Renew and recycle: developing sustainable preservation strategies

PurposeThe Library of Congress is engaged in an effort to ensure the health and sustainability of its preservation program.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is an expanded version of a presentation Jacob Nadal and Erin Engle gave at the 7th Kuopio Conference. That presentation explained how the preservation management team re-evaluated and re-imagined its work through a series of workshops, cost studies and planning exercises. This led to a new way to respond to immediate operational requirements and adapt to agency focus across strategic planning cycles while still making progress on large-scale preservation needs.FindingsThis work led to new plans for the workforce and fiscal resources needed to maintain a rich array of options for use of the collections over the long term. This paper details the philosophy and strategy behind this approach to address financial and organizational sustainability of a large-scale preservation program.