment; working toward environmental improvements. Review of the range of solutions available to address problems identified; equipment and labor costs and potential management problems in implementing options; working with physical plant personnel.

Pest Control Basics
Introduction to pests that attack library and archival collections; monitoring for pests; establishing an integrated pest management program; knowing when to call a professional.

Field Trip: Creating and Storing Microforms and Digital Files; Conservation Lab
Principles of preservation microfilming, including a field trip to the preservation microfilming and digitizing labs at OCLC Preservation Services in Bethlehem, PA. Advantages and disadvantages of various reformatting options available for both paper and non-paper based media, including preservation photocopying, microfilming, conversion to digital and analog formats; key features of applicable professional guidelines and standards. Includes a visit to the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia , PA , to observe the work done by professionally-trained conservators; discuss types of treatments and documentation.

Surveying Techniques and Methodology
Surveys provide useful information that serve as the basis for formulating specific program recommendations, gaining administrative support, and securing funding. We will review how to plan and execute a survey, including looking at the strengths and weaknesses of various preservation survey strategies. We will conduct a case study on-site survey walkthrough of a Rutgers library to help prepare for the preservation survey assignment.

Conducting a preservation survey of your institution: first assignment due on January 30, 2009
Among the topics covered during the first session in October is how to conduct a preservation survey. When you return home at the end of the session you must conduct a preservation survey of your institution and produce a report to send to the head instructor. This document will be reviewed and returned to you with comments at the second session. If you are unaffiliated when you participate in PMI, we will match you up with an institution appropriate for your interests to complete this and other assignments.

On average the survey has taken past participants about 50 - 75 hours to complete. You and your institution will be able to use the document that results from the survey as the basis for preservation planning.

SECOND SESSION: March 23 - 27, 2009

Review and Discussion of Preservation Surveys Completed
Two lunch periods are devoted to informal discussion of the projects completed and the challenges encountered.

Photographic Materials, Audiovisual Materials, Electronic Media
Nature, composition, and preservation of photographic materials, audiovisual materials, and electronic media and the special problems associated with their care. Proper handling and storage; determining priorities and making preservation decisions; fitting these activities into an overall preservation management program.

Collection Conservation Issues
The role of the librarian, archivist, and curator in selecting items for treatment, working with a conservator; defining scope of a conservation policy; treatments to be done in-house; evaluating conservation work.

Exhibits
The preservation implications of exhibiting library and archival materials; decision making; standards; materials; loans; case studies.

Selection for Preservation
The place of selection as a retrospective and prospective measure in a preservation program, including the use of collection development policies; appraisal techniques; responsible collecting and responsible custody; exercises using selection options.

Commercial Library Binding
The importance of a commercial binding program for materials used long-term; review of book structures and binding standards; what to expect from a commercial library binder.   

Holdings Maintenance
The goals of holdings maintenance; use of risk assessment forms; physically/chemically evaluating paper and plastic enclosures; requirements for staffing, training, work space, supervision, and program review.

Disaster Preparedness and Recovery
Elements of a disaster plan; risk assessment; insurance policies; and emergency procedures; this session will include planning exercises, case studies, and participation in a simulated operation to salvage various kinds of media; how to adapt generic plan elements to your specific institution; and contingency planning, including salvage priorities and chains of command.

Drafting a disaster plan: second assignment due on July 10, 2009
After the second session you will begin developing a disaster plan for your institution. If your institution already has a disaster plan, you will review it and make suggestions for improvements. The draft is due by July 10th; you will then receive individual feedback on your plan at the third session.

Preparing for the third session in October
You will be asked to bring a number of items to the third session, all specific to your institution: preliminary preservation priorities that you have developed; an outline of the chain of command for approving grant applications; and a copy of the current budget, which will be used in exercises during the session. You should review the information before the third session with your director, budget officer, and other appropriate staff so you understand the allocations and how they are made. These documents will be considered confidential and you will not be asked to share any of the information. But you will use the information to help you consider preservation management decisions appropriate to your physical, procedural, and fiscal situation during the third session.

THIRD SESSION: October 12 - 16, 2009

Review and Discussion of Disaster Plans Completed by Participants .
Experiences in drafting and adopting disaster plans.

Digital Imaging and Digital Preservation
The processes involved in imaging, standards, OCR, scanning, record retention, and trends; how digitizing fits into an institution's preservation and access program; cost and infrastructure issues.

Preservation Management: Policies and Planning
Administration of preservation programs; integrating preservation considerations into the entire spectrum of operations; organizational models for managing preservation; translating planning into programming.

Field trip to the Preservation Division at Columbia University Libraries and New York Public Library
An opportunity to see the concepts discussed throughout the Institute in action by visiting  well-developed, fully functional institutional preservation programs.

Resource Allocation and Funding, Sources of Outside Funding, and Grant Applications
Resource reallocation in budgets; strategies to obtain additional institutional funds; developing a sample budget. Review of methods for building support for a preservation program. Identifying and approaching local sources of both cash and in-kind donations; strategies for organizing an educational effort aimed at increasing understanding of, and support for, preservation. Key elements in preparing an effective grant application to government agencies and foundations; case studies with sample grant applications.

Instructors

INSTITUTE DIRECTOR AND HEAD INSTRUCTOR

Evelyn Frangakis, Aaron and Clara Greenhut Rabinowitz Chief Librarian for Preservation for the Barbara Goldsmith Division of Preservation of The New York Public Library.

INSTRUCTORS  

Janet Gertz and staff members at Columbia University Library's Preservation Division, New York , NY
Nora W. Kennedy , Sherman Fairchild Conservator of Photographs, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Anne R. Kenney , Carl A. Kroch University Librarian, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
William Lull , President, Garrison/Lull, Inc., Princeton Junction, NJ
Dr. Thomas Parker , President, Pest Control, Inc., Kennett Square, PA
Roberta Pilette , Head, Preservation Department, Yale University University Library, New Haven , CT
Staff at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, PA
Staff members at OCLC Preservation Services, Bethlehem , PA
Staff members of Rutgers University Libraries and Rutgers University Facilities
Other guest instructors to be announced.

Registration Information

Registration for PMI includes fifteen days of classes plus review with feedback of your preservation materials by the course director. Included in the fee is breakfast, lunch, and two breaks on class days, dinner on the night of the evening session, transportation and admission for the field trips, and a packet of course handouts. Registration in this program is limited to about seventeen people. The registration fee for the Institute is $6,500. (See below for some suggestions about how to fund your enrollment.)

If your employer is paying your fee, we can accept purchase orders and/or arrange for payment over two fiscal years. We must receive a purchase order or first payment from your employer before the first session; the total amount to be paid in the first fiscal year is $4,000. The second payment of $2,500 must be made by October 1, 2009 .

If you are paying your own fee, we can to arrange an installment payment plan, as long as the first payment is made before the first session of the Institute and the last payment is made before the last session. If you need an alternate payment plan, please contact us to make arrangements when you register.

You may cancel your registration and receive a full refund up to three weeks before the first session of this Institute.

To apply for admission to the Preservation Management Institute, please use our Application Form .

There is no formal deadline for submitting your application materials, although you should be aware that in the past we have had to turn down qualified applicants because we adhere strictly to an enrollment limit. We recommend that you apply before July 1, 2008; however, we will consider all applications until the program is full. We will evaluate applications received during spring sometime in late June. If there is still room in the class after June we will continue to evaluate applications on a rolling basis until the class is filled.

Suggestions for Funding Your Participation

Creative partnering has worked for a number of libraries.

• One university library asked their local county courthouse system to help fund the travel for a librarian to attend PMI, in return for which the university "lent" the librarian to the county system for one hundred hours of preservation consulting in the next year.
• Another received partial funding from the campus provost through an agreement that the librarian who attended PMI would help with a university-wide disaster plan at the end of the year.

It is possible to arrange to enroll in PMI for graduate credit. For those whose institutions have tuition remission policies or who are enrolled in a graduate program that will accept these transfer credits, this may be a good option. Contact us about this option when you apply to the program.

The National Endowment for the Humanities offers Preservation Assistance Grants for smaller institutions which can be used to fund PMI. In addition, your state or local historical commission may offer funding for education and trainin

New Jersey Historical Commission Scholarship: In past cycles, we have won grants from the New Jersey Historical Commission for scholarships for participants. The New Jersey Historical Commission has been generous to fund one scholarship for the 2008-2009 program. If you work in an institution with New Jersey history material, you may qualify for a New Jersey Historical Commission scholarship to the Institute.

Please click here for information about eligibility and how to apply for a NJHC scholarship.

For individuals whose institutions will not support participation, we can accomodate installment payments over the year of PMI. Also Sallie Mae offers Career Training Loans that may be of interest.

Location and overnight rooms

The Institute will be held at the Hyatt in New Brunswick, New Jersey, adjacent to Rutgers' New Brunswick campus. Overnight room reservations are $109/night. Contact the Hyatt at 800-233-1234 by October 5, 2008, and be sure to tell them you are part of the Preservation Management Institute to get the PMI group rate.

Directions

We will send you detailed travel instructions when you register for the program. New Brunswick is on the Amtrak Northeast Corridor Line and New Jersey Transit train and bus lines, is an easy drive from the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and Route 287, and is about 25 miles from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). We will recommend a car service for those who are interested. To learn more about New Brunswick, please visit:

http://www.newbrunswick.com/ 

For more information

For more information, please contact

Melanie Andrich
Director of Professional Development Studies
Rutgers University's School of Communication, Information and Library Studies
4 Huntington Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1071
Phone: 732-932-7169
Email: mandrich@rutgers.edu