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Abstract
Over the last 20 years in Germany, mass deacidification technologies have introduced a new industrial type of treatment to archives and libraries. At the same time, individual conservation techniques have improved to a very high level. More and more often, preservation services are offered by private companies as an alternative to the workshops in public institutions. Archivists and librarians have got a much wider choice for spending their conservation budgets, presenting a challenge for preservation managers who have the task of coordinating very different activities. Hitherto, there has been no serious quantification system for conservation services. This paper illustrates the problems of archivists and librarians who are responsible for the preservation budget. Which treatment is suitable? Which offer is the right one? How is it possible to justify a large expenditure on a single object, when 100 others could be treated for the same price? The consequences for the job profile of young professional conservators are briefly discussed.