The Strategic Stewardship of Cultural Resources: To Preserve and Protect

Citation

Walters, W.A. (2004), "The Strategic Stewardship of Cultural Resources: To Preserve and Protect", Library Management, Vol. 25 No. 6/7, pp. 324-324. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120410548048

The reader of this extensive resource will be able to look at what has been achieved in the area of preservation and security and be inspired to individually or, as recommended, co‐operatively move forward towards creating a safer ideal environment for our priceless cultural resources.

The theme of the papers is linking preservation and security, two very different worlds. The concept has needed research and discussion; this volume is the catalyst of a great collision which will ensure that progress is made. Extensively covered by the essays are concepts and subject such as, collaboration, security audits, reformatting, emergency preparedness, environment, theft and legal issues, to name a few.

This resource consists of essays given at the symposium – To Preserve and Protect: the Strategic Stewardship of Cultural Materials. They were presented at the Library of Congress, during its bi‐centennary in 2000. This volume was simultaneously published in the Journal of Library Administration (Vol. 38 Nos 1‐4, 2003).

The editor, Andrea T. Merrill, has over 23 years of experience in the area of security and editing, she presently works in the Office of Security in the Library of Congress. The background detailed notes on each contributor is of great interest and gives the reader an insight into the lives and work of some of America's leading figures in the library, museum and security world.

Each paper has a separate summary, keywords and a bibliography, this, coupled with an excellent cross index makes the work very easy to use. Each paper is also summarised in the conclusion, which gives a useful overview. The papers are arranged under the headings: Cultural heritage at risk: today's stewardship challenge; As strong as its weakest link: developing strategies for a security program; The big picture: preservation strategies in context: The silver lining; coping with theft, vandalism, deterioration and bad press; Building the budget: promoting your program and meeting funding demands for preservation and security; Understanding success: measuring effectiveness of preservation and security programs; Electronic information and digitization: preservation and security challenges; People, buildings, and collections: innovations in security and preservation.

Additional features of the book are: a list of all monographic “separates” (special issues or double issues on a particular subject or theme) of the Journal of Library Administration published by the Haworth Information Press and a list of Web sites that index the journal.

This volume will make a very useful resource for libraries or museums or any other institution that has the stewardship of cultural items, not only in America but anywhere that items in any format are being kept for posterity and access.

A special discount price for this resource can be obtained by using the sale code BOF25 on the Web site: www.HaworthPress.com