Accumulation of wear and tear in archival and library collections. Part I: exploring the concepts of reliability and epidemiology
Abstract Wear and tear is the outcome of degradation most frequently reported in assessments of archival and library collections. It is also problematic to study in controlled experiments, due to the difficulty in reproducing the conditions in which original objects are kept and used in archives and...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2019-03-01
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| Series: | Heritage Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40494-019-0252-3 |
| _version_ | 1798045953447428096 |
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| author | Cristina Duran-Casablancas Josep Grau-Bové Matija Strlič |
| author_facet | Cristina Duran-Casablancas Josep Grau-Bové Matija Strlič |
| author_sort | Cristina Duran-Casablancas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Wear and tear is the outcome of degradation most frequently reported in assessments of archival and library collections. It is also problematic to study in controlled experiments, due to the difficulty in reproducing the conditions in which original objects are kept and used in archives and libraries. Hence, data collected from actual collections, for instance during surveys, could provide the evidence on how wear and tear occurs. However, to be useful, such data need to be purposely collected and analysed: unlike the usual collection surveys, the aim is not to quantify the prevalence of a certain damage type but to provide evidence on how such damage occurs. In this paper we explore whether two approaches used in other disciplines could be useful: reliability engineering, the method that deals with failure in complex systems, and epidemiology, which explores diseases in defined populations. We show that based on reliability engineering we can decide which data related to the causes of mechanical failure should be collected during collection surveys, while using epidemiology we can develop the study design and the data analysis needed to study the relationship between mechanical failure, and the factors that might affect the degree of failure. The results of epidemiological studies in heritage collections could provide quantitative evidence of patterns of decay in collections, and corroborate the qualitative analysis provided by reliability. The results can directly support collection management decisions or can be used in mathematical models in which the effect of preservation measures is explored. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T23:29:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0db0a572804143b08446c0edd2d954da |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-7445 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T23:29:40Z |
| publishDate | 2019-03-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heritage Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-0db0a572804143b08446c0edd2d954da2022-12-22T03:57:11ZengSpringerOpenHeritage Science2050-74452019-03-017111010.1186/s40494-019-0252-3Accumulation of wear and tear in archival and library collections. Part I: exploring the concepts of reliability and epidemiologyCristina Duran-Casablancas0Josep Grau-Bové1Matija Strlič2Institute for Sustainable Heritage, University College LondonInstitute for Sustainable Heritage, University College LondonInstitute for Sustainable Heritage, University College LondonAbstract Wear and tear is the outcome of degradation most frequently reported in assessments of archival and library collections. It is also problematic to study in controlled experiments, due to the difficulty in reproducing the conditions in which original objects are kept and used in archives and libraries. Hence, data collected from actual collections, for instance during surveys, could provide the evidence on how wear and tear occurs. However, to be useful, such data need to be purposely collected and analysed: unlike the usual collection surveys, the aim is not to quantify the prevalence of a certain damage type but to provide evidence on how such damage occurs. In this paper we explore whether two approaches used in other disciplines could be useful: reliability engineering, the method that deals with failure in complex systems, and epidemiology, which explores diseases in defined populations. We show that based on reliability engineering we can decide which data related to the causes of mechanical failure should be collected during collection surveys, while using epidemiology we can develop the study design and the data analysis needed to study the relationship between mechanical failure, and the factors that might affect the degree of failure. The results of epidemiological studies in heritage collections could provide quantitative evidence of patterns of decay in collections, and corroborate the qualitative analysis provided by reliability. The results can directly support collection management decisions or can be used in mathematical models in which the effect of preservation measures is explored.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40494-019-0252-3Wear and tearMechanical degradationArchival and library collectionsSurveyReliabilityEpidemiology |
| spellingShingle | Cristina Duran-Casablancas Josep Grau-Bové Matija Strlič Accumulation of wear and tear in archival and library collections. Part I: exploring the concepts of reliability and epidemiology Heritage Science Wear and tear Mechanical degradation Archival and library collections Survey Reliability Epidemiology |
| title | Accumulation of wear and tear in archival and library collections. Part I: exploring the concepts of reliability and epidemiology |
| title_full | Accumulation of wear and tear in archival and library collections. Part I: exploring the concepts of reliability and epidemiology |
| title_fullStr | Accumulation of wear and tear in archival and library collections. Part I: exploring the concepts of reliability and epidemiology |
| title_full_unstemmed | Accumulation of wear and tear in archival and library collections. Part I: exploring the concepts of reliability and epidemiology |
| title_short | Accumulation of wear and tear in archival and library collections. Part I: exploring the concepts of reliability and epidemiology |
| title_sort | accumulation of wear and tear in archival and library collections part i exploring the concepts of reliability and epidemiology |
| topic | Wear and tear Mechanical degradation Archival and library collections Survey Reliability Epidemiology |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40494-019-0252-3 |
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