  The Plate Archive of the Cordoba Observatory includes 20.000 photographs and
spectra on glass plates dating from 1893 to 1983. This contribution describes
the work performed since the plate archive was transferred to the Observatory
Library in 2011. In 2014 an interdisciplinary team was assembled and a research
grant from the National University of Cordoba was obtained with the objectives
of preserving the glass plates and generate public access for astronomers and
other audiences. The preservation work not only includes practical intervention
to improve conservation conditions for the whole archive, but also a diagnose
of the preservation conditions for the plates and identification of best
practices for cleaning the plates. The access envisioned through digitization
requires not only the scanning of all the plates, but also careful definition
and provision of metadata. In this regard, each institutional level involved
-in this case: archive, library, astronomical observatory and public university
- demands and provides different bibliographic practices, involving multiple
standards of description and coding.
