ALA ~ Preservation Panels

There was a lot more to choose from when it came to preservation panels and sessions at ALA than there was at ACRL, and I had a blast utilizing the resources of my colleagues! At the very last minute I decided to go to Librarians Without Borders: International Outreach, which featured three presenters discussing efforts they had been part of to provide services such as preservation, conservation, cataloging, library design, and automation. The session ended up being really inspiring and almost spiritual in combining the technicalities of library work with the ethics of why we do what we do.

Librarians Without Borders: International Outreach

Jacob Nadal, Executive Director, ReCAP, The Research Collections & Preservation Consortium; 

Jacob Nadal and his team participated in a major recovery project in Liberia in the wake of the country's civil war. The team received tips on an on-going basis while they were in the country, and managed to recover various letters, manuscripts, official documents and public records, as well as a couple abandoned safes that wound up containing the country's Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The team provided conservation and reformatted the materials to microfilm, and eventually digitized the records, which are hosted on the University of Indiana website.

Sign of the CNDRA in Liberia from Mr. Nadal's presentation

The story contained larger themes of the right to the freedom of information and the patriotism that can arise out of having documented and reliable record of a country's values and order. The team helped the local administrators and government officials pass a Freedom of Information Act, whose celebration coupled with the exhibition of the country's founding documents brought much inspiration to the Liberian community.

Mr. Nadal left us with a couple wise maxims: preservation is a sustainable activity, optimized over time; any improvement is improvement; a moment of access makes the case for preservation. It felt like a realistic and galvanizing call to arms.

Jessica Phillips, Head, Preservation, University of North Texas

Ms. Phillips presented on behalf of her colleague Dr. Shultz-Jones, who directs the study abroad service learning program at the University of North Texas LIS program. A group of UNT LIS students have traveled to a foreign country in the name of library outreach almost every year since 2003; they've gone to Thailand, Russia, Peru, Ukraine, Germany, Czech Republic, and Albania. Namely the group automates the local library's records and lending practices, chooses an ILS system and catalogs the collections. In addition they design the setting of the library and document their actions to aid in staff training and project sustainability in their absence.  This is no small task and I can't imagine how much work -- and reward -- must come from participating in a study abroad program like this!

Becky Ryder, Director, Keeneland Library, Keeneland Association Inc.

I think Ms. Ryder's presentation was the most powerful because she effectively conveyed the altruistic spirit of universal human appreciation for culture and the manuscripts and documents that bear witness to the culture.

Ms. Ryder and her colleagues traveled to Manipur, which is a small state that has been rising an insurgency against Indian rule for 50 years. Ms. Ryder and her colleagues from the US and the UK were immersed in total Manupuri culture, attending polo exhibitions, Memorial Day rituals, and fertility festivals, which only added to their deep reverence of the ancient manuscripts held in the local archives. It was their job to listen and learn rather than to consult -- they observed, photographed, and described the artifacts and provided information about preservation, but they did not intervene. The manuscripts were as old as the 1st and 2nd Century and were made of various materials such as papyrus, cotton, silk, and jute. There were also some manuscripts made from palm leaves, and they were the worse off. Many of them were accordion folded, and a few were sewn codices.

In addition to having a mission to more formally provide preservation to these manuscripts, Ms. Ryder was introduced to the Manipuri Pony which is an endangered species that must be conserved. She is working with local equine associations in Kentucky to solve this problem.

Manipuri Ponies and polo players in traditional costume (from horsetalk.co.nz)

This presentation left me with more than a sense of the nobleness of my pursuit of librarianship and preservation: we were given the names of organizations we can become involved in. One is Partners of the Americas and the other is the US Committee of the Blue Shield.