Preservation Programs

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
Preservation and Conservation Studies for Libraries and Archives, The Center for the Cultural Record, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, SZB 564, Austin, TX 78712-1276. Contact: Dr. David B. Gracy II, Director, pcs@gslis.utexas.edu, phone: (512) 471-8291. 

The Preservation and Conservation Studies Program, a component of the Center for the Cultural Record at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, is designed to respond to and keep pace with the realities of institutional, regional, and national preservation needs. Acknowledgment that very few individuals have the experience and knowledge to handle the great range of responsibilities and theoretical and technical knowledge needed to fully implement effective programs has resulted in the offering of two interdependent educational specializations at the graduate and postgraduate level, which will train two mutually dependent categories of professionals: The Preservation Administrator Program and The Conservator Program. 

The Preservation Administrator Program

The Preservation Administrator Program is aimed at developing administrators of preservation programs in academic, research, and rare book libraries and archival repositories. There are two options for enrolling in this program: (a) those holding an accredited master's degree in library and information science (or an equivalent degree) can enroll in a one-year program leading to a postgraduate Certificate of Advanced Study in Preservation Administration; and (b) those who do not hold a master's degree in library and information science can enroll in the two and one-half year program leading to an MSIS with an Endorsement of Specialization in Preservation Administration.

Specific areas of study include: technology and structure of records materials; the protection and care of records materials; preservation planning and collection surveying; choice of preservation methods; administrative issues in physical treatment; replacement in microform and photocopy; disaster preparedness and recovery; new technologies for preservation; organizational preservation policy and commitment; organization of institutional programs; funding for preservation; national and international organizations and policy; basic conservation treatments.

Specialization in Preservation Administration. The specialization requires completion of 52 semester hours, including the basic courses required for the MSIS, specialized electives, and coursework in preservation administration. The graduate with this specialization is qualified for beginning positions in the administration of preservation programs in archives, libraries, historical societies, and regional and national programs.

Certificate of Advanced Study in Preservation Administration. This certificate is awarded at the end of 36 hours of electives and specialized preservation administration courses. Applicants must have a master's degree in librarianship or equivalent discipline and preferably four to six years of supervisory or managerial experience, although students recently completing a master's degree are also admitted. An interview with PCS faculty is required prior to admission. The graduate with experience is qualified to manage preservation programs in archives, libraries, historical societies, and regional and national programs.

The Conservator Program

The Conservator Program, of three years' duration, trains practicing conservators who will operate effectively within the institutional world of libraries and archives. Our graduates are professionally competent in the basic, broad range of technical treatments necessary to preserve and treat documentary and information materials of various media, but especially paper-based materials. This includes particularly advising on all technical aspects of running a conservation program, completing conservation treatments, and directing the activities of a conservation lab. Our unique focus equips the graduate to advance in either the preservation management of individual historical items or the treatment of entire collections. The qualification granted is a Master Science in Information Science and a postgraduate Certificate of Advanced Study in Library and Archives Conservation.

Five conceptual components support this three-year program: (1) the cultural and theoretical bases of preservation and conservation and their place in the practice of librarianship and archives management; (2) an understanding of the materials and structures of the physical containers which store and communicate image and text; (3) the mechanisms by which materials deteriorate and procedures to monitor, assess, and control processes of deterioration; (4) technical procedures for the housing and conservation treatment of holdings of libraries and archives; and, (5) administrative strategies facilitating and enhancing the implementation of preservation and conservation operations.

Nine school terms are required to complete the 70 semester hours of course work in the Conservator Program. Courses cover paper and conservation chemistry; the structure and technology of books and other records materials; protection and care of collections (building design, environmental management, protective housing, care during use); the history of books and printing; historical and descriptive bibliography; and the administration of conservation programs. These courses include core courses of the school, as well as electives selected to suit the individual program of each student. Among them are intensive laboratory courses in book and paper treatment and collections conservation. The sixth term consists of a project in a cooperating library or archives, and the final two terms are devoted to a full-time internship working with a leading conservator in a laboratory in North America or abroad. Finally, intensive workshops provide insight into specialized aspects of the conservation field under the direction of prominent visiting instructors.

Graduates fill positions from assistant conservator to head of a conservation department.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing and admission to the Conservator Program of the Preservation and Conservation Studies Program.

Introduction to Preservation—392P.1
Introduction to the administration of preservation programs. Issues and problems in the preservation and conservation of library and archival materials. Includes the nature of information media, types and causes of deterioration, treatments, and the organization of a preservation program.

Technology and Structure of Records Materials—392P.5
Underlying factors in the quality of records materials; concepts of permanence and durability and their assessment; introduction to paper technology and characteristics; colorants, leather, parchment, paper and non-paper records; modern book structures. Context of conservation and preservation practice. 

The Protection and Care of Records Materials—392P.6
Environmental causes of deterioration and their control; protective storage methods; care in use, transportation, copying and exhibition; biological enemies and their control; disaster preparedness and recovery; conservation implications of building planning and modification. Consideration of non-book records, as well as books and manuscripts.

Management of Preservation Programs—392P.8
Includes such topics as: the management of specific preservation strategies; the selection process for preservation; minor mending and repair operations; library binding and conservation treatment; reformatting and brittle books programs; contracting for services; new technologies; budgeting and fund-raising for preservation; and cooperative, national and international programs.

Preservation —392P.9
Issues in reformatting to insure continued accessibility, including priority setting, selection of formats for preservation, reformatting standards and guidelines, and project management.

Preservation in the Digital Environment I—Has now been renamed: Digitization for Preservation and Access—385T6
Survey of digitization projects and experience, exploration of the technology of digitization, and issues in digitizing different media.

Book Lab I—393C.1
Orientation in the fundamentals of conservation treatment in the protection of library and archives materials; systematic responses to collections care through the design and fabrication of a variety of protective enclosures and stack maintenance. Basic construction of case bindings and repair of case bindings.

Book Lab II—393C.2
Focus on circulating collection repair programs, with introduction to conservation bookbinding, non-case bindings and repair of books in the “medium rare” category. Development of technical criteria and specifications for the maintenance of circulating collections.

Book Lab III—393C.3
Study of historical and modern conservation book materials and construction techniques. Procedures for examination, documentation and treatment in the conservation of book textblocks; advanced conservation binding, treatment option for special collections material.

Paper Lab I—393C.6
Introduction to basic paper conservation methods including documentation, mending, lining, washing, backing removal.

Paper Lab II —393C.7
Technical, historic and aesthetic considerations of complex paper conservation treatments. The similarities and differences between works of art on paper and library and archival objects are examined and emphasized.

Conservation Science I—393C.8
Introduction to physical and chemical properties of materials used in fabrication, identification and repair of books, photographs, manuscripts and related objects.

Conservation Science II—393C.9
Further exploration of the physical and chemical properties of materials used in fabrication, identification and repair of books, photographs, manuscripts and related objects. Includes a research investigation of a typical conservation problem.

Practicum in —197.4, 297.4, 397.4
May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only.

Fieldwork in Conservation—394C.1
Fieldwork in a research or rare book library, an archives, or a historical society, with emphasis on planning and executing broad collections care. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. This topic is offered as 394C and in the summer session only. Fifteen hours of fieldwork a week for one semester.

Conservator Internship I—994C.2
Continuing development of binding or other treatment skills under professional supervision in the working environment of a recognized book or document conservation laboratory outside the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. This topic is offered as 994C only. Forty hours of fieldwork a week for one semester.

Conservator Internship II—994C.3
Continuation of LIS 994C.2. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. This topic is offered as 994C only. Forty hours of fieldwork a week for one semester.

Additional  Courses

History of —386.8
The advent of movable-type printing in the West: its antecedents, preconditions, pioneers, and progress: including the technology of printing, type and book design, binding and allied printing crafts.

Security and Authenticity of Digital and Electronic Records—389C (Preservation in the Digital Environment II)
Migration of files and emulation of hardware and software environments; special topics such as color management of digitized images; issues in capture characteristics from source original, metadata for organization and retrieval of the images.

Metadata—385T6 (Formerly Preservation in the Digital Environment III)
Issues in the application of digital technology in maintaining long-term access to information.

Preservation of Non-Print Media—392P.13
Issues in managing, for long-term access, information created and maintained in new media and technologies.

Bibliography and Methods in Historical —397.3
Sources of information for, and techniques of conducting, investigations in history. Emphasis is on understanding how and why certain sources can be used and where they may be found. Using the resources of the Barker Texas History Center, the course examines such sources as personal papers, organizational and institutional archives, legal and financial records, maps, photographs, oral memoirs, public records, ephemera, newspapers, and city directories.

Rare Books and Special Collections—388K.9
History, principles, problems, practices, and relationships of antiquarian book dealers, private book collectors, and rare-book and manuscript librarians. Administration of rare-book and manuscript collections. Introduction to analytical bibliography.

Visual Resources —388K.15
Theoretical and practical information relevant to every aspect of the management of slide and graphic-arts collections. Topics include image sources, quality standards, classification and cataloging of visual images, methods for binding or mounting and handling, preservation of film, special equipment, use of computer-related hardware and software, and management.

Photograph and Cinema Archives—389C.2
History and characteristics of photographic processes, methods of organization of photographic materials, considerations in the preservation of photographic materials, and administration of collections of photographs and movies.

Introduction to Archival Enterprise—389C.1
An introduction to the principles and practice of appraisal, acquisition, arrangement and description, preservation, reference service, and administration of institutional and collected archives (record groups) and of archival repositories.

Seminar in Archival and Library Preservation—392P.2
May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Pursues special topics in preservation and conservation and provides for experimentation in processes and techniques.

Preservation Education Directory, 8th Edition