Association of Research Libraries

The ARL Preservation Statistics started as a pilot project in 1984 to measure the preservation efforts of ARL member libraries. The latest edition includes data tables on personnel, expenditures, conservation treatment, preservation treatment, and preservation microfilming. An in-depth analysis of data by size of library is also provided.

The 2009 report by ARL Visiting Program Officer Lars Meyer, “Safeguarding Collections at the Dawn of the 21st Century: Describing Roles & Measuring Contemporary Preservation Activities in ARL Libraries,” responds to a recommendation of the 2006 ARL Task Force on the Future of Preservation in ARL Libraries. The task force encouraged ARL to conduct a high-level investigation of the range and balance of preservation activities represented among the ARL membership. Meyer’s report is a thoughtful and thorough qualitative examination of how research libraries’ preservation activities are evolving and expanding in the 21st century. He not only considered activities traditionally captured by ARL’s Preservation Statistics, but also a host of emerging activities largely, but not exclusively, centered on developing digital collections and involving collaborative efforts. The “Safeguarding Collections” report is freely available on the ARL Web site at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/safeguarding-collections.pdf.