PRESERVATION EDUCATION FOR LIBRARY STAFF AND PATRONS IN NIGERIAN LIBRARIES

Abstract

''Since the past fifty decades or more, librarians have realized the fragility and the danger that the bulk of library materials would disintegrate, if not properly cared for" ( Straford: 1999).. It was predicted that without proper preservation exercises ninety percent of the books printed in the twentieth century would be decayed beyond use by the first few years of the twenty first century. Fortunately, today's librarians, curators, and bibliophiles have become more and more aware of the need for the proper handling and treatment of the varied objects in their care, in other words, preservation and conservation. Librarians and archivists have understood that the surest way to preserve books is to treat them as you would human beings, who are sure to sicken if confined in an atmosphere which is too impure, too hot, too cold, too damp, or too dry.