The Preserving America’s Print Resources (PAPR) initiative stems from a widely expressed need within the U.S. library community to establish a viable national strategy for ensuring the long-term survival of important paper-based library materials. The urgent need for a comprehensive plan was identified as a community-wide priority in The Evidence in Hand report, issued by the Council on Library and Information Resources, and in similar appeals by the Library of Congress and Association of Research Libraries.

Strategic Planning Conference

With financial and logistical support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) the Center for Research Libraries organized the Preserving America’s Print Resources: The Role of Depositories, Repositories and Libraries of Record conference, held in Chicago, July 21-22, 2003. The conference attracted hundreds of concerned professionals from a cross-section of the library industry to address the urgent issues associated with preserving the nation’s print materials. 

The report on the conference is published in the Fall 2004 issue of the CRL newsletter Focus on Global Resources.