ABSTRACT

This study examined the preservation and conservation oflibrary materials in public libraries using the Imo State Public Library, Owerri, as a case study. It was carried outwithfive (5) specific objectives of identifying the types of materials in public libraries, extent of deterioration of materials, preservation and conservation skills of librarians, challenges and measures for enhancing preservation and conservation oflibrary materials. The descriptive research design, with a total of120 population, and the complete census sampling technique was used. Data were collected using the closed-ended questionnaire designed with the four-point rating scale model. Out ofthe 120 copies ofquestionnaire distributed to the respondents, 100 copies representing 83.30% were returned and usedfor the analyses. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to calculate the mean scores, standard deviations andfrequency tables. The findings revealed the types oflibrary materials in public libraries to include: textbooks, journals, serials/periodicals (newspapers, magazines, etc.), standards, research monographs, patents, trade literature, library guides, abstracting journals, indexes, bibliographies, official gazettes, monographs, directories, bibliographies, audio-visual materials, microforms, CD-ROMs, databases, biographies and autobiographies, etc. It also showed that the extent ofdeterioration to library varies from materials to materials and are due to wear and tear, shrinkage, cracks, brittleness, wraping, bio-infestation, discoloration, abrasion, hole, dust and dirt accumulation, soiling, mal-handling, poor storage, mutilation, etc. The finding also revealed the preservation and conservation skills oflibrarians to comprise: understanding preservation and conservation issues and trends; understanding the requirementsfor library and archival preservation such as format refreshing and migration, proper handling of physical materials; understanding preservation and conservation standards and best practices, etc. The result offinding also exposed the challenges ofpreservation and conservation as consisting of: inadequate financing ofpublic libraries, lack ofpreservation and conservation policy in mostpublic libraries, lack ofinterest in preservation and conservation programme; inadequate trained manpower to execute preservation and conservation programme; inadequate knowledge of what constitute threats to library materials by most library staff, etc. in the light of the challenges, some measures were recommended to include: adequate provision offinancial allocations to public libraries; creation ofa special unit or sectionfor preservation and conservation ofmaterials with a professional as the head; recruitment ofadequately trained and competentpreservation librarians; consciousness aboutpreservation and conservation oflibrary materials; conscious andregulartrainingfor every library staff on the efficacy ofpreservation and conservation of library materials, etc. This research, however, concludes that preservation and conservation oflibrary materials in public libraries should be seen as ingrained in the whole essence ofthe library existence