Places can now be booked on five courses held at the British Library in 2015 covering topics in preservation and collection care for libraries. The programme will be delivered by the British Library in collaboration with West Dean College and are based on those developed by the National Preservation Office and the Preservation Advisory Centre. The courses will focus on Continued Professional Development for professionals, as well as being relevant for students of conservation or similar qualifications. Details on the courses outlined below can be found on the West Dean website.

 The larvae of furniture beetles, Anobium punctatum, attack wooden book boards, shelving, frames and compressed paper. Copyright DBP Entomology

Preserving historic photographs, 4 March 2015, led by Susie Clark at the British Library, £128

Damaged books: first practical steps, 6 March 2015, led by Caroline Bendix at the British Library, £128

Understanding and caring for bookbindings, 23 April 2015 at the British Library, £116

Environment: Effective monitoring and management, 24 April 2015, led by Jane Henderson at the British Library, £116

Disaster response and salvage, 28 April 2015, led by Emma Dadson at the British Library, £128

For more information including course descriptions see the West Dean information page. You can download a booking form here. Completed forms should be returned to [email protected]

The Preservation Advisory Centre (PAC), which had been running similar courses at the British Library, closed on 31 March 2014. The Preservation Advisory Centre supported the preservation of library and archive collections of all types through the provision of preservation management tools, training and information services. All publications and resources have been transferred to the British Library Collection Care webpages, while the PAC website can be found on the UK Web Archive. Preservation booklets covering a range of topics can be downloaded for free here. 

Christina Duffy