This paper addresses the preservation needs unique to small libraries, where the majority of special collections exist. A preservation survey of the Herrick Memorial Library (Wellington, OH) was conducted to ascertain the condition of its 45,000 holdings and develop a practical low-cost disaster plan. Using accepted preservation survey criteria,…

Traditionally, archivists have been involved mainly in the intellectual preservation of library materials and the selection, appraisal, processing, and cataloging of library collections. Due to the relatively short (approximately 50 years) stability of the paper commonly used for printed and written documents since the mid-nineteenth century, the…