The University at Buffalo Libraries belong to OCLC, the Center for Research Libraries, the Western New York Library Resources Council, and the Association of Research Libraries. We are a founding member of SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, and we provide financial support for the activities of the Council on Library and Information Resources. Additionally, the Health Sciences Library participates in the National Library of Medicine's Regional Medical Library Program.
The University at Buffalo library system consists of eight public service units, plus Central Technical Services, which house over 3.1 million print volumes, 5.25 million microforms, and extensive audio, video, and manuscript holdings. Unit libraries offer services and collections tailored to students and researchers in specific academic and professional disciplines.
The University Libraries are fully automated. All aspects of internal operations are automated through the use of state-of-the-art, networked personal computers, highly-sophisticated local programming, and an online interactive library management system. A fully operational web-based online public access catalog is available in all areas of the University Libraries and remotely from faculty and other University offices, dorm rooms, and homes. Also available in campus libraries and remotely is an extensive selection of electronic resources. Electronic journals, newspapers, books, and government documents and periodical full text databases are accessible through the University Libraries' web site and the UB Libraries Catalog. The University Libraries are active participants in SUNY Connect and related efforts to link the campuses of the SUNY system so that staff expertise and library collections can be shared.
The Health Sciences Library's collection of books, journals, and audiovisual materials covers the full spectrum of the health sciences. The Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection, contains well over 12,000 volumes of rare and historical medical, dental, and nursing materials as well as early medical, dental, and nursing instruments and artifacts.
The collection of the Media Resources Center consists of over 2,000 audiovisual items, in a variety of formats, supporting the health sciences programs at the University at Buffalo.
Charles B. Sears Law Library
The Law Library maintains current materials in case, statutory, and administrative law, and retrospective collections of primary and secondary legal sources of which a growing proportion are in microform. The Morris J. Cohen Rare Book Collection of the Law Library, which contains English and American legal sources from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, provides background materials for researchers in early foundations of legal traditions.
Other special collections in the Law Library are the papers of John Lord O'Brian, educator and attorney who served every president from Theodore Roosevelt to Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the books and papers of Howard R. Berman, educator and researcher in the area of American Indian law and the rights of indigenous peoples worldwide.
Lockwood Memorial Library
Lockwood Library serves as the humanities and social sciences research library. Reflecting the role of Lockwood Library as a regional resource center, it is particularly strong in reference works. In addition, a non-circulating area has been created in Lockwood for library materials which, because of their format or intrinsic value, are not kept on the open shelves. Its Polish Collection, which focuses on Poland's arts and history, serves the primary function of preserving and transmitting the Polish cultural heritage. Lockwood Library is also a document depository for United States and New York State documents and contains a large number of Canadian and European Union documents as well.
The George Kelley Paperback and Pulp Fiction Collection is housed in Lockwood Library. The Kelley Collection, donated to Lockwood in 1994, contains over 25,000 pulp-fiction books and magazines dated from the 1940s to the present. Many of the titles have never appeared in hardcover.
The Architecture and Planning Library is a branch collection of Lockwood and houses books, journals, and other specialized material which support teaching and research in the areas of architecture and urban planning.
Music Library
In addition to current and retrospective music literature, scores, and recordings, the Music Library also includes several unique collections. These include a collection of more than 100 fake books, with a 15,000-card index to their contents, substantial collections of concert posters and programs, reproductions of medieval and renaissance European manuscripts, several early 19th century collections, and manuscripts of American avant-garde compositions. Original materials documenting the history of U.S. music librarianship, including oral interview tapes, are also represented in the Music Library's collection.
Approximately 900 tapes document performances and lectures recorded during festivals of contemporary music at the University. Archival collections include those of faculty and local composers and performers, and the Archives of the Center for Creative and Performing Arts of the Music Department.
Poetry/Rare Books Collection
The Poetry Collection is a specialized resource consisting of 83,000 volumes of 20th century poetry in English. First editions and manuscripts of authors such as James Joyce, Robert Graves, and William Carlos Williams attract visiting scholars from throughout the world. A collection of 15,000 rare volumes from the 16th-19th centuries make up the collection of rare books.
Science and Engineering Library
The Science and Engineering Library maintains a collection of books, journals, and technical reports in hard copy and microform in engineering and the physical and natural sciences. In addition, over 175,000 maps, 3,000 aerial photos, and 500 atlases covering all regions of the world distinguish the University Libraries' Map Collection within the Science and Engineering Library.
During 2000/01 the branch Mathematics Library will be incorporated into the Science and Engineering Library.
Oscar A. Silverman Undergraduate Library
The Undergraduate Library's collection of humanities, social sciences and basic science materials are selected to meet the course-related needs and recreational reading interests of the University at Buffalo undergraduates. The Undergraduate Library is one of three locations within the University library system where public access PCs have been placed. These areas, known as Cybraries, are open to all University at Buffalo students and faculty.
University Archives
The University Archives is one of the largest and most comprehensive in New York State with 7,500 linear feet or 5.5 million items of institutional records and manuscripts documenting the history of the University as well as significant aspects of the history of the Buffalo region. It houses a large collection of original 1930s radio scripts and is also known for its extensive collection of Frank Lloyd Wright letters, drawings, and photographs. The University Archives holds the collection of the Ecumenical Task Force of the Niagara Frontier relating to Love Canal and the other hazardous waste issues for Western New York in the period 1979-90.
Digital Collections
Using regular University Libraries funding we are also developing digital collections. Fragile, rare, and "fugitive" materials are being scanned and made available in digital format. For example, the Love Canal Collection ( http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/lovecanal) consists of materials of the Ecumenical Task Force of the Niagara Frontier including newspaper clippings, typewritten testimony and reports, technical reports, and much irreplaceable and now fragile documentation. This collection has been made available worldwide via the Internet and is being used by regional K-12 schools and colleges. Other collections are the Rudy Bruner Award for Excellence in the Urban Environ ment (http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/bruner/) and Government Document Brochures and Pamphlets (http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/cts/acq/doctab.html).
Significant holdings of fragile manuscript material can be found in the Poetry/Rare Books Collection, University Archives, and in the Music Library.
Since the establishment of our preservation program we have concentrated on maintaining the circulating collections, or more specifically, that material which has recently circulated. We have also worked with manuscript and special collections by undertaking rehousing, encapsulating, reformatting, or specialized conservation procedures. We will continue to place priority on these two major activities. In addition, we plan to undertake a collections condition survey of all material located outside of special collections areas.
Significant Dates in the Development of the University Libraries' Preservation Program
The University Libraries Preservation Committee was established. During its existence the committee functioned as a board of overseers which set system-wide preservation policies, approved programs, and watched over the coordination of preservation activities within the University Libraries.
Recruitment was done for a preservation officer to be responsible for designing and implementing a comprehensive program for the University Libraries which included operating an in-house collections conservation treatment facility, implementing a brittle books program, developing a disaster response and recovery plan, and developing staff and library user awareness programs.
1985
Conservation activities were centralized
to avoid purchasing duplicate equipment and materials but more importantly
to assure that only well-trained and supervised staff provided conservation
treatments.
1986
Construction of the 2,000 square foot
Center for Book Preservation began. Permanent workstations were designed
and constructed, and the facility was equipped and stocked.
1987
A ribbon cutting ceremony for the
Center for Book Preservation was held on September 17, 1987. Among the
notable guests present for the opening was Patricia Battin, then President
of the Commission on Preservation and Access.
Establishment of the primary focus of the preservation program: the physical treatment, reformatting, and appropriate storage of the University Libraries' print and non-print collections.
1989
A second Conservation Technician position
was created.
1994
Introduction of Xerox DocuTech Publisher
hardware and software to the brittle books program.
1996
A part-time Preservation Reformatting
Technician position was created.
1998
The part-time Preservation Reformatting
Technician position was changed to full-time. Digital imaging activities
were introduced.
The University Libraries Preservation Council was formed and charged with 1) monitoring goals and objectives of the preservation program; 2) advising how best to realize the goals and objectives of the preservation program's current five-year plan; 3) assisting in the compilation of an annual preservation calendar; 4) assisting in the preparation of an operational plan, budget, and report; 5) participating in the identification of projects for which grant funding would be appropriate and in the identification of possible sources of external funding; and 6) assisting in the preparation of successive five- year plans.
Since the establishment of a centralized facility funding provided by the New York State Conservation/Preservation Program, together with institutional contributions, has enabled the University Libraries to establish and maintain policies and standards for a wide range of services: conservation treatment of the general circulating collections, including in-house pamphlet, spiral, and wire bindings; double fan adhesive binding; spine repair; endsheet replacement; rebacking and recasing with original or new boards. In addition to book repair, there are policies and standards for the construction of custom made preservation enclosures for fragile or special collections materials, documents, and manuscripts; the encapsulation of flat materials including maps; and conservation-sound storage environments for photographs and other visual collections.
There is also a brittle books program in which material is either photocopied or microfilmed. In the brittle books program, the preservation staff work closely with collection development staff. Although preservation selection criteria may differ among subject disciplines, one factor, that of use, either actual or anticipated, is universally applied.
During the initial years of operation, considerable efforts were made to establish procedures for Circulation staff to identify damaged materials. All brittle and non-brittle materials were reviewed by subject bibliographers for treatment decisions. This process was greatly streamlined almost ten years ago. Now bibliographers review only brittle material, whereas damaged non-brittle materials are routed directly to the Center. Center staff determine and perform the appropriate conservation procedure and return the material to the owning library.
History of Program Development--Programmatic Activities
The responsibility for commercial binding is not centralized in the preservation program. Technical services staff in the Health Sciences, Law, and Music Libraries prepare material for shipment to a commercial binder and process the completed work. For the other libraries, Periodicals staff in Central Technical Services are responsible for periodical binding. Cataloging Department staff located in the Center prepare and receive monographic binding. All areas follow preservation-sound policies for commercial binding and rebinding.
The salaries of all staff responsible for commercial binding and rebinding are paid from the University Libraries' regular budget. The Libraries also provide the funds for all commercial binding and rebinding. In 1998/99 in excess of 17,500 volumes were bound or rebound.
Conservation
Two Conservation Technicians, plus student assistants, are responsible for conservation treatment of the general circulating collections, including in-house pamphlet, spiral, and wire bindings; double fan adhesive binding; spine repair; endsheet replacement; rebacking and recasing with original or new boards. The same staff are also responsible for the construction of custom made preservation enclosures for fragile or special collections materials, documents, and manuscripts; and the encapsulation of flat materials.
A Conservation Manager oversees the daily activities of the Center, schedules student assistants, and maintains supplies. This position, on loan from the Central Technical Services Cataloging Department, is funded by the University Libraries. Also funded by the University Libraries is a Clerk I position which performs support duties in the Center.
For the period 1994/95-1998/99 the average annual preservation/conservation activity was as follows:
Reformatting
As of 1998, a full-time manager operates the day-to-day activities of the reformatting operation and supervises and trains student assistants. The department uses the Xerox DocuTech Model 135 Publisher, which integrates the three advanced technologies of digital scanning, laser imaging, and xerography to provide superior image quality of deteriorated, brittle books. A Savin photocopier is also used. During the past five-year period the average number of titles photocopied annually was 666 books and approximately 10,866 unbound documents and manuscripts.
Microfilming services are provided by Preservation Resources, Inc. and Challenge Industries. The reproduction of photographs, study prints, negatives, etc., is provided by the University Art and Photographic Services Department. A total of 295 volumes were microfilmed during the past five years.
Digital imaging operations were begun in 1998 with Library Services and Technology Act funds received by the Western New York Library Resources Council and made available through a contractual arrangement between the Council and the University Libraries. This arrangement permitted the University Libraries to digitize portions of the Love Canal Collection and the Rudy Bruner Award for Excellence in the Urban Environment entries. Currently, digital imaging activities are funded by the University Libraries regular budget.
Training and Education
During the current five year period a general overview of preservation activities was presented for all staff. A more detailed presentation was made for unit library directors.
A consultant from the Northeast Document Conservation Center visited the University Libraries on two occasions. In May 1998 all interested staff were invited to attend a workshop on disaster prevention. Then in May 1999 hands-on disaster response and recovery training was conducted for 30 staff members from all areas of the University Libraries plus representatives from University Facilities.
Preservation staff assisted or advised several unit libraries in preparation of exhibits.
Environmental Controls and Monitoring
Through the combined efforts of the preservation program and University Facilities UV sleeves have been placed on light fixtures and there has been a general reduction in the number of fluorescent bulbs used in library locations. The University has expended considerable resources in upgrading air conditioning equipment and installing new air returns in several library facilities.
The Associate Vice President for University Libraries has had no success in exempting most library space from campus heating and cooling policies. Established by the University as part of a comprehensive energy-saving initiative, these policies call for maintaining different levels of heating and cooling when buildings are not occupied. The only library space currently exempt from the heating and cooling policies is that housing University Archives and the Poetry/Rare Books Collection.
History of Program Development--Standards
We contract for microfilming services with vendors adhering to the following standards:
History of Program Development--Staffing
During its initial operation, the Center for Book Preservation was staffed by student assistants under the direction of the Preservation Officer and a full-time conservation technician. Within several years it became apparent that this staffing arrangement was inadequate to fully service the needs of the University Libraries. In addition, high student turnover and repeated intensive training and supervision proved to be cost ineffective.
In early 1989 the Center established and successfully filled a second full-time conservation technician position in order to reduce its heavy reliance on a part-time student assistant workforce. The three years that followed provided a stable staffing level at the Center.
In 1992 the department re-evaluated its staffing needs and determined that a total of three conservation technician positions would be funded. In efforts to improve services to both unit clients and students, the department began restructuring and implementing a team management approach.
In 1998 responsibility for preservation reformatting was relocated away from the Center for Book Preservation. Currently the Center is solely responsible for conservation treatment and shares responsibility for bindery preparation and shelf finishing operations. The Center has been incorporated into the Central Technical Services Cataloging Department and is staffed by one Library Clerk III (Conservation Manager), two Conservation Technicians, two Library Clerk Is, and student assistants.
The preservation program is part of the Central Technical Services unit and the Preservation Officer reports to the Director of Central Technical Services. The Preservation Officer has direct responsibility for the preservation reformatting program and is supported with one Preservation Reformatting Technician and student assistants. Additionally, the Preservation Officer has assumed a major role in moving the University Libraries forward in the creation of digital collections.
Preservation/conservation staff
who are paid entirely from New York State Conservation/Preservation Program
funding are 2 Conservation Technicians, 1 Preservation Reformatting Technician,
and 3.5 FTE student assistants.
Likewise, the University Libraries support the preservation photocopy program by purchasing supplies (toner, developer, etc.) and the maintenance contract for the Xerox DocuTech Model 135 Publisher.
All staff and equipment costs associated with the creation of digital collections are assumed by the University Libraries. Except for the three technician positions, the salaries of all staff who serve on the Preservation Council or the University Libraries Disaster Prevention, Response, and Recovery Team are paid from the University Libraries regular budget.
We are concerned, however, that current budget constraints in SUNY and on this campus may compromise our ability to continue this level of support.
The infrastructure for collections conservation, including the three components of identification, selection, and treatment, is firmly in place. In previous five-year periods we focused on increasing the range, complexity, and volume of in-house conservation treatments and on making progress towards a Libraries-wide policy on brittle books and on re-assessing workflows so that services could be delivered more efficiently and expanded treatment and reformatting options could be provided. For 2000-2005 we are reconfirming some goals from our 1995-2000 plan, and we are establishing new ones. The goals reflect a mature program carried out by a highly competent staff and operating under the guidance of the University Libraries' Preservation Council (http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/cts/preservation/council.html.
We plan to accomplish this by having Preservation staff and the members of the Preservation Council work together prior to the beginning of each of the five years to establish annual, highly specific goals and objectives. Each year these goals and objectives will form the basis for the annual state aid application.
We plan to achieve this by continuing to introduce new staff to these standards and to review the standards with existing staff.
We plan to achieve this by continuing efforts to train staff in the identification of damaged material. A critical component of the training will be the development and use of a web page illustrating examples of damaged books.
We plan to achieve this by encouraging Collection Development staff to maintain a schedule for reviewing damaged material, by relying on the results of a collection condition survey to establish priorities, and by developing the role of the Preservation Council in providing a Libraries-wide forum for the discussion of collection development/preservation issues.
We plan to do this by undertaking a condition survey of circulating collections with initial emphasis on material in the areas of American history and culture, musical scores, nineteenth century and early twentieth New York State legal publications, and nineteenth and early twentieth century scientific, technical, and medical periodicals.
We plan to achieve this in several ways.
By developing the role of the Preservation Council in providing policy and performance feedback to the Center.
By identifying or developing web-based instruction for basic repair techniques to lessen the training burden on Center staff.
By building an overall team identity among the Center's staff.
We plan to achieve this by having staff take advantage of training opportunities at the state and national levels.
Preservation Reformatting of Deteriorated Materials
We plan to achieve this by initiatingannual meetings with Xerox technical and marketing representatives to discuss our reformatting needs and possible solutions offered by their products and services including determining the economic feasibility of networking the DocuTech.
We plan to achieve this by exploring ways to increase productivity in the preservation photocopy program through the use of different levels of staff, extended hours of operation, and upgraded training.
We plan to achieve this by using results from the collections condition survey to determine the cost effectiveness of financing a color copier compared to contracting for services.
We plan to achieve this by identifying sets of multi-volume works as part of the collection condition survey. We plan to schedule microfilming for each of the five years.
We plan to achieve this by continuing a limited number of highly-focused projects which preserve brittle books and unique manuscript and archival collections by digitizing. Initial manuscript and archival areas are Love Canal and other environmental disasters in Western New York (http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/lovecanal/) and urban planning as presented through the entries for the Rudy Bruner Award for Excellence in the Urban Environment (http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/bruner/).
We plan to achieve this by developing working relationships with appropriate University departments regarding the use of specialized imaging and printing equipment.
We plan to achieve this by continuing our local initiative to digitize current U.S. government documents issued as single sheets or folded pamphlets and make them available through the Libraries' web site ( http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/cts/acq/doctab.html).
We plan to achieve this by maintaining the local web site "Resources for Digitization" available at http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/cts/preservation/digires.html.
We plan to achieve this by designating one month each year as Preservation Awareness Month and pursuing a theme for the month and by using the Preservation web site (http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/cts/preservation/) to provide virtual preservation exhibits and instruction on the full range of preservation and conservation issues. This will be a primary means of providing training on issues ranging from the proper handling and storage of library materials to the role of digitization in conserving material.
We plan to achieve this by involving University Facilities staff in the activities of the Preservation Council and the University Libraries Disaster Prevention, Response, and Recovery Team. We also plan to involve the program in the University's Service Excellence initiative.
We plan to achieve this by providing internships and practicums for students.
We plan to achieve this by making the members of the Preservation Council more aware of environmental conditions which are hazardous to library materials, by conducting periodic environmental audits and providing follow-up training on how to correct problems, and by seeking the direct involvement of appropriate staff in University Facilities.
Disaster Prevention, Response, and
Recovery
We plan to achieve this by an ongoing initiative within the University Libraries Disaster Prevention, Response, and Recovery Team to develop a disaster prevention checklist and to institute hazard audits.
We plan to achieve this by conducting disaster response and recovery drills. We will also continue to maintain appropriate supplies centrally and at individual library sites.
We plan to achieve this by having the University Libraries Disaster Prevention, Response, and Recovery Team conduct semi-annual reviews of the University at Buffalo Libraries Disaster Prevention, Response, and Recovery Manual (http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/cts/preservation/manual.html).
We plan to achieve this by initiating or participating in at least one Coordinated Preservation Grant each year. Primary areas of interest include the possible reformatting of material in the areas of American history and culture, nineteenth and early twentieth century New York State legal publications, and nineteenth and early twentieth century scientific, technical, and medical periodicals as well as with musical scores and audio tapes. We are also interested in grants which would help promote the use of the web for training, instructional, and awareness purposes.
| 1985/86 | Student and Institutional Publications Cooperative Microfilming Project |
| 1987/88 | County Atlas Preservation Project |
| 1991/92 | Preservation of Twentieth Century Political Pamphlets Microfilming Project |
| 1991/92 | Symposium on Prospective Preservation Microfilming: Issues and Challenges |
| 1991/92 | Music Manuscript and Archives Microfilming Project |
| 1992/93 | Symposium on the Future Role and Mission of the Eleven Comprehensive Research Libraries |
| 1992/93 | New York State Architectural Records Needs Assessment Project: A Blueprint for Action |
| 1992/93 | Preserving and Making Accessible Material through Digital Technology: A Cooperative Demonstration Project |
| 1992/93 | Cooperative Mass Deacidification Seminar |
| 1993/94 | New York State Preservation Internship |
| 1994/95 | Enclosures and Air Pollution in Image Preservation (a research and development project to investigate effects of pollutants at ambient indoor concentrations on both color and black and white photographic material, especially microfilm) |
| 1994/95 | New York State Coordinated Science Serials Microfilming Project (funding provided to microfilm brittle serials in the areas of mathematics, physics, astronomy, and chemistry) |
| 1994/95 | Digital Training for Preservation Administrators (funded a one-week training seminar for representatives from the eleven comprehensive research libraries on the use of digital technology for preservation reformatting) |
| 1995/96 | New York State Coordinated Science Serials Microfilming Project: Phase II |
| 1996/97 | Evaluating the Use of Kodak Photo CD Technology for Preservation and Making available Research Materials |
| 1997/99 | Basic Care and Management of Sound Recordings: A Series of Six Regional Workshops |
Document created 19 October 1999;
Revised 28 October 1999
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