Dissertation Information for Christinger L. Tomer NAME: - Christinger L. Tomer
- (Alias) Chris Tomer - (Alias) Christinger Tomer - (Alias) Louis Christinger Tomer
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science
SCHOOL:
- Case Western Reserve University (USA) (1978)
ADVISORS: - Conrad H. Rawski
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - [Indecipherable1] - Thomas Gleason Morris - William M. Shaw Jr.
MPACT Status: Complete - Except Indecipherables
Title: Book Preservation for Libraries: A Systematic Approach
Abstract: Because the papers on which most nineteenth and twentieth century books have been printed lack the strength and stability which are necessary for a reasonable life in either storage or use, libraries are confronted with the complex problem of preserving or otherwise losing large numbers of the older books in their collections. While conservators and scientists have developed effective means for preserving documents or their contents, librarians have failed heretofore to determine any wholly rational approach to the management of book preservation programs. To devise rational preservation plans, librarians must: (a) assess the physical condition of their collection(s) for the purpose of identifying candidates for preservation; and (b) evaluate candidates for the purpose of selecting documents for preservation. This study was conducted in order to establish objective bases in terms of which such determinations can be made and a systematic approach to book preservation can be detenmined . The results of an experiment which involved a sample of books selected at random from a university library collection indicated that: (a) age, date of publication, is a generally reliable index of a book's current physical condition; (b) measures of library use (i.e., rate of circulation and date of last circulation) are not reliable indices of a bookls present physical condition; and (c) the rate at which a book has been circulated corresponds significantly with its date of last circulation, a finding which indicates that recently used books tend to be titles which have experienced frequent use. A specific approach to book preservation was established on the basis of experimental data. An analysis of these data suggested that in order to minimize the user frustration resulting from document deterioration libraries must actively preserve books which are forty years of age or older and which have been circulated within the five years preceding the evaluation.
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