EAJRS Conservation/Preservation
Working Group(First edition2017.8)Preservation Self-Assessment for Japanese Special Collections

A GUIDE
Japanese studies libraries in Europe possess many rare and unique items such as old Japanesebooks, old maps, old photos, woodblock prints, manuscripts and historical records. In addition,
they may have non-paper materials such as films, video tapes and digital files, as well as
collections from private owners, and material deposited to the libraries. As the nature ofthese precious items is different from general collections, those sets of items are called
Japanese special collections. These are usually regarded as items for permanent retention;
they are not normally allowed to be taken out from the Library and can be perused only inside
the library under staff invigilation.
In this guide to the ' Preservation Self-Assessment for Japanese Special Collections' (hereafter'the Preservation Self-Assessment' for short), Japanese special collections are referred to as 'theSpecial Collection', and European libraries which possess such collections as 'the Library'.
In order to ensure that their special collections are preserved in the proper manner, somelibraries may use preservation1 specialists for assessment while others may have the librarians incharge of the collection make such assessment themselves. 'Preservation Self-Assessment' isintended to be a tool to assist non-specialists in such endeavour. Bearing in mind that there
are a number of libraries with a variety of different collections, only basic general issues arelisted. Editing 'Preservation Self-Assessment’ might be necessary to adjust to your own Library's
purpose and structure and to your Special Collection's size and characteristics.
Before starting to answer the questions in 'Preservation Self-Assessment,' it is important toconsider what this is for and how to utilise the results afterwards. You must determine, forexample, to whom you will report the results, whether to make plans for preservation or to
discuss improvement measures, and who is to be responsible for such plans and measures.
This 'Preservation Self-Assessment' is meant to be carried out only once every twenty years or sounless some special circumstances have cropped up—such as new buildings or transfer ofcollections—that present new preservation issues to consider. As for more regular (such as
annual) inspections, please see the separate publication entitled 'Periodical Preservation
Checklist for Japanese Special Collections'.
The following explains the 'Preservation Self-Assessment' item by item.

A Administration
I Special Collection
1

For the definition of the preservation vocabulary, see Ref. 1 at the end of this document.

11 Describe the outline of the Collection—contents, format, approximate number of items, etc.
2 Describe the history of the Collection—when it was started, how it has developed.
3 If available, insert copies of journalistic and/or academic articles about the Collection,
exhibition catalogues, etc.
4 List approximate numbers of items in the Collection that are of paper material (e.g. antiquebooks, manuscripts, maps and photographs) and those that are of non-paper material (e.g.
film, video tapes, recordings and digital files).
5 Archives need special treatment in cataloguing, and they are often of special value
because of their uniqueness and rarity. If the Collection includes such items, describe theircontents and numbers.
See: Bastian, Jeannette A., et al, Archives in Libraries: What Librarians and Archivists Need toKnow to Work Together (Society of American Archivists, 2015), 137p.
6 Do you have any material deposited by someone? State who the depositor is, how many
items, under what terms and conditions, etc.
7 Do you intend to acquire more items for the Special Collection in the future? If so, do you
have acquisition policies or guidelines? If not, do you consider them necessary?
8 What is the significance of the Special Collection for the Library as a whole? Is it wellunderstood by the general staff? How does the management regard the Special
Collection? You may consider publicity of the Special Collection within the Library as well
as for the general public, since it may encourage future acquisitions and result in an
increase in library user/visitor numbers.

II Stacks and Reading Rooms
1-2 In which part of the stacks is the Special Collection stored? It is recommended that theSpecial Collection be located separately from the general collection. Is it stored this way?
3 Is the Special Collection to be perused in the same reading room as for the generalcollection? Is it a room where staff can keep an eye on the user?

III Policies and Plans
1-2 Do you have preservation policies and programmes/plans? If there are written policies
and plans, do you think they are appropriate, realistic and actually observed? If there arenot, do you think the Library needs them?
3 Do you carry out periodical (e.g. annual) preservation inspections 2 of the Special
Collection? If not, do you think this will be necessary in the future?

IV Organisation2

For more details, see the separate publication, 'Periodical Preservation Inspections for Japanese Special
Collections'.

2

1 Under the Library regulations, how is the preservation of the Special Collection defined? Is it
sufficient? If it is not written, do you think it should be?
2 Who is responsible for the preservation of the Special Collection? Is their duty clearly
understood?
3 If the Library is part of a national or university library, does it liaise with the preservation
department of its parent institution? What kind of support does it receive?

V Staff Awareness and Education
1-2 Are the Library staff aware of the importance of the Special Collection and its
preservation? Are those in charge of preservation knowledgeable and experienced? Are
any opportunities to learn more about preservation provided for them?
3 One of the most important parts of preservation of the Special Collection is the everyday
treatment of its items by the staff. This includes, for example, shelving, transportation,
instruction and invigilation of users, care in photocopying by staff/users, exhibitions anddigitisation. Are the staff sufficiently educated about these? If so, what kind of educational
opportunities are given?

VI Preservation Measures and Budgets
1-2 At the moment, what measures are put in place for preservation of the Special
Collection? How much is the annual budget?
The budget items may include: facility maintenance, environmental control, cleaning ofstacks and reading rooms, protective enclosures, cleaning of books and other items, repair
and preservation treatments, microfilming and digitisation, purchase of preservation tools,
preservation survey and staff education.

VII Disaster Prevention
Plans for preventing damage from natural and man-made disasters and for dealing with theconsequences when they happen are of utmost importance for both general collections andthe Special Collection. Questions 1-4 are about past disasters and possible threats; 5-9 areabout plans for prevention and action.
There are various informative publications regarding disaster prevention for libraries. We would
recommend the following two, which are concise and useful.
‘IFLA Principles for the Care and Handling of Library Materials’, 1998.
http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/pac/ipi/ipi1-en.pdf. p.15-20.
‘IFALA Disaster Preparedness and Planning: A Brief manual’,
http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/pac/ipi/ipi6-en.pdf.

B Buildings and Environmental Control
I Buildings

31 About the Library building where the Special Collection is housed: When was it built? How is
it structured? What material is used? Where is it located?
2 Has the Library ever had accidents or incidents with regard to the Special Collection?
3 Are there any possibilities of break-ins, burglaries or thefts? Is there an alarm systeminstalled? Is there a fire-extinguishing system? How is the building superintended? Are there
night patrols?

II Book Stacks
1 In which stacks is the Special Collection stored? Where are the stacks located? How many
shelves are there? Do you use cabinets?
2 Is there enough space in the stacks for the Special Collection? Some libraries store a part of
the Special Collection in another place (such as general collection stacks or an office)because of the lack of space. Does this happen at your Library?
3 Some types of documents such as old maps, photographs, films and oversize books need to
be kept in special storages. Are they stored in appropriate storages to the nature and typeof the items?
4 Wahon or traditional Japanese books should be protected in boxes and placed horizontallyon shelves. How many books are unprotected and placed vertically on shelves? What do
you think should be done?
5 The Special Collection should be stored in separate stacks away from the generalcollection. Is this done at the Library, or do the Special Collection shelves and cabinets
contain other items as well?
6 Are the materials and forms of the shelves and cabinets appropriate and safe for theSpecial Collection?
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Films (movies, microfilms, video films, etc.) should be stored separately from books andother paper documents. Is this done at the Library? Do staff understand differences in filmbases (e.g. TAC and PET), each of which requires different handling practice?
See: ‘IFLA Principles for the Care and Handling of Library Materials’, 1998.
http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/pac/ipi/ipi1-en.pdf. p. 50-52.

III Environment
1 Temperature and relative humidity in the stacks and the reading room where the Special
Collection is stored and read are important factors in its preservation3. Are temperatureand humidity levels constantly monitored? What equipment is used for the purpose?
2 Looking at the results of monitoring, are temperature and humidity at appropriate levels4?
3Regarding the effect of temperature and humidity to paper-based materials, see the Ref. ３ at the end of
the document.

4“IFLA Principles for the Preservation and Conservation of Library Materials” published by IFLA in 1986, states‘A suitable compromise for conditions in storage areas can generally found in the temperature range of
16 °C to 21°C and a relative humidity between 40 and 60 percent.’. ISO 11799 (2003): Information anddocumentation-Document storage requirement for archive and library materials, states more severe criteria43-4 What kind of air-conditioning machine controls temperature and relative humidity? Ask
the facility management department if necessary. At present what temperature andhumidity levels is the machine set at?
5 For the preservation of library materials, it is important that there should not be too muchfluctuation in temperature and relative humidity between the stacks and the reading room.
Do you do narashi (conditioning) to avoid drastic changes in temperature and humidity
when items of the Special Collection are removed from the stacks and brought into thereading room, or vice versa?
A simple way to 'condition' an item from the stacks is to put it in a corrugated cardboard
box and keep it in the reading room or in the office for a day or two before taking it out of
the box for perusal. When it is to go back, put it in the same box and keep it in the stacks
for a day or two before taking it out and putting it back on the shelf. As a result, thetemperature and humidity levels change slowly and gradually, thus avoiding stress to thepaper and the book.
6-7 Describe lighting in the stacks and the reading room. Ultra-violet light is one of the mostharmful factors to library materials. Does sunlight come directly into the reading room? Are
there curtains or blinds to shut out natural light? Do the light fixtures in rooms use the non-UV
type of light?
8-10 Air pollution is another big enemy of books, especially in urban areas. Is the air
circulated well enough in the stacks and the reading room? What type of ventilation
system is used? Ask the facility management department if necessary. Is the Librarybuilding entirely no smoking?
11 Good communication and cooperation with the facility management department arevital when it comes to environmental control. Do its staff understand important issues inpreservation of the Special Collection? Do the Library and the department wellcommunicate in this matter?

IV Housekeeping, Insects and Mould
1 Are the reading rooms, offices, stacks and book shelves regularly cleaned? How often is it
done, and to what extent?
2-4 Although insect and mould problems are fairly limited in today's European libraries, they
can cause significant damage to collection items. Have there ever been incidents of pest
damage in the Library which required fumigation and/or use of insecticide? How about
incidents of mould damage which required disinfection? If there have been suchoccasions in the past, when did the incidents occur, what kind of damage was done, andwhat measure was taken?
5 It is highly recommended that libraries practise IPM (Integrated Pest Management) 5 such as
monitoring of insect damage in the stacks and the reading rooms by using insect traps. Do
you carry out such monitoring?

which is shown at the end of this document (Ref.2).
More adequate and practical criteria would be found in the “IFLA Principles for the Care and Handling of
Library Materials”, op.cit., p.25.
5 For IPM, see IFLA Principles, http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/pac/ipi/ipi1-en.pdf., p.32.

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6 It is particularly important to check newly-received old materials to see if there are any
insect or mould problems. Do you always check new acquisitions carefully?

C Conservation and Reproduction
Basic damage prevention is the most important and effective measure in preservation.
Along with the above-mentioned disaster plans, environmental control and regular
maintenance, the damage prevention measures range from inspection of newly-acquired
items and proper handling to storing in protective enclosures.
'Take action only when necessary in order to prevent further deterioration and damage'should be the standard policy in preservation. Bear in mind that there have been incidents inthe past where, under the name of 'restoration', books and documents were given
treatments that destroyed their value as historical evidence. With regard to this point, see
the following two articles:
Kibe, Toru, 'Leave the Front Cover Detached: Restoration of Precious Books andPreservation of Documents,' Wakosho WG Website (in Japanese).
Yasue, Akio, 'A Century of Preservation of Tonko Documents,'
Gakushuin University Faculty of Humanities Annual Report 62 (2015), pp. 289-316 (inJapanese).
http://www.gakushuin.ac.jp/univ/let/top/publication/res_pdf_62/019.pdf
Reproduction is an essential measure in preservation of the Special Collection. It prevents
the wear and tear of the original material as caused by repeated handling, thus keeping it ingood physical condition. It also guarantees and improves accessibility of documents, whichis the fundamental purpose of preservation.

I Handling
1 Do you inspect newly-acquired items sufficiently? Do you give them necessary treatment
at the time of acquisition, such as cleaning, unfolding pages into their original state,
recording torn pages, providing protective enclosures, etc?
2-3 Do you have a manual instructing the staff how to handle the Special Collection? Are
there regulations for the use of the Special Collection? How do you educate/instruct thestaff and users?
4 Do you take special care in handling items in unusual format such as scrolls and large
maps?
5 Are eating, drinking, smoking and use of fountain/ballpoint pens prohibited in the reading
rooms of the Special Collection?
6 There is a danger of damaging the items in the Special Collection while photocopying
them. Do you have any preventive measure put in place?
7 Do you have white gloves available for use by staff and users when handling photographic
prints? You must be aware, however, that the use of white gloves in handling antique
Japanese books is not appropriate.

68 Do you inspect the items before and after they are handed over to the user? Afterinspection, do you give them necessary treatment such as cleaning, providing protective
enclosures, repair and reproduction?

II Protective Enclosures
1 Use of protective enclosures is one of the important preservation measures of the Special
Collection. What do you do about it? What type of enclosures do you use?
2 It is essential that the enclosures be made of archival (i.e. acid-free and lignin-free)material. Do you use such material?
3 Are the enclosures the right size for the items inside? Are they not too small? Are pages notbent or folded inside?
4 For future work, state approximately how many items need to be put in protective
enclosures. Also, state approximately how many items are kept in enclosures not made ofarchival material, and how many need new enclosures.
5 Are photographs stored in enclosures made of material that has passed PAT (Photo Activity
Test )6?

III Conservation Treatment
1 Repair is not always necessary even if an item has some damage like insect holes or wear
and tear. In order to maintain the item's original state, hence its value as historicalevidence, you must be aware of two fundamental rules: 1) avoid repair work unless it isabsolutely necessary; and 2) when repair, do it minimally. Keeping these rules in mind, do
you think there are items in the Special Collection that are in need of repair? Are there
many or few?
2 If there is an item in need of repair, is it something that you can do yourself, or do you haveto ask a conservation specialist? If the Library regularly contracts out, state the name of theconservator(s) and/or the company.
3 State the approximate number of items in the Special Collection that are in need of repair,then consider which to give priority to. Do you carry out repair work according to schedule
such as an annual plan?
4-5 Do your conservators observe international standards and principles of conservation? 7
Do they make a record of each repair work? Who in the Library keeps such records? Are
the records accessible to the public?

6 For PAT, see 'IFLA Principles' , http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/pac/ipi/ipi1-en.pdf., p.48.
7

For international standards for conservation, see BS4971:2002, Repair and Allied Processes for Conservation ofDocuments—Recommendations, British Standard (2002); and 'Principles of Conservation and Restoration in
Libraries,' IFLA Journal, vol. 5, no. 4 (1979), pp. 292-301.

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IV Reproduction
As mentioned above, reproduction (by photocopying, microfilming and digitisation) is an
essential measure of preservation. It makes possible a wide use of the Special Collection while
protecting the physical state of the originals.
1 Have you reproduced any item in the Special Collection in the past? If so, state what items,
how many and what methods of reproduction.
2 Are there items that need reproduction in the future? Have you identified them?
3 It is desirable that digitised items are available to the public online. If you have digitised
images, are they accessible through the internet?
4 Is there a plan to digitise items in the Special Collection?
5 For digitisation, has the Library obtained/tried to obtain outside funding and/or cooperated
with other institutions?

V Exhibitions and Loans
1 Exhibitions are an important way of utilising the Special Collection and making it known tothe public. Has the Library put on exhibitions in the past? Are there plans to do so in the
future?
2 Exhibitions can also cause damage and deterioration of precious items. Do you havemeasures to avoid such mishap? When you exhibit items, do you follow general
preservation guidelines8?
3-4 Other organisations may ask the Library for a loan of certain items in the Special
Collection for exhibitions and other purposes. Although the Library that keeps the Special
Collection is expected to consider such loans, they also entail a risk of damage to the items.
Do you have regulations for loans?
5 When allowing items to leave the Library, it is vital to check the physical condition of each
item before and after the loan. Do you do this?

D Other Related Issues
I Cataloguing and Processing
1-2 The Special Collection is preserved so that it can be used by the public, and cataloguing
is indispensable for the purpose. Do you have a complete catalogue? If you haveuncatalogued items, do you have plans to catalogue them? If so, when is this due?

8 See ICA. ‘Guidelines on Exhibiting Archival Materials’ http://www.ica.org/en/guidelines-exhibiting-archival-

materials National Preservation Office (UK). Guidance for Exhibiting Archives and Library Materials’.
http://326gtd123dbk1xdkdm489u1q.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/NationalPreservation-Office-Guidance-for-exhibiting-archive-and-library-materials-Feb-2000.pdf

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3 Archives need to be documented in a different way from the book collection. Are there
any finding aids available to identify the items?
See: Op. cit. Bastian, Jeannette A. et al., ibid., 137p.
4 The catalogue and the finding aids should be uploaded on the Library website so that thegeneral public can access and search the Special Collection. Do you have them available
online? If not, do you have a plan to do so?

II Use1 Although the Special Collection may not be used very often, it should be preserved in orderto guarantee present and future use. How many times is the Special Collection used byreaders in a specific period? How often is it used for exhibitions and other purposes?
2 Does the Library keep a record of the Special Collection usage?
3-4 What do you do to promote the use of the Special Collection? Do you publicise it, forexample, on the Library website?

III Cooperation and Collaboration
Many Japanese studies libraries in Europe are more or less independent of other institutions,which means that they tend to manage and preserve the Special Collection in their own way.
Libraries should work together for the sake of better preservation.
1-2 If the Library is part of a university or a national library, do you work with the preservation
department of its parent institution? Do you ever cooperate and collaborate withneighbouring libraries, museums and archives with regard to conservation and preservationof materials?
3

Do you have any contacts of experts and/or institutions you can turn to when you comeacross problems and questions regarding conservation and preservation of the Special
Collection? Do you have a list of such professionals and institutions?

9Ref.1: Definitions“ISO5127-2000(E): Information and documentation --- Vocabulary <6 Preservation of
documents >”Preservation: All measures taken, including financial and strategic decisions, to maintainthe integrity and extend the life of document or collections

Conservation: Intervention techniques applied to prevent, arrest or delay deterioration
Restoration:

Actions taken to return a document which has suffered deterioration ordamage as closely as practicable to its original state

Ref.2: ISO 11799
Document Storage Requirement for Archive and Library Materials. Recommended climaticconditions for the long-term storage of archive and library materials. Partially extracted fromAnnex B (informative).
Temperature (°C)

Relative humidity (%)

Type of Materials
Min.

Max.

*

Min.

Max.

*

Paper, optimum preservation

2

18

±1

30

45

±3

Paper, staffed stack area, items inregular use

14

18

±1

35

50

±3

Parchment, leather

2

18

±1

50

60

±3

18

±2

30

50

±5

2

±2

30

40

±5

Photographic paper prints: black
and white silver gelatine
Photographic paper prints: colour(chromogenic)* Tolerable daily changes with the limits

Ref.3: Effect of storage temperature and humidity on paper permanence
Temperature 25 °C, humidity 50% RH are set standard 1.00 in the table. The table indicates, forexample, paper which is expected to last 100 years under storage temperature 25 °C,
humidity 50% would last 2070 years under 15 °C, 10% condition, while only 14 years under
35 °C, 70% condition.
Relative humidity (%)

Temperature
(°C)

70%

50%

30%

10%

35

0.14

0.19

0.30

0.68

25

0.74

1.00

1.56

3.57

15

2.74

5.81

9.05

20.70

10

Cf: Richard D. Smith, The non-aqueous deacidification of paper and books, 970, Doctoral
Dissertation, The University of Chicago, 1970, p.55.

See also Preservation Index table in New Tools for Preservation. Image Permanence Institute,
1995, p.7. Website: http://www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/store/publications/new-toolspreservation/

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