A Review of the Preservation Literature, 1993–1998

Abstract

Six years have passed since the last review of preservation literature in this journal. The last five years suggest a “coming of age” for the field of preservation, which can he seen both in the emergence of preservation departments and of practices sufficiently developed to have their own history, methods, subspecialities, and philosophical schools. In this review, I organize the literature into eight categories: binding and bindings; physical treatment; reformatting; audio-video, film, and photographic materials; the digital arena; environment control; disaster planning; and management. The bibliography provides a snapshot of the relative distribution of the scholarly and research activities within the profession.