The Nutrition Research Information Network (NUTRINET) recently conducted its first-ever online seminar on Conservation and Preservation of Information Resource Materials. It was conducted on August 19, 2020 via Zoom.

The main objective of this seminar was to improve the technical skills of librarians and information officers on preservation and conservation of information resource materials.

Dr. Imelda Angeles-Agdeppa, NUTRINET Acting Governing Board Chair, Chief Science Research Specialist and Officer-in-Charge, Office of the  Director, DOST-FNRI, welcomed the participants. In her message, she stressed that even if we resort to online search of information, it is still vital to preserve and conserve our information resource materials.

The resource person of the online seminar was Mr. Richard Hael-Baula, History Researcher II /Conservator I of National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).

Topics presented in the online seminar included:  (1) What is Conservation?, (2) Restoration and Preventive Conservation, (3) Deterioration Factors, (4) Agents of Deterioration, (5) Preventive Conservation, (6) Housekeeping, (7) Environment Monitoring, and (8) Treatment Conservation.

Hon. Yolanda C. Granda, Chairperson, Professional Regulation Commission, Board for Librarians shared her Words of Wisdom. In her message, she highlighted that preservation is necessary to improve access to information. She added that preservation without access is useless.  She ended her message by encouraging librarians, archivist and other heritage or information professionals to continuously hone their knowledge and skills on preservation of information resources.

Dr. Ma. Lindie D. Masalinto, NUTRINET Capability Building Chair and Chief Librarian of University of Perpetual Health-Dr. Jose G. Tamayo Medical University, gave the closing remarks. In her message, she hoped that each attendee has learned something new that they could apply in their respective institutions as their takeaways. She ended her message by sharing the quote of the Dalai Lama, “it is our collective and individual responsibility to preserve and tend to the world in which we all live”.