Skip to Main Content
Syracuse University Libraries

Preservation: Preservation Research

Preservation information from the Syracuse University Libraries' Preservation Department. Book repair techniques, general information on preservation practices, and other resources.

Selected Books on Preservation

Managing Preservation for Libraries and Archives

The preservation of library and archival materials can encompass everything from bookbinding and paper repair to new techniques for maintaining and exploiting digital text, sound or images. Managing Preservation for Libraries and Archives brings together an international team of contributors presenting the latest findings on key areas of preservation and addressing the most common storage and retrieval problems for different types of media. The authors also revisit traditional preservation and conservation approaches and suggest how to develop policies for the future. 

Preservation Blogs and Organizations

E. Lingle Craig Preservation Lab Blog from Indiana University Bloomington Libraries

The Fix from The Smithsonian Libraries

Parks Library Preservation from Iowa State University Library

Preservation Category from The Library of Congress blog

Preservation Underground from Duke University Libraries

American Institute for Conservation (AIC) is a national membership organization for conservation and preservation of cultural heritage. 

Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that provides conservation and preservation services to preserve cultural heritage.

The Library of Congress Preservation Directorate prioritizes preservation across all areas of the libraries through research to forward the human record agenda

The National Park Service Conserve O Grams are short guides to practical knowledge and care of museum collections that focus on materials, procedures, and techniques used in collection management. 

Northeast Document Conservation Center is a conservation laboratory that specializes in conservation and preservation of paper- and film collections. 

Selected Articles

Dagmara Chmielewska-Śmietanko, Urszula Gryczka, Wojciech Migdał, Kamil Kopeć, "Electron beam for preservation of biodeteriorated cultural heritage paper-based objects." Radiation Physics and Chemistry, Volume 143, 2018, Pages 89-93.

Maiorana, Zachary, Ian Bogus, Mary Miller, Jacob Nadal, Katie Risseeuw, & Jennifer Hain Teper. "Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost: Preservation in the Age of Shared Print and Withdrawal Projects." College & Research Libraries [Online], 80.7 (2019): 945. Web. 7 Dec. 2020

Maddox Abbott, Jennifer,A. "Moving a Unique Collection to Storage: Improving Access Now and Later." Library Resources & Technical Services, vol. 64, no. 4, 2020, pp. 177.

Irene Alexopoulou, Spiros Zervos. "Paper conservation methods: An international survey" Journal of Cultural Heritage,Volume 21, 2016, Pages 922-930

Boice, Jocelyn, et al. "Preservation for Circulating Monographs: Assessing and Adapting Practices for a Changing Information Environment." Technical Services Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 4, 2017, pp. 369-387.

SURFACE (institutional repository) materials

SURFACE is the "Syracuse University Research Facility And Collaborative Environment," an institutional repository for mostly open access scholarly, professional, scientific, and creative output produced here at Syracuse University.  There are preservation-related items in the database on a number of different topics.  Four specific areas include:

  1. The Brodsky Series, programs that promote and advance knowledge of library conservation theory, practice, and application among wide audiences, both on campus and in the region. Programs typically include lectures and workshops by prominent library conservators.
  2.   Disaster Recovery, including manuals and planning.
  3.   Presentations, including such topics as book arts and preservation at Syracuse University Libraries.
  4.    Treatment Manuals, including information on constructing exhibition cradles, phase and drop spine boxes, the care and handling of historic sound recordings, and more.