ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


November 1995/707

Building p reservatio n  
aw aren ess

By Diane Kaufman

Use visual aids and humor to 
make your point

How  do you stress the importance o f car­ing for materials that are circulating from
your library? The Preservation Unit o f Virginia
Tech Libraries may have found an answer. And
the answer was right in our own backyard!

During the second week o f October last year,
the Preservation Unit gave a two-day demon­
stration in the lobby o f the main library. We
placed several tables in the lobby on which w e
put the assorted supplies w e use to do our vari­
ous repairs. W e gave patrons a firsthand look
at what w e do in the Preservation Unit. It was
also a chance for our visitors to ask how they
might take better care o f the library’s collec­
tion as well as their own library.

Creating a  v isu a l im pact
Prior to the exhibit, w e had spent several days
taking photographs o f student workers doing
their various jobs in the unit. The students made
a large poster using the photos, which helped
all to understand the variety o f the daily tasks
they do. T o enhance the impact o f the photo­
graphs, w e decided to compile some statistics
that would make everyone stop and think about
taking proper care o f the university’s materials.
Whatever w e were going to do had to have a
personal effect on each patron who looked at
the display. W e had to make people under­
stand that when the collection is misused in
any way, the results do affect their pocketbooks.
As w e looked around at books to be discarded
because o f disrepair, books with pages cut from
them, and ones that had the complete text re­
moved, our student workers began to ask ques­

 

 

 

 

tions. Soon w e had more ideas than w e ever 
expected. And w e had the hard-hitting infor­
mation w e were seeking! W e developed a se­
ries o f posters to create a visual impact.

Why are tuition costs rising? was one ques­
tion on a poster. We learned that the average 
cost o f a book is about $40. One must remem­
ber that science books may be much more ex­
pensive than a novel, but w e wanted an aver­
age figure. W e were able to acquire this with 
the help o f some o f the people in our Techni­
cal Services Department. With this dollar

You have a sense of 
accomplishment when a 
professor stops and says, 
“ I have been here for 
twelve years, and this is 
the best thing I have ever 
seen in this library.”

amount, w e considered the 40 books w e had 
just discarded in the previous month. W e dis­
played the photo o f one o f our students next 
to these 40 books, prominently stacked on a 
desk. Some o f these books had the usual prob­
lems: too much writing in them or a cover from 
which the text was totally removed. However, 
there was the unusual, such as the reserve book 
that left the library for two hours. This was 
enough time, however, for the patron’s cat to 
relieve itself on the book. (W e wrapped this 
one in a plastic bag!) W e now had exactly the 
information w e needed . . . and many people 
stopped and commented on the statistics out­

 
 
 

 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

lined on poster 1.

Diane Kaufman is preservation librarian at Virginia Tech Libraries, Blacksburg; e-mail: dkaufman@vtvml.cc.vt.edu

mailto:dkaufman@vtvml.cc.vt.edu


708/ C&RL News

Poster 1

M aking  the point w ith  hum or
Is there a pattern to removal o f pages from 
books by library users? Since w e keep a listing 
of, all books from which pages are removed, 
this was an easy question to answer. These 
answers led us to develop two posters. These 
became the highlight o f the demonstration and 
the messages are shown on poster 2.

The comments and smiles o f definite un­
derstanding were what w e needed! (Sometimes 
a humorous message is better than one that 
preaches.)

Are there journals or books from which 
people more readily steal? W e looked over our 
records and made one last poster (poster 3) 
which, again, made a point with humor. O f 
course, the latter title brought many laughs.

Poster 2

Poster 3

T here's nothing like  success!
Our demonstrations were successful and our 
posters were thought-provoking. W e knew w e 
were a success when w e saw the large num­
bers o f people who stopped to read our visual 
aids, strategically placed in the lobby. But, had 
it not been for our primary patrons, our own 
university student assistants, and their questions, 
w e would not have been as successful as we 
were. They were our key to success.

You have a sense o f accomplishment when 
a professor stops and says, “I have been here 
for twelve years, and this is the best thing I 
have ever seen in this library.”

There’s still time to bid on 
two silent auction items

American Book Prices Current is offering 
an updated CD-ROM with auction sales re­
ported in ABPC (1975– 1994). Covering 19 
volumes in over a half million records, the 
CD contains the sales o f autographs, manu­
scripts, documents, books, maps, and broad­
sides worldwide. The regular price for this 
CD-ROM is $2,000; minimum bid is $600.

OCLC is offering a six-month subscription 
to the FirstSearch base package which in­
cludes single port access to WorldCat, 
ArtideFirst, ContentsFirst, FastDoc, MEDLINE, 
and other databases. The regular rate for this 
is $2,750; minimum bid is $750.

To bid call Jack Briody at (800) 545-2433, 
ext. 2516; e-mail: jack.briody@ala.org. Bids will 
only be accepted in $75 increments. Bidding 
will continue through ALA Midwinter.

mailto:jack.briody@ala.org


November 1995/709