Preservation Plan
10. Preservation and access management plan
The scope of a preservation and access management plan is discussed below.
Introduction
A preservation and access management plan is normally a precondition for selection for the Australian Register. Ideally a component of a total management plan for the custodial institution concerned, it may nonetheless be specific to the material if such a comprehensive plan does not exist.
Permanent access is the goal of preservation, which has been defined earlier as the sum total of the steps necessary to ensure the permanent accessibility - forever - of documentary heritage. Although permanent accessibility may involve the creation of copies of the documentary heritage (through microfilming or digitising, for example) the protection and unaltered retention of the original should take precedence, for as long as it is reasonably practicable to do so.
A good plan would include, but would not be limited to, the following considerations and components:
Primacy of significance
It is critical to assess significance and what characteristics must be conserved before undertaking any work to, or modification of, documentary heritage or its carrier.
A document is deemed to have two components: the information content and the carrier on which it resides. Both may be of great variety and both are equally important as parts of the Memory.
Identification and description
Sufficient information should be provided to uniquely identify the documentary heritage, its ownership and location.
Statement of significance
A succinct statement of the significance of the documentary heritage may be developed from the material developed for the nomination process.
Policy, strategy and procedures for preservation and access
Information should be provided on relevant policy, strategy and procedures for the preservation of and access to the documentary heritage, including:
Policy
Any relevant policies should be summarised.
Documentation and collection control
'Good housekeeping' is a precondition for preservation. Depending on the material in question, the mechanism may be a catalogue, an inventory or some other form of recording the shape and content of a collection down to the level of individual carriers. It may be in manual or, preferably, computerised form. Labelling and documenting the nature and condition of individual carriers so they can be securely managed and retrieved is an important aspect of “housekeeping”. Good documentation and collection control takes time and discipline, but it saves unnecessary losses and double handling.
Any relevant surveys should be described.
Access arrangements
The current arrangements whereby the documentary heritage may be accessed should be described, together with any planned changes in these arrangements.
Storage environment
Practices and techniques that slow down deterioration and potential handling damage are far better and cheaper than any recovery process. Not the least of these is the observance of good storage, handling and shelving procedures, good security, and care in transport.
Where available, information should be provided on storage temperature, humidity, light, air pollutants, animals and insects, and physical security including custodial arrangements. They should, as far as possible, be such as will maximise the life of the carriers being stored. If Standards have been followed then they should be listed.
The 'ideal' requirements vary greatly depending on the type of material concerned: for example, paper, film and videotapes have different, desirable levels of temperature and humidity. Unfortunately, most custodial institutions have to operate with less-than-ideal conditions, so it is a matter of doing what is possible with the means available and working towards future improvement of facilities.
Factors such as leaking roofs, broken windows, unstable foundations, fire detection/ suppression systems, disaster preparedness and environmental monitoring are all relevant. Good management and surveillance practice can still be applied in less-than-ideal conditions.
Conservation
Conserving an original document and protecting its significance means that no information is lost, and all future options for preservation and access are kept open. Original documents often have intrinsic worth that will never accrue to a copy.
If applicable, a record of conservation action that has been undertaken or is planned should be provided as it is important to document what was done, when it was done and which carriers were affected. If standard procedures (those that are documented in the literature of conservation) have been followed then they should be referenced.
Content migration or reformatting
Copying a document onto a different format is useful and often necessary for access purposes. Indeed, the Memory of the World Program encourages digitisation and microfilming as a means of providing universal access, and access copies of any kind reduce pressure on the original document and so aid preservation.
However, content migration should be approached with caution as a preservation strategy. It is sometimes unavoidable: for example, when the original carrier has become unstable. But it often involves the loss of information and the closing off of future options, and may open up unpredictable risks in future when the copying technology used becomes obsolete. This caution applies to newer approaches – such as digitisation – as well as older ones, such as photographic reproduction.
The management plan should include information on any content migration that has taken place, or is planned, and how the reformatted documentary heritage may be accessed.
Resources
If applicable, preservation facilities, equipment, skills and knowledge should be described together with an explanation of how these are maintained. If applicable the management plan should also set out any preservation budget.
Consultation
The management plan should describe any consultation on the preservation of, or access to, the documentary heritage that has taken place, or is planned. If the nominator or documentary heritage has been the subject of a Community Heritage Grant, or is intending to apply for one, then details of the grant and its outcome should be given.
Risk analysis
A good management would include a risk analysis that identifies the threats to the documentary heritage, and an analysis of their likelihood of occurrence mapped against the consequences if the threat occurs.
Any disaster preparedness strategy should be described together with a record of relevant previous disasters, their impact and how this was managed.
Document control
Versions of the management plan should be numbered and dated.
Authorisation
The management plan should be authorised by an appropriate person from the nominating organisation.