§ Lord Harrisonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 28 October (WA 150), what is their estimate of the shortfall in trained book conservators; and what steps they are taking to address this shortfall in view of the amount of material requiring conservation. [HL392]
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyThere is no estimate of the actual shortfall in trained book conservators for the requirements of UK national and regional libraries, museums and archives. However, DCMS is supporting the development of two sector skills councils (for lifelong learning and creative and cultural 95WA industries), which will be responsible for mapping the skills of the UK workforce, and identifying any gaps such as book conservation.
The British Library needs to recruit a minimum of four new book conservators each year to maintain existing levels, and estimates that only three graduates from this field each year go on to work in UK public sector conservation centres. To address this shortfall the British Library plans to offer its own conservation courses from 2006.