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PRESERVATION NEWS

C&RL News, October 2007
Vol. 68, No. 9

by Jane Hedberg

“Lessons Applied”
The Heritage Emergency National Task Force released four new tools developed by its “Lessons Applied” initiative. The goal of this grant-funded initiative is translation of the experiences of cultural institutions affected by Hurricane Katrina into advice that can be used to protect collections from future disasters. The first new tool is “Tips for Working with Emergency Responders,” a two-page list of steps to take before, during and after an emergency to optimize relationships with first responders. The second is “Guide to Navigating Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Aid for Cultural Institutions,” a series of Web pages that explain the application process, eligibility, and types of financial support available, then link to application forms and contacts at FEMA and SBA. The third is “MayDay,” a list of suggestions and promotional materials for making a success of the annual day to promote “one thing you can do for emergency preparedness.” The fourth tool is “Online Courses in Emergency Management for Cultural Heritage Responders,” a list of free, readily available educational opportunities. The Heritage Emergency Task Force is a partnership of 41 federal agencies and national service organizations (including ALA) that is cosponsored by Heritage Preservation and FEMA.

All four tools are available free-of-charge at www.heritagepreservation.org/lessons/index.html.

“Preserving Creative America”
The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program of the Library of Congress announced a new initiative to address preservation of creative content in digital form. Called “Preserving Creative America,” this program has awarded $2.15 million to fund eight projects. Each project is designed to investigate methods for preserving a particular digital medium and recommend standard practices for the producers of content in that medium. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will investigate preserving digital motion pictures, the American Society of Media Photographers will take the lead on digital photographs, ARTstor will take the lead on preparing digital images for ingest into a digital archive, BMS/Chace will take the lead on digital recordings, Stock Artists Alliance will promote use of metadata for stock images, Universal Press Syndicate will test the transfer of digital comic strips and cartoons to the Library of Congress, UCLA Film and Television Archive will take the lead on independent film, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will take the lead on interactive games and digital fiction.

For more information, contact the Public Affairs Office, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C. 20540-1400; phone: (202) 707-2905; fax: (202) 707-9199; URL: www.loc.gov/today/pr/2007/07-156.html.

“Capitalize on Collections Care”
Heritage Preservation, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, has published “Capitalize on Collections Care,” a 20-page pamphlet that advocates generating new contributions, increasing membership, and fostering new audiences. Chapter titles include: “Where the Money Comes From,” “Fund-Raising Principles,” “Fund-Raising Strategies and Tips,” and “Resources.”

This pamphlet is available as a free download at https://www.heritagepreservation.org/PDFS/COClo.pdf. Printed copies are available for $2 each at the Heritage Preservation Online Bookstore, https://www.heritagepreservation.org/catalog/product.asp?intProdID=38.

Jane Hedberg is preservation program officer at Harvard University Library, e-mail: jane_hedberg@harvard.edu; fax: (617) 496-8344

ACRL is a division of the American Library Association