Preserving Our Heritage

Michelle Valerie Cloonan is Dean Emerita and Professor at the Graduate School of Library & Information Science, Simmons College.

• 1. Early Perspectives on PreservationJeremiah 32:14, ca. 630–580 BCIsaiah 30:8, ca. 740–700 BCMarcus Vitruvius Pollio, Excerpts from De Architectura libri decem, ca. 75–15 BC M. Valerii Martial, Epigrammaton Liber 10.2, ca. 40–104 ADThe Koran, Excerpt from Surah 85, “The Constellations,” ca. 632Hakīm Abul-Qāsim Ferdowsī Tūsī, Excerpt from “When the Sword of Sixty Comes Nigh His Head,” from the Shahnameh, ca. 977–1010William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” ca. 1593–1598Gabriel Naudé, Advis Pour Dresser Une Bibliothèque, 1627John Weever, Excerpts from Ancient Funeral Monuments, of Great Britain, Ireland, and the Islands Adiacent, 1631Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Ebenezer Hazard, February 18, 1791Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ozymandias,” 1818John Murray, “On the Bad Composition of Paper,” 1823 Francis Lieber, Excerpts from General Orders No. 100: The Lieber Code: Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field, 1863William Morris, et al., “The Manifesto” of The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, 1877 2. Perspectives on Cultural HeritageJan Assmann, “Collective Memory and Cultural Identity,” 1995Pierre Bourdieu, Excerpts from Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, 1984Peter Burman, “What is Cultural Heritage?” 2001Australia International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS Inc.), The Burra Charter, 1999Susan M. Pearce, “The Making of Cultural Heritage,” 2000Laurajane Smith, Excerpts from Uses of Heritage, 2006 3. Preservation in Context: Libraries, Archives, Museums, and the Built EnvironmentEnvironmentPaul N. Banks, “A Library Is Not a Museum,” 1983David W. Carr, “In the Contexts of the Possible: Librarians and Museums as Incendiary Cultural Institutions,” 2000Stanley Chodorow, “To Represent Us Truly: The Job and Context of Preserving the Cultural Record,” 2006Michèle Valerie Cloonan, “The Preservation of Knowledge,” 1993F. Gerald Ham, “The Archival Edge,” 1975 LibrariesPamela W. Darling and Sherelyn Ogden, “From Problems Perceived to Programs in Practice: The Preservation of Library Resources in the U.S.A., 1956–1980,” 1981Ross Harvey, “Developing a Library Preservation Program,” 1993Jan Merrill-Oldham, “Taking Care: An Informed Approach to Library Preservation,” 2002 ArchivesDavid Bearman, “Retention and Preservation,” 1989Richard J. Cox, “Digital Curation and the Citizen Archivist,” 2009Kenneth E. Foote, “To Remember and Forget: Archives, Memory, and Culture,” 1990Anne J. Gilliland, Enduring Paradigm, New Opportunities: The Value of the Archival Perspective in the Digital Environment, 2000, updated 2011James M. O’Toole, “On the Idea of Permanence,” 1989 MuseumsEdward Porter Alexander and Mary Alexander, “To Conserve,” 2008James Cuno, Excerpt from “The Object of Art Museums,” 2003John Cotton Dana, “Why This Series Is Begun: The Old Museum and the New,” 1917G. Brown Goode, “The Relationships and Responsibilities of Museums,” 1895 Historic Preservation/Architectural ConservationCesare Brandi, Excerpts from “The Concept of Restoration,” in Theory of Restoration, 1963James Marston Fitch, “The Philosophy of Restoration: Williamsburg to the Present,” 1992Jukka Jokilehto, “Preservation Theory Unfolding,” 2006Paul Philippot, Excerpts from “Historic Preservation: Philosophy, Criteria, Guidelines,” 1972 4. Collections: Development and ManagementRoss W. Atkinson, “Selection for Preservation: A Materialistic Approach,” 1986Paula De Stefano, “Selection for Digital Conversion in Academic Libraries,” 2001Dan Hazen, Jeffrey Horrell, and Jan Merrill-Oldham, Excerpts from “Selecting Research Collections for Digitization,” 1998Collections: Time-Based MediaKaren F. Gracy, “Preservation in a Time of Transition: Redefining Stewardship of Time-Based Media in the Digital Age,” 2013Howard Besser, “Digital Preservation of Moving Image Material?” 2001Gregory Lukow, “The Politics of Orphanage: The Rise and Impact of the ‘Orphan Film’ Metaphor on Contemporary Preservation Practice,” 1999Mark S. Roosa, “Sound and Audio Archives,” 2009Dietrich Schűller, “Socio-technical and Socio-cultural Challenges of Audio and Video Preservation,” 2008 5. Risks to Cultural Heritage: Time, Nature, and HumansRebecca Knuth, “Understanding Modern Biblioclasm,” 2006Pip Laurenson, “Inside Instillations. Preservation and Presentation of Instillation Art. Part 1: Risk Assessment,” 2007Dennis S. Mileti and Lori Peek, “How Do Societies Manage Risk?” 2001Peter Waters, Excerpts from Procedures for Salvage of Water-Damaged Materials, 1993 6. ConservationPaul N. Banks, “The Laws of Conservation,” n.d., with new material added by the editorChristopher Clarkson, “Minimum Intervention in Treatment of Books,” 1999Douglas Cockerell, Excerpt from A Note on Bookbinding, 1904Caroline K. Keck, “The Role of the Conservator,” 1972Sheldon Keck, “Further Materials for a History of Conservation,” 1976Andrew Oddy, “Does Reversibility Exist in Conservation?” 1999Jan Paris, “Conservation and the Politics of Use and Value in Research Libraries,” 2000Nicholas Pickwoad, “Distinguishing between the Good and Bad Repair of Books,” 1994Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, Excerpts from “Conservation Treatment,” Preserving Archives and Manuscripts, 2nd ed., 2010 7. Frameworks for Digital PreservationTask Force on Archiving of Digital Information, Excerpts from Preserving Digital Information: Report of the Task Force on Archiving of Digital Information, 1996Paul Conway, Excerpts from Preservation in the Digital World, 1996Margaret Hedstrom, “Understanding Electronic Incunabula: A Framework for Research on Electronic Records,” 1991Brian Lavoie and Lorcan Dempsey, “Thirteen Ways of Looking at . . . Digital Preservation,” 2004Clifford Lynch, “Repatriation, Reconstruction, and Cultural Diplomacy in the Digital World,” 2008Jeff Rothenberg, “Ensuring the Longevity of Digital Documents,” 1995Abby Rumsey, Why Digitize? 1999Blue Ribbon Task Force on Sustainable Digital Preservation and Access, Excerpts from Sustainable Economics for a Digital Planet: Ensuring Long-Term Access to Digital Information: Final Report, 2008 8. Preservation PolicyEllen Cunningham-Kruppa, “Exploring Cultural Policy at Humanities Texas,” 2010, updated 2012John H. Hammer, “On the Political Aspects of Book Preservation in the U.S.,” 1992John Henry Merryman, “Art Systems and Cultural Policy,” 2009 9. Ethics and ValuesSelected Conventions, Charters, Declarations, and Professional Association Codes of EthicsUnited Nations, Excerpts from Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948UNESCO, Excerpt from Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, 1954UNESCO, Excerpt from Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 1972United Nations, excerpts from Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007Salzburg Declaration on the Conservation and Preservation of Cultural Heritage, 2009American Alliance of Museums, Code of Ethics for Museums: A Sampling, 1991, amended 2000American Association for State and Local History, Excerpts from Statement of Professional Standards and Ethics, 2012American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Excerpts from Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice, 1994American Library Association, excerpt from Code of Ethics, 1939, amended 1981, 1995, 2008Association of Moving Image Archivists, Excerpt from Code of Ethics, 2009Society of American Archivists, Excerpts from Code of Ethics for Archivists, 2005, revised 2012ArticlesRichard Cox and James O’Toole, “The Impulse to Save,” 2006Richard Cox and James O’Toole, “The Impulse to Destroy,” 2006Samuel Jones and John Holden, “Conservation and Its Values,” 2008Ellen Pearlstein, “Restoring Provenance to a Native American Feather Blanket,” 2010Ernst van de Wetering, “Conservation-Restoration: Ethics and the Problem of Modern Art,” 199910. Multicultural PerspectivesLourdes Arizpe, “Cultural Heritage and Globalization,” 2000Miriam Clavir, “First Nations Perspectives on Preservation and Museums,” 2002Virginia Greene, “‘Accessories of Holiness’: Defining Jewish Sacred Objects,” 1992Sven Haakanson, Jr., “Why Should American Indian Cultural Objects Be Preserved?” 2004 11. SustainabilityErica Avrami, Randall Mason, and Marta de la Torre, Excerpts from Values and Heritage Conservation, 2000David Lowenthal, “Stewarding the Future,” 2005Rebecca Meyer, Shannon Struble, and Phyllis Catsikis, “Sustainability: A Review,” 2012 12. Epilogue

"This volume makes a diverse array of articles and some from hard-to-find sources easily accessible for students of architecture, cultural heritage, historical conservation, book arts, and related programs of study. Taken together, the readings included here provide an excellent single-volume overview to introduce readers to the wide concerns of preservationists." -- CHOICE There is a good balance between the historic roots of preservation and contemporary challenges surrounding digital preservation ... A sound investment for anyone seeking an overview of the field of preservation. -- Library Journal A wonderful contribution to the preservation literature. The readings are expertly selected and organized in a highly successful way that cumulatively tells us much about where the profession has come from and where it is headed. -- Technical Services Quarterly Preserving Our Heritage is an excellent collection for preservation professionals, supporters, and students, and would work well as a textbook. While it can be read selectively for one or two chapters relevant to specific concerns, as a whole it provides a well-rounded, balanced perspective on the preservation concerns of generations past and present. -- portal: Libraries and the Academy Highly recommended. -- Technicalities Overall, the book achieves its aims in assembling core texts...They are seminal papers and provide a solid foundation for students and new entrants into the profession. The juxtapositioning of the papers creates discussion which in turn provides an impetus for moving the subject matter forward. -- Birthe Christensen Archives and Records