Favorite Collaborative Tools in Preservation:

Conducting a Condition Survey

Beyond Borders: San Diego 2012 Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archivists Scott David Reinke Preservation Administrator s.reinke@miami.edu

Condition Survey

Anyone Can Conduct a Survey

Follow these six steps for success

1. Planning 2. Designing the Survey Tool 3. Probability Sampling 4. Conducting the Survey 5. Analyzing the Data 6. Sharing the Results

Condition Survey

Planning

Every project should begin with a plan

1. What collection are you going to survey? • Define the collection parameters

2. What type of materials are in the collection? • Books, manuscripts, photographs, audio/visual, mixed

3. What do you want to learn about the collection? • Types of damage, date ranges, material types, usage

4. How will the survey be designed? • Paper-based, web-based, database, spreadsheet, analytics

5. Who will conduct the survey? • One person, a team, students, interns, staff

Condition Survey

Designing the Survey Tool

The survey tool design will depend on your resources

1. Create a survey tool or use one that is already purpose built, but remember it has to capture the information needed to describe the collection and answer the questions specific to the institution. • Condition Survey Tool for Archival Collections

• http://library.nyu.edu/preservation/archivespreservation.html

• Survey Tools for Audio/Video Collections • http://guides.lib.washington.edu/content.php?pid=57767&sid=4

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Condition Survey

Example of a Survey Tool

Circulating book collection; paper survey tool

Condition Survey

Example of a Survey Tool

Archival collection; database survey tool

Condition Survey

Probability Sampling

Allows for unbiased estimates of population totals

1. Without using probability sampling, the results cannot be extrapolated to the rest of the population

2. The purpose of sampling is to save time and money by selecting a subset that describes the population • Sampling methods

• Simple random sampling and stratified random sampling are used for populations with different compositions (homogenous vs. heterogeneous)

• Sample size calculator

• http://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm

• Confidence level and confidence interval (95% ± 5%)

Condition Survey

Conducting the Survey

This is the fun part, working with the collections 1. Locate the sample items

• The sampling method and collection type will dictate how the sample items are selected

• The sample could be selected from an OPAC system, a finding aid, or based on shelf, box, or folder locations

2. Fill out the survey tool for each item • If more than one person is conducting the survey, make sure

everyone is trained so the answers are consistent before the survey begins

• Training can consist of having each person survey the same 10 items and then compare the answers to make sure the results match; review and modify as needed

Condition Survey

Analyzing Your Data

Nothing to fear here, this is pretty basic analysis

1. Most of the data that is collected is nominal data, meaning a certain trait is present or absent

2. The data can be arranged in a spreadsheet like Excel, or a statistical program like SPSS for analysis

3. The results are often totals, ranges, medians, averages, or percentages

4. These results can be displayed in tables, charts, or graphs

5. The results should answer the questions proposed during the planning phase of the project

Condition Survey

Analyzing Your Data

An example of data collected from a survey tool

Condition Survey

Sharing the Results

Now that you have done all this work

1. After weeks or months of work, share what you learned about the collections in a meaningful and easy to understand format

2. Charts and graphs are a great way to illustrate quantities and trends found in the data

3. Since you used probability sampling, the data describes the entire collection

4. There is no longer a need to rely on intuition or guesswork; the results provide an accurate picture of the current condition of the collection

Condition Survey

Sharing the Results

Imprint dates from a sample of 385 books

Chart of the Sample Imprint Dates

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

1819

1890

1896

1903

1909

1914

1919

1925

1929

1934

1939

1946

1950

1955

1960

1964

1968

1972

1976

1980

1984

1988

1992

1996

2000

2004

Imprint Year

Num

ber o

f Vol

umes

Condition Survey

Sharing the Results

Percentages of damage found in a 385 book sample

3.64%

23.90%

12.47%

21.56%

1.56%

29.61%

3.12% 3.38%

12.99%

2.34%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

Dam

age

Leve

ls

HINGES SPINE LOOSESECTIONS

JOINTS SPLITTEXTBLOCK

UV WATER TORNPAGES

PEN HIGHLIGHT

Damage Types

Physical Damage Found in the Sample

Condition Survey

Sharing the Results

Based on the sample, damage levels in the collection

17615

115756

60395

104432

7549

143437

15099 16357

62911

11324

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

Num

ber o

f Boo

ks

HINGES SPINE LOOSESECTIONS

JOINTS SPLITTEXTBLOCK

UV WATER TORNPAGES

PEN HIGHLIGHT

Damage Types

Physical Damage Extrapolated to the Population

Now you have a guide so you can conduct your own condition survey…

Questions?