Introduction

This template has been designed to support staff preparing a Preservation Policy for their own organization. Preservation Policies vary between different organizations depending on specific needs. Staff preparing policies may also wish to refer to the Preservation Advisory Centre booklet Building Blocks for a Preservation Policyand examples from other organizations when considering what to include.

1. Setting the scene

The Preservation Policy is a high level document whose key objective is the long-term preservation of, and provision of access to, collections. The process of collections care is an ongoing (and never-ending) commitment and responsibility for each heritage organization to ensure that the information contained on and within the range of collection media is accessible both now and into the future.

The baseline responsibility of any organization involved in the management of heritage collections is to ensure that all risks to the materials are assessed and, where possible, removed. To achieve this, organizations need to develop appropriate collection care methodologies with reference to national and professional standards. However, before this stage, and acknowledging the growing and on coming challenges of digital media and the management of digital data, the organization will need to set out clearly what it is trying to achieve by managing its collection materials.

The Preservation Policy is an important document and needs to address all those who come into contact with, and have aspirations for, the collections.

A policy is a ‘plan of action and should address the questions of what needs to be preserved, why, for what purpose and for how long’.

2. Legislative framework?

This document must reference the key national and local policy documents that underpin the responsibility for collections care. Such documents are at the highest level of national governmental policy for the sector and firmly set in context the core responsibilities of the heritage organization. Additionally, these documents identify the expectations of users, stakeholders and funding bodies. These may include, or be supplemented by, national standards specifically addressing the needs of archive and library collections, local corporate or advisory professional guidance.

3. Definition of terms

It is vital to ensure that all those that read the Policy, those that represent its objectives, and those that apply those objectives, understand the terminology used throughout the document.