392G - Management of Preservation Programs Spring 2008

1. 392G - Management of Preservation ProgramsSpring 2008 Class 7 *Conservation of General and Special Collections *Mass Deacidification

2. Collections Conservation • A preservation management strategy for the physical treatment and protective housing of endangered research materials that allocates treatment resources for maximum benefit to the collection.

3. History • Collections Repair Manuals - early 1980s • Library Collections Conservators Discussion Group premiered at AIC, 1992 • ALA Show and Tell, early 1990s • Title “Collections Conservator” • Berkeley - 1985 • Connecticut - 1986 • UT Austin - 1992

4. Collections Conservation • Principles: • Resources are focused on materials with the highest preservation priority. • The useful life of materials in their original format is maximized. • The scale of the collections conservation program is linked to the scale of the problems in the collections. • The cost effectiveness of treatments is maximized by batching work; using permanent, durable materials; and employing sound methods. • Special collections materials are included as appropriate to the collections approach. • Other preservation options are considered when feasible, acceptable, and more cost-effective than conservation treatment.

5. Collections Conservator • A conservator who “manages a high-volume production-oriented operation, and develops strategies for conserving large collections of general research materials in their original format.” Association of Research Libraries, 1988

6. Goals of a Collections Conservation Program • To improve and stabilize the physical condition of library collections. This can involve a broad range of activities, their scope dependent upon the training, skills, and experience of the program manager; whether the program exists within the context of a comprehensive preservation effort; and the availability of resources.

7. Responsibilities of Collections Conservation • Establishment of a communications network with the library system, which enables collaborative development of policies, work flows, and mechanisms for decision making. • Development of specifications for a range of conservation treatments appropriate for general collections.

8. Responsibilities of Collections Conservation • Management of a conservation lab, including evaluation of materials to determine the types of treatment or protective housing they require; treatment and housing of materials; standards setting and quality control; staff training and supervision; work flow management; and selection and maintenance of supplies, tools, and equipment.

9. Responsibilities of Collections Conservation • Direct management of (or involvement in the management of) the library’s commercial binding program, preservation reformatting, and/or mass deacidification program, including the management of contracts for external services. • Preservation needs assessment, including designing and conducting surveys

10. Responsibilities of Collections Conservation • Environmental monitoring and participation in the development of environmental specifications for building renovation and construction projects. • Disaster preparedness and recovery, and response to mold and insect infestation.

11. Selection Priorities • Fundamental to the mission of a collections conservation program is treatment of materials that are in demand, combined with the overall condition of the collections. “[Consideration of both] condition and use is the best strategy for selection…[It] assumes that funds and facilities are likely to remain in too-short supply for the foreseeable future to undertake preservation with any goal other than solving today’s problems first; …achieve[s] the lowest rate of expenditure…and…channel[s] funding to areas of immediate need.” Barclay Ogden, U. of CA Berkeley

12. Selection Priorities • The sooner materials are identified for treatment, the more easily and quickly they can be repaired. Problems are addressed as promptly as possible. Selection decision-making incorporates items currently damaged and at greatest risk.

13. Workflow Variables • The appropriateness and availability of other preservation options (library binding, reformatting) for treating damaged materials • The rate of flow through the lab based on availability of staff, their technical proficiency, and library’s rate of demand for work • The appropriateness of the technical solutions for the materials being treated.

14. Treatment Options • Preparation for Use • Pamphlet Binding • Tip-ins • Pockets • Paperback Reinforcement • Hinge Tightening • Bolt Cutting • Paper Repair • Protective Enclosures (envelopes, boxes, wrappers, portfolios)

15. Treatment Options • Preparation for Commercial Library Binding • Book Repair • Hinge Tightening • Tip-ins • Paper Repair • Structural Repair for Standard-size Case-bound Books and Paperbacks • Structural Repair for Other Types of Bindings (e.g. book sewn on cords; oversize volumes requiring split-board construction; books with older, fragile, machine-stamped bindings; leather bindings)

16. Treatment Options • Construction of Protective Enclosures • Pamphlet Binding • Paper Treatment • Treatment of Special Collections

17. Special Collections Conservation • Defining “Special Collection” • Collections of materials that must be maintained in their original form (even if a surrogate is provided for access). • Bibliographic interest • Significant editions • Works of exceptional aesthetic value • Notable associational worth or provenance • Exemplars of binding, printing or illustration history • Photographs • Films and videos • Manuscripts • Sound recordings • Computer files

18. Special Collections Conservation • Difference between Special and General Collections Conservation: • “One-of-a-kind” treatment • Documentation • Minimal intervention and aesthetic reintegration • Rigorous respect for the integrity of the object and an appreciation of its role as an object of material culture.

19. Treatment Documentation • Treatment Specification (conservator and curator, bibliographer, archivist, etc.) • Treatment Proposal (curator contributes information about use, value, where it is stored, whether all parts must be retained, etc.) • Description of original material and fabrication (sometimes accomplished via tests for media solubility, etc.) • Potential courses of action, benefits, risks, limitations and treatment time

20. Treatment Documentation • Treatment Report • Purposes: • Helpful to the conservator during reconstruction portion of treatment • Serves future scholars and conservators wanting information about the original structure and what was done • Can function as a learning tool for both conservators and curators • Details the processes carried out during the course of treatment, the materials used in treatment, and a description of parts removed • Provides photographic documentation.

21. Treatment Options • Paper and Books • Removing damaging mounts • Removing tape and adhesives • Removing stains • Cleaning • Deacidification (alkalinization) • Consolidation • Mending • Resewing or sewing stabilization • Spine repair • Housings

22. Conservation Labs • http://www.lib.ku.edu/preservation/StannardLab/PicStanLab.shtml • http://www.lib.uconn.edu/print/services/preservation/facilities.html • http://libraries.mit.edu/preservation/index.html • http://www.flickr.com/photos/conservationlabs/ • New York Public Library Preservation Database online artifactual treatment documentation management system http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:bVVrTSA-fl4J:palimpsest.stanford.edu/iada/ta99_047.pdf+conservation+treatment+specification&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a

23. Holdings Maintenance Defined • A range of basic preservation procedures designed to prolong the life of archival records by providing a stable storage environment.

24. Holdings Maintenance Defined • Includes actions designed to prolong the useful life of records and to reduce or defer the need for laboratory treatment by improving the physical storage environment, including: • Replacing acidic storage materials • Improving shelving practices • Removing damaging fasteners • Reproducing unstable materials • Dusting boxes and shelves.

25. Holding Maintenance • Focus on: • Storage containers • Oversize records • Folded and rolled documents • Written notations on archival records • Dusting • Damaged records • Fastened documents • Bound volumes, including scrapbooks and albums • Preservation photocopying • Unstable copies

26. Mass Deacidification • NYPL Study • Test 1: 1,000 volumes of Slavic monographs selected at point of shelf preparation. • Criteria • pH acidic • Time to shelf • 3-week turnaround if no binding needed • 5-week turnaround if needing binding first • Approximately 6 weeks • Costs • $16.20 total (excluding binding) • Costs mainly for deacidification and shipping • $1.05 for initial review and selection, packing and shipping, inspection of volumes upon return, 583 entry

27. Mass Deacidification • NYPL Study • Test 2: 1,000 volumes of Cuban monographs selected from shelf. • Criteria • Post 1950 publication • Importance to collection • pH acidic • Time to shelf • 3-week turnaround if no binding needed • Approximately 4 weeks • Costs • $16.75 total • Costs mainly for deacidification and shipping • $1.65 for initial review and selection, packing and shipping, inspection of volumes upon return, 583 entry

28. Mass Deacidification • New York Cooperative State Grant • NYPL, University of Rochester, Columbia University • Humanities and Social Sciences, 1950-71 • 1,700 volumes each year in each institution = 5,100 volumes total • All but NYPL went to the shelf for selection • Preferred smooth, efficient workflow • Pulling, packing, shipping and receiving was placed in an area that was already familiar with this workflow. • At Columbia and NYPL, this was the shelf prep unit that prepares items to go to the library binder.

29. Workflow Commonalities - Keeping Costs Down • Pulling, packing, shipping and receiving is placed in a processing area already familiar with this workflow (shelf prep, contract microfilming). • 583 entry is, for the most part, done in the unit prepping, shipping and receiving the volumes (not cataloging)