Document Preservation Course

Lesson 1 • Core Preservation Principles

Introduces reversibility, minimal intervention, and provenance as guiding ethics. Students apply these principles when evaluating preservation decisions.

Lesson 2 • Document Types and Formats

Surveys paper, parchment, photographic, audiovisual, and born-digital formats. Distinguishes physical and digital preservation challenges for each type.

Lesson 3 • Stakeholders and Institutional Roles

Maps the roles of archivists, conservators, records managers, and administrators. Clarifies professional boundaries and collaborative responsibilities.

Lesson 1 • Environmental Risk Factors

Analyses temperature, relative humidity, light, and pollutants as environmental stressors. Connects environmental data to deterioration rates.

Lesson 2 • Biological Threats to Documents

Identifies mould, insects, and rodents as biological deterioration agents. Students detect early infestation signs and understand spread pathways.

Lesson 3 • Chemical Deterioration Mechanisms

Explains acid hydrolysis, oxidation, and off-gassing as primary chemical threats. Links chemistry to observable document damage for practical diagnosis.

Lesson 4 • Physical and Mechanical Damage

Covers tears, abrasion, deformation, and handling damage as mechanical threats. Students recognise damage patterns and trace their physical causes.

Lesson 1 • Monitoring and Data Logging

Introduces dataloggers, hygrothermographs, and remote sensors for continuous monitoring. Students interpret trend data to detect environmental problems early.

Lesson 2 • Climate Standards for Collections

Defines recommended temperature and humidity ranges for mixed and specialised collections. Students justify climate targets based on material composition.

Lesson 3 • Disaster Preparedness for Storage

Integrates fire suppression, flood barriers, and emergency response into storage design. Students draft a basic storage-area emergency plan.

Lesson 4 • Storage Furniture and Enclosures

Evaluates shelving, cabinets, boxes, folders, and sleeves for material compatibility. Students select enclosures using standardised testing criteria.

Lesson 1 • Reformatting Strategies Overview

Compares microfilming, scanning, and digital photography as reformatting methods. Students select methods based on format, resolution needs, and budget.

Lesson 2 • Quality Control in Reformatting

Applies target-based quality checks, metadata capture, and file naming during reformatting. Ensures output meets access and preservation standards.

Lesson 3 • Surrogates and Original Retention

Evaluates when surrogates replace originals and when originals must be retained. Applies legal, evidential, and intrinsic value criteria to decisions.

Lesson 4 • Safe Handling Protocols

Establishes glove policy, support techniques, and workspace preparation for fragile items. Reduces mechanical damage risk during routine access.

Lesson 1 • Surface Cleaning Methods

Covers dry cleaning with erasers and brushes and wet cleaning for stable paper. Students match cleaning method to soiling type and paper condition.

Lesson 2 • Tear Repair and Consolidation

Applies Japanese tissue and wheat starch paste to repair tears and consolidate fragile areas. Students select tissue weight and adhesive concentration by damage type.

Lesson 3 • Deacidification Treatments

Introduces aqueous and non-aqueous deacidification to neutralise acid and deposit alkaline buffer. Students test pH before and after treatment.

Lesson 4 • Humidification and Flattening

Uses controlled moisture to relax distorted paper before pressing flat. Students operate humidification chambers and drying setups correctly.

Lesson 1 • Fire and Smoke Damage Response

Addresses soot removal, odour neutralisation, and structural assessment after fire events. Students distinguish salvageable from non-salvageable fire-damaged items.

Lesson 2 • Disaster Planning and Response Teams

Builds a written disaster plan with assigned roles, contact trees, and decision authority. Establishes the team structure before an emergency occurs.

Lesson 3 • Mould Response and Remediation

Isolates active mould outbreaks, applies safe remediation, and restores environmental control. Students follow personal protective equipment protocols throughout.

Lesson 4 • Post-Disaster Documentation and Review

Records losses, treatment actions, and costs to support insurance claims and plan revision. Converts disaster experience into improved preparedness.

Lesson 1 • Fixity and Integrity Verification

Uses checksums and hash algorithms to detect unauthorised or accidental file changes. Students run fixity checks and interpret failure reports.

Lesson 2 • File Format Selection and Migration

Evaluates open, standardised formats for text, image, audio, and video preservation. Students plan migration pathways before formats become obsolete.

Lesson 3 • Storage Redundancy and the 3-2-1 Rule

Applies the 3-2-1 storage rule across on-site, off-site, and cloud locations. Students design a redundant storage architecture for a sample collection.

Lesson 4 • Digital Preservation Concepts

Defines bit rot, format obsolescence, and logical versus physical integrity as core threats. Distinguishes digital preservation from backup and IT storage.

Lesson 1 • Programme Metrics and Assessment

Defines key performance indicators for preservation activities and collection condition. Students design a metrics dashboard to report programme progress.

Lesson 2 • Budgeting and Resource Allocation

Estimates costs for supplies, equipment, staffing, and outsourced services. Students build a multi-year preservation budget with justification narratives.

Lesson 3 • Grant Funding and External Support

Identifies funding sources, grant cycles, and application requirements for preservation projects. Students draft a project narrative for a sample grant application.

Lesson 4 • Advocacy and Stakeholder Engagement

Communicates preservation value to administrators, donors, and the public using evidence-based arguments. Builds institutional support for sustained programme investment.