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Collections Preservation & Conservation

More Information

Book and Paper Conservation

The Book and Paper team cares for and helps provide access to all paper-based items across the UCLA library collections.

Preventative Conservation

Preventative conservation measures reduce decay or loss by influencing factors around the collection, such as storage containers, our buildings, policies and procedures.

Audiovisual Preservation

Our AV Preservation team works collaboratively with library-wide partners to care for and provide access to our rich audiovisual heritage on analog moving image and sound formats.

Current Staff

Our skilled staff preserve cultural heritage materials across a wide variety of formats.

Learn More

Featured News

  • Group of staff looking out doorway from their space and four staff grouped together
    POSTPONED: UCLA Library Preservation & Conservation Open House 05-01-24

    Postponed: The UCLA Library Preservation & Conservation department has postponed its open house scheduled for May 1. We look forward to welcoming the public and the UCLA community at a future date. Thank you.

    Take a peek behind the curtain of the UCLA Library Preservation & Conservation Department at our Open House! Our team provides expert care to all formats of library materials so they remain fully accessible to patrons, and we’d like to share some examples of what we do for audiovisual, book and paper materials.

    Please join us for a 30-minute guided tour through our lab space to learn more about the department and the tools we use to care for collection materials. You are welcome to pick up some free swag and make your own booklet to take home!

    To secure a spot at your preferred time, please click on the More Details button to register (a few spots will be
    reserved for first-come, first-served walk-up guests).

  • A book being splashed into a tray of water
    Point of View
    Ask A Conservator Day 2023 | Inside the conservation process
    November 3, 2023

    The Library's Preservation & Conservation Department gives a glimpse into some of their conservation processes that make materials usable and accessible for all.

  • An illustration of two people waving at each other. In the distance, a large town is behind them. They are nearby a large tree.
    Point of View
    Shaking things up at the UCLA Library Conservation Lab
    November 2, 2023

    Two 18th century volumes accounting a disastrous series of earthquakes in Italy are conserved at UCLA Library.

  • headshot of Maile Chung
    People
    Introducing Maile Chung, post-graduate assistant conservator
    September 12, 2023

    Chung will collaborate with staff, curators and librarians on appropriate handling and conservation of various Library materials.

  • Composer and musician Horace Tapscott at a piano
    announcements
    UCLA Library preserves the legacy of jazz pianist, composer Horace Tapscott
    Sally Marquez
    New projects, events highlight the lasting impact of his Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra
  • Preservation and Conservation staff and offices
    UCLA Library Preservation & Conservation Public Open House 05-03-23
    Powell Library

    The UCLA Library Preservation and Conservation Department, which provides expert care to all formats of library materials so they remain fully accessible to patrons, will be hosting its first ever public Open House! Please join us for a guided tour through their lab space to learn more about the department and what tools they use to care for collection materials.

    You are welcome to pick up some free swag or make your own booklet to take home!

    Please sign up in advance to secure a spot at your preferred time. A few spots will also be reserved for first-come, first-served walk-up guests.

Examples of Our Work

Vision & Values

Vision:

We champion a deep and abiding respect for and curiosity about our shared cultural heritage, and we hope to inspire that same curiosity in all who use the collections.

Values:

  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: We work together with other departments at the UCLA Library, and within our professional associations to further the task of dismantling structural racism in the field of cultural heritage preservation and conservation
  • Community Engagement: We focus on community archives, decolonization and demystifying our technical work.
  • Sustainability: We work within UCLA's sustainability goals, continually searching for ways to make our work easier on the earth and limit our contribution to global warming.
  • Collaboration: We believe all who donate to the library, work in the library and use the library have a part in the preservation and interpretation of the collections. We work to move our collaboration towards important library goals, including grants, collection outreach and relationships with community stakeholders. We partner with other UCLA, Los Angeles, and national and international cultural heritage preservation and conservation departments to share ideas, skills and support.
  • Expertise and Lifelong Learning: We uphold the goals of increased expertise for all preservation and conservation colleagues and understand our knowledge and research needs will change as the field evolves and as we move through different stages of our careers.
  • Teaching, Service and Mentoring: We share our expertise within UCLA, the city of Los Angeles, nationally and internationally. Our department strives to be a welcoming place of excellence for interns, postgraduates, visiting colleagues and pre-program colleagues.
  • Building Analytical and Technical Capacity: We understand that methods of analysis and equipment for better understanding and caring for library materials are always improving. We share equipment within UCLA as needed and work towards a regional approach to sharing analytical and technical capacities.