The preservation collection is an ever-changing collection of materials that need temporary but indeterminate special care. Materials assigned such a designation should be items that are viewed as having long-term intrinsic value for the Libraries. Such a designation for a title should be made when the item is in a seriously deteriorated condition.
Low use has nothing to do with items so designated.
Conceivably, it might have been high use that brought an item to the preservation collection in the first place. An item is deemed important for its intellectual content because of local needs or because of the limited holdings in other libraries. If the artifact itself adds value, then Special Collections should be considered as a location. Criteria for Special Collections are attached.