The autonomy of institutions, libraries and archives in relation to their own funds is not in question, but the provision of funds for a wider national responsibility may have to be top-sliced and earmarked for use in the national interest. Funds from central government, but also those from other sources, need to be co-ordinated so that money is spent wisely to the greater benefit of the national collection as a whole. It is incumbent upon the libraries and archives to demonstrate that such funds can be shared in a responsible way. The success of a preservation policy and that of a co-ordinated preservation programme are to a large extent determined by finance, but not entirely. Human intellect, human understanding, historical and technical knowledge, common sense, plenty of energy and a strong will to succeed are all vital.
Much work is needed here.
The National Preservation Office sees as one of its tasks the provision of information on a wide range of preservation issues, as another, the encouragement of the formulation and application of appropriate preservation and conservation standards and the propagation of codes for best practice, but these are but two elements of a much wider programme for education. Through investigating the subjects and audiences for preservation training, through the co-ordination of existing or incipient training programmes, through active lobbying of library and archive schools and providing advice on the most useful elements of preservation training that can be incorporated in their courses, and through initiating training programmes for preservation management, the National Preservation Office can do much to ensure that future preservation programmes are carefully planned, properly prioritised, sufficiently supported, and well managed. First of all, the rationale for the policy needs to be stated, and its scope defined. This scope will have to be agreed and be subject to review at periodic intervals. An assessment of the preservation problem on a national scale needs to be made, both quantitatively and qualitatively.