Preservation and Conservation of Print Materials in Selected Colleges of Education Libraries in Nigeria

Libraries are to preserve and conserve print materials for others to have access in the near future. The objective of the study is to investigate the techniques used in preserving and conserving print materials, the preservation and conservation policy, deteriorating agents, level of degradation of print materials, the barriers and control methods. The descriptive method was used, 70 copies of questionnaire were administered but 50 copies were responded to using frequency counts and simple percentages. Finding revealed that adequate security, cleaning and dusting were the techniques used in preserving and conserving print materials. There is a policy statement concerning preservation and conservation, but the policy does not address disaster management. Wear and tear due to over use and photocopying are the visible agents of deterioration. While poor quality paper, theft and mutilation amount for the extent of degradation. It was recommended that a policy statement should be enforced; funding improved and builds manpower development in the college libraries in Nigeria