Security strips

The following appeared in ExLibris and is reposted here without the
knowledge or consent of the author

  Date: 6 Apr 92
  Sender: Rare Books and Special Collections Forum
    <EXLIBRIS [at] RUTVM1__bitnet>
  From: sarah_richards.ccmail [at] lhc__nlm__nih__gov
  Subject:      Stripping rare books

  Regarding security labels and stripping rare books:

  Adhesives have improved greatly in the last ten years.  Chemists tell
  me that acrylic adhesives do not migrate or seep.  They are fairly
  inert and will not harm the item to which it's attached.
  Unfortunately, some security systems do not use acrylic adhesive.
  Knogo's current security strips do use acrylic adhesive and a
  polyethylene film base (also inert).  Knogo sent me several documents
  about the Library of Congress' decision to choose Knogo to target
  (security strip) their collections.

  The following requirements are from the Library of Congress' Request
  for Proposal for their new security system:

       "Upon aging at 90 degrees C and 50% rH for thirty (30) days, the
       target device must not adversely affect the appearance or
       strength of book materials in contact with it." (Page C - 6,
       C.6.4.)

       "The adhesive and target shall be rated for an effectiveness
       period of at least 200 years." (Page C - 6, C.6.5.)

  A Decision from the Comptroller General of the United States dated
  February 3, 1992, states that LC received four proposals and that
  testing of their adhesives was done.  One company was eliminated from
  the competition because their adhesive was not adequate. (Page 2)

  It appears that the LC has tested the security systems and does not
  feel that the current Knogo targets will harm their collection.  It
  remains to be seen, however, whether targets will be applied to the
  rare books. It is our understanding that there are no plans to target
  the rare book collection at the present.

  Although spine targeting might be harmful to tightly bound items,
  gutter targeting with tiny (4" by 3/8") almost invisible strips which
  are inert might be something to think about for items which are not
  brittle and which are not closely monitored by staff during patron
  use.

  NLM has been looking at security systems for the past two years in an
  effort to determine what's available and applicable for its
  collections. I am interested to know if anyone is targeting historical
  items with security strips now, especially, if someone is using the
  newer systems with the new acrylic adhesives.  Please contact me if
  you have any information.

  Sarah Richards, History of Medicine Division, National Library of
  Medicine , toll free: 1-800-272-4787 (1-3-2-4).

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 5:49
                 Distributed: Wednesday, April 15, 1992
                        Message Id: cdl-5-49-009
                                  ***