4. Plan of Work--Bibliographic Analysis


developed and implemented at Cornell University, in cooperation with the New York State Library, to
preserve New York State's agriculture and rural life literature and applied in a successful phase 1 project
(See Appendix C for an article describing this methodology and a report of the phase 1 project.)

This methodology has been tested and refined in Phase 1. At the second Phase 1 Project Managers
Meeting (to take place in San Francisco in June 1997) we will formally take stock of what thas been
learned through the experience of eight states (New York had already compiled it's bibliography) in
compiling their bibliographies and having them reviewed by scholars. Based on discussions with Phase 1
participants, their quarterly reports, and a meeting held at the USAIN Conference in Tuscon, AZ in April
1997, we know that the methodlogy has been successfully adapted to the needs of all eight states in Phase
1. We now have a growing body of librarians experienced in this methodology of selection for
preservation. Based on the conclusions of the formal discussions at the Phase 1 Project Managers
meeting and the final results of Phase 1, the bibliographic methodology and its variations in application
in the states will be written up in detail in an article for publication.

The plan of work is organized so that libraries first conduct a systematic bibliographic analysis and
evaluation of the materials with priorities for preservation determined by a team of scholars and
librarians. This stage of the project includes the following steps:

 *Defining the scope of the literature

 *Compiling a bibliography of the universe of publications within scope

 *Conducting scholarly evaluation of the bibliography (ranking of citations)

 *Setting preservation priorities for the body of literature

Each state then plans to preserve the top ranked 25% of titles identified through this process. At the
conclusion of the project, ranked lists of titles that were not preserved in the project (i.e. the balance of
the universe of publishing on the subject) are included in a USAIN-maintained database accessible via the
Internet. Also included are lists of titles preserved prior to or parallel with the project by commercial
filmers or libraries. These lists will provide guidance on preservation priorities for future efforts to
preserve a greater share of the universe of the relevant publishing in any of the states.

This approach focuses limited preservation funds on the most important materials first, provides a method
of measuring overall progress in preserving the published record of a discipline, and leaves for posterity a
record of what has been preserved and what hasn't.

Two project meetings will be held to provide training and direction in bibliographic analysis, scholarly
evaluation, and quality assurance, and to develop consensus about the utility and methodology of the
discipline-based approach to preservation and access projects.

4.3.1 Defining the Scope of the Literature

For the purpose of developing an estimate of the materials to be preserved, each state estimated the
universe of publications that constitute the published historical record of agriculture and its fundamental
relationship to the state's landscape, natural resources, rural society, and economy between 1820-1945.
Earlier imprints were excluded from consideration as nearly all are included in the Evans and the Shaw
and Shoemaker bibliographies and because as part of the NPPAL, the National Agriculture Library has
assumed preservation responsibility for early imprints. Later imprints were considered out-of-scope,
reflecting the fact that agriculture became agribusiness after World War II. Land grant and experiment