The California Preservation Program was developed to address the preservation needs of significant library, archival, historical and public records materials in California, in order to make these materials available on an ongoing basis to the public. The plan is inclusive: it aims to meet the preservation needs of the wide variety of agencies in California that collect and make information of all kinds publicly available for resource sharing, including libraries, archives, historical societies, records centers and other agencies.—public and private, large and small. It seeks to minimize preservation Costs for, and maximize public access to, the important informational resources of California regardless of the type of institution housing them. Ignoring or neglecting preservation will mean a loss of the state's cultural heritage.
This breadth of scope is based on the true interdependence of information providers. Even institutions with the largest collections cannot collect exhaustively; each relies on other institutions to provide effective public service. This interdependence makes the preservation of all important materials in California, in whatever location, a common goal. Without programs to support preservation, the people of California risk losing access to collections that have been built on their behalf with public funds for over 150 years.
Barbara Will