2002 Midwinter Meeting at New Orleans
January 19, 2002

Report

Topic: The training of in-house conservation technicians or repair staff.

A survey was sent out pre-conference to the PADG list-serv to gather initial data on training methods and issues. The survey responses were used as a springboard for discussion. The discussion group co-chairs and Werner Haun from the Library of Congress served as facilitators, offering their perspectives and experiences and then the questions were opened up to the floor. Participants represented a wide range of institutions, collections and preservation programs. The topic generated a considerable amount of interest as demonstrated by the depth and breadth of discussion. Some of the concerns raised were: staff recruitment and retention; differences in training different levels of staff (students vs. staff); best practices for training in particular techniques; how to identify and fund training needs; how to evaluate the success of training methods.

A companion piece to this discussion will be presented at annual, focusing on preservation awareness training for all library staff. The topic proposal was well received. An interest in developing a program focused on staff training for book repair, and other preservation awareness aimed at smaller libraries or those without preservation programs/professional on staff was also expressed.