Overview

• LLMC (Law Library Microform Consortium)– Chartered in 1976 as nonprofit 501 (c ) 3– Self-governing (Board and Advisory Council elected by member libraries)– 500+ universities, county libraries, law firms, et.al.

– Including CRL Member Partnership

• Mission: “Preserving legal and governance-related materials and making this valuable content accessible and searchable”– 1976-2002 converted 105,000 volumes into microform– 2002 launched LLMC-Digital digitizing over 105,000 volumes

• Multiple-format Preservation– Original paper blocks of scanned books – archivally wrapped and preserved

in ideal dark-archive– Silver Halide Masters– Digital Images

Archive Details• LLMC’s Dark Side – Salt Mines in Kansas

– Contracted with Underground Vaults & Storage• Wrapped in a 400 ft thick rock salt cocoon, located 650 ft below earth’s surface,

accessible only by vertical freight elevator• “Fort Knox” security measures like biometric scans, video cameras, redundant

authorizations, steel vault doors, blind passwords, anonymous storage, restricted personnel access, infrared monitors…

– Guaranteed access to 10,000 cubic feet of storage• Equivalent of 200,000+ volumes

– Expenses• Fixed costs $20,000/year• Variable costs

– Ingest expense– Retrieval expense

• Business Model – Integral to LLMC Mission– Part of our general operations budget (primarily subscription revenue)

• Operation and Quality Controls– Shipment boxes standardized

• 10x11.15 inch double walled box• Currently, 2327 boxes at salt mines

– Location Control Reports

Anecdote• Alabama Supreme Court Reports

– General Rule: LLMC will only send “Satisfactory” volumes to the salt mines.

• Definition - no missing pages and the volume condition indicates it could be scanned again.

– Exception: in rare cases, this cannot be achieved. • Case in point - in the early years of the Alabama Supreme Court Reports,

– paper was very thin and high in acid content; pages very brittle and in many cases, either missing or in pieces.

– not just a case of a “bad batch of books”; requested fill-in volumes from over 6 different libraries and their books were all in the same condition.

– Solution: in order to preserve the information, LLMC –• used pages from the different libraries books (from same editions) to fill in

missing pages • taped (using Archival Tape – will not discolor or damage the paper) to repair as

much of the book as possible• obtained as clean of a scan as possible in order to provide customers with the

digital content. • then, since we probably will not be able to receive a “Satisfactory” level of book.

Sent archivally wrapped paper blocks to the salt mines.

Pictures

Step-and-repeat Scanning Quality Control by Page

Archival Wrap Ship to Salt Mines Ready for Salt Mines