Book conservation and ethics

Mr. Campell raises an interesting question which I have long intended to
discuss in this forum.  For several years now, we at Columbia's
Preservation Division have stopped using Filmoplast (and other expensive
document repair tapes) for brittle and damaged materials to be
microfilmed.  Whereas the longstanding policy was to use these expensive
brands of tape to "repair" volumes before filming, these items are
typically in such poor condition that they are to be withdrawn after
filming.  We found it hard to justify using $20/box tape for volumes
that were not going to be retained.  Instead we use Highland 6200
Invisible Tape (a 3M product) for items selected for withdrawal; items
to be retained are routed to our Conservation Lab for repair before
filming.

Using Filmoplast on books destined for withdrawal certainly qualifies as
a "disproportionately elaborate and expensive treatment," and became a
policy which we at Columbia could not see worthy of perpetuating.

Lee Dirks
Project Coordinator
NEH Preservation Project
Columbia University Libraries

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 7:78
                 Distributed: Wednesday, April 27, 1994
                        Message Id: cdl-7-78-006
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