The Caillet Report

This article presents the Caillet Report into the objectives and resources of the plan to safeguard collections at the French National Library, completed in 1979. It looks back at the context in which the report was written, particularly the long-overdue recognition by libraries of the heritage aspect of their collections, as well as its content, highlighting the threat to collections and recommending a two-pronged plan of reproduction and restoration as part of a wider policy of making rare or fragile documents available in alternative media. The article also discusses the report’s impact on library practices, particularly the many initiatives launched as a result.
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