Published: April 24, 2017 by Anna Maloney

In addition to celebrating Records and Information Management month during the month of April, archivists and RIM professionals have another cause to communicate: the last week of April is designated as Preservation Week, an event sponsored largely by the American Library Association to raise awareness about collection preservation. 

The following fast facts were shared by ALA and sourced from the Library of Congress report “A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America’s Collections.”

• Roughly 70% of institutions need additional conservation or preservation training for their staff and volunteers. 
• More than 80% of collecting institutions do not have a disaster plan in place that can be executed by trained staff. 
• More than 65% of collecting institutions report damage to their collections due to improper storage.

Of course, preservation and conservation concerns extend beyond cultural heritage institutions. Corporate records managers and electronic records specialists must also consider how short- and long-term preservation strategies will enhance the value of information management programs.

(Preservation Week poster available from http://www2.archivists.org/groups/preservation-section/preservation-week-poster)