Includes preservation program descriptions, preservation policies and procedures, position descriptions, and staff and user education practices from a variety of research libraries.

Provides a sample plan, guidelines, checklist and a Microsoft Word diskette containing worksheets for long-range preservation planning.

This resource guide considers issues in the staffing and organization of preservation activities. It provides guidance in implementing a systematic preservation program and evaluates the structures of various types of preservation programs. The following articles complement the discussion of program models and implementation: (1) "Preservation Program Models: A Study Project and Report" (Jan Merrill-Oldham, Carolyn C. Morrow, and Mark Roosa); (2) "The Politics and Management of Preservation Planning" (Karl G. Schmude); (3) "A Cost Model for Preservation: The Columbia University Libraries' Approach" (Carolyn Harris, Carol Mandel, and Robert Wolven); (4) "Staffing the Preservation Program" (Carolyn C. Morrow); (5) "Staffing Preservation-Related Activities in Libraries: A Checklist" (Michele Cloonan); (6) "Preservation Librarians" (Association of Research Libraries); (7) "ARL Preservation Statistics 1990-91" (Jutta Reed-Scott and Nicola Daval); (8) "Preservation Committee Charge" (Dartmouth College); (9) "Preservation Committee Charge" (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill); (10) organization charts for eight major university libraries; (11) "NEH/ARL Preservation Planning Program Final Report" (University of Colorado at Boulder); (12) "Preservation Planning Project Study Team: Final Report" (Duke University); and (13) "A Preservation Program for Oklahoma State University Library" (Oklahoma State University). An annotated list of selected reading presents 11 additional sources. (SLD)

This paper seeks to provide an intellectual rationale for maintaining the centrality of preservation concepts and ethics in an increasingly digital information environment; in other words, while some long-held principles of preservation management may no longer apply, many others are still viable in high-tech situations. Libraries are rearranging budgets and raising funds for digital image conversion. They must take steps to ensure long-term access to digital image files. The proposed context for preservation action, or conditions that need to exist as steps are taken, puts a premium on the library's sense of itself as custodian of materials with social value, an organizational structure that allocates resources to preservation, and cooperative effort among institutions. Preservation action should ultimately place priority on the longevity, choice or selectivity, quality, integrity, and accessibility of the images. The paper also offers suggestions for a framework of effective preservation leadership. (Contains 10 figures and 75 references.) (BEW)

General Analysis; Digital Repository; Preservation Strategies; Current Activities; Conclusion.