HomePreservation Health Check
The Preservation Health Check is a new service provided by the Preservation Advisory Centre to help prioritise the collection care needs of your library or archive. Consisting of a site visit and follow-up report, it provides an overview of current practice and identifies simple steps for improving the long-term care of collections.
Information flyer (PDF Format) 138KB
Why use a Preservation Health Check?
Taking action to slow down or prevent damage is a cost-effective way of managing collections and ensuring their continued availability. By managing the risks to collections as part of a continuous programme you can reduce the need for more costly and time-consuming work later on.
The Preservation Health Check:
- Identifies current practice in your organisation and relates it to wider best practice
- Provides a starting point for developing a preservation action plan of programme
- Identifies the main issues to be addressed with an indication of the level (low/medium/high) of resource required
- Establishes preservation priorities and supports cost-effective decision-making about allocating resources
- Can be used to support funding applications or to gain support for improving standards of care
Who is it for?
The Preservation Health Check applies to physical library and archive collections in organisations of all types and size. No prior knowledge of preservation is required, but you will be asked to complete a short questionnaire in advance. A person with good knowledge of the collections and their use must be available throughout the site visit.
What is included?
The Preservation Health Check consists of a pre-visit questionnaire for completion by the organisation, a site visit by British Library staff and a follow-up report including executive summary, photographs, recommendations for action-planning and sources of further information to help you put the actions in place. Guidance is based on published best practice.
Cost
£475 + VAT per day plus expenses (standard travel/accommodation if necessary). The time taken to complete the visit and report will depend on factors such as the number of collection storage areas and the diversity of the collection.
Please contact us for an informal discussion about your needs and for an indication of the time involved.
Email: blpac@bl.uk
Tel: +44(0) 20 7412 7612
