NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: May 17, 2004
Contact: Kathlin Smith 202-939-4754
Outdated Preservation Infrastructure Threatens
Access to Information, Report Warns
WASHINGTON, D.C.—For centuries, we have counted on libraries to preserve our human record. But the preservation infrastructure that worked so well for books and journals is inadequate for most twentieth-century media. Digital information, for example, is increasingly licensed rather than owned. Much Web-based information is dynamic, challenging traditional approaches to selection of fixed materials. Recorded sound and moving and still images are governed by complex bundles of rights that may discourage libraries from making copies for preservation. Even traditional models for preserving books and journals are called into question as research libraries' print collections grow exponentially.
A new report from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), entitled Access in the Future Tense, examines the changing information landscape and identifies the emerging challenges for preservation and access. The report is based on a meeting that CLIR convened in May 2003, which brought together librarians, technologists, scholars, legal experts, and funders. It includes papers by Daniel Greenstein of the California Digital Library, Anne Kenney of Cornell University, Bill Ivey of Vanderbilt University, and Brian Lavoie of OCLC. CLIR's Abby Smith contributes an introductory overview and concluding essay that summarizes the day's discussions.
The report says that libraries must be aggressive in positioning themselves to keep their leadership role in the stewardship of analog and digital resources. They will need to invest in the recruitment, retention, and professional growth of staff members; educate and gain the support of faculty and campus leaders; and join in public advocacy for policies that prevent further erosion of access to information as a public good. Libraries and their home institutions will also need to cooperate on the development of centralized services, such as repositories of digital and rarely used analog material, and sophisticated preservation facilities.
Access in the Future Tense is available on CLIR's Web site at http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub126abst.html. Print copies are available for ordering through CLIR's Web site, for $20 per copy plus shipping and handling.
The Council on Library and Information Resources is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the management of information for research, teaching, and learning. CLIR works to expand access to information, however recorded and preserved, as a public good.
