Preservation of Information Materials In Public Libraries. A Case Study at Macmillan Memorial Library

Abstract

The research was to determine how preservation is done in the public library and it covered agents that cause information material to deteriorate their control and methods of preserving documents etc. The case study was Macmillan library and the research involved objectives like finding if there are policies governing preservation process at Macmillan library investigating the sources of funds, kind of users, cause of deterioration and determining the problem at Macmillan and the possible solutions to the problem. The data collected was analysed and presented inform of pie charts, bar graphs and statistical tables. It was revealed that there are policies in the library for preservation but they are not followed. The majority of users are students and the library staff are not all professional therefore preservation is a challenge. The problem encountered are inadequate funds, unskilled staff, ignorance of the staff in enforcing the preservation policy and the researcher therefore recommends the library to source for enough funds. The management should employ more skilled staff and ensure that they follow the preservation policy and put into action the rules and regulation of the library. The compound grass should be cut short and the drawers be cleaned regularly to avoid the damage of the library collection from the agents of deterioration.