Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2003 15:22:14 -0400
From: "Juanita Singh" <juanita@nedcc.org>
Subject: NEDCC Announces New Publication

For Immediate Release

NEDCC Announces New Publication,
Assessing Preservation Needs: A Self-Survey Guide

- Will your institution's collections be here for generations to come?
- Are your storage and housing conditions doing more harm than good?
- Are there preventative steps that could be taken now so that your
collections will be here tomorrow?

            The Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) announces a
new publication that both asks and answers these important questions,
Assessing Preservation Needs: A Self-Survey Guide. An empowering and
important new resource, the purpose of this guide is to help small to
medium-sized institutions with limited preservation experience and budgets
to design a program ensuring that their historical collections survive in
usable condition as long as possible.

            NEDCC, working in partnership with Amigos Library Services,
Inc. of Dallas Texas, and OCLC of Dublin, Ohio, also produced a 30-minute
video highlighting themes of this new publication, available soon through
Amigos. This multi-media project is supported by a National Library
Leadership Grant from The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS),
a Federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership and a lifetime of
learning.  In addition, NEDCC receives major funding for its field service
program from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Assessing Preservation Needs: A Self-Survey Guide is 96 pages in length.
Designed with the user in mind, it provides step-by-step directions and
worksheets on how to go about surveying your collection's preservation
needs, as well as guidance for setting preservation priorities once the
needs have been identified.  Because different kind of collections have
different preservation needs, individualized worksheets are provided,
tailored to the needs of: bound volumes and pamphlets, documents and
manuscripts, photographs and negatives, oversized and framed materials,
newsprint, scrapbooks and ephemera, and audiovisual materials.  The Guide
also provides detailed worksheets on the assessment of:

*  Institutional Overview
*  Preservation Microfilming & Photocopying
*  Building Environment
*  Digital Imaging
*  External Threats & Water Protection
*  Reformatting Photographs & Audiovisual Materials
*  Security & Access
*  Repair & Treatment
*  General Storage
*  Summarizing Needs & Setting Priorities

To order a copy of Assessing Preservation Needs: A Survey Guide, send a
check made out to NEDCC for $15.00 to the Northeast Document Conservation
Center, attn: Juanita Singh, 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA  01810; The
cost includes UPS Ground shipping and handling within the continental U.S.
All payments must be made in U.S. dollars.  Include your name, mailing
address, and email address or use an order form that is now available at
www.nedcc.org.

To find out more about NEDCC's and Amigos' services and programs, visit
their Websites at: www.nedcc.org and www.amigos.org as well as the Regional
Alliance for Preservation's Website at www.rap-arcc.org