Preservation awareness workshop

Library of Congress Second Preservation Awareness Workshop for the public
April 15
11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

If you're like most people, you probably have old family
photographs, important papers, special books in your home that are
fading, yellowing and growing ever more fragile--but you don't know
what to do to conserve them.  The Library of Congress Preservation
Directorate is holding its second annual workshop to help you learn
more about handling, cleaning and storing these valuable materials.

The first preservation awareness workshop, held in 1996, proved so
successful, with more than 600 people in attendance, that the
Library decided to make the workshop an annual event.  Once again,
the general public will have an opportunity to view demonstrations
and gather information from conservators and other specialists at
the Library of Congress.

The daylong free event will take place in the Mumford Room, sixth
floor of the Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S. E.
Co-sponsored by the Library's Center for the Book and the
Preservation Directorate, the workshop is part of the celebration of
National Library Week.

Throughout the day, visitors will be able to see live demonstrations
of gold tooling, paper mending, book sewing, materials testing, and
matting and hinging of works of art on paper.  Table displays,
manned by Library staff, will provide answers to your questions and
printed information on the handling, cleaning and storage of books,
papers and documents, fine prints, photographs, CDs, sound
recordings and motion picture film.

Last year, for example, the participants learned that storing family
documents and photographs at the proper humidity and temperature is
critical and that anything of value should never be stored in an
attic or a basement. Many attendees also learned that photographs
should never be housed in magnetic albums.

In addition to the Library's professional conservation and
curatorial staff, representatives of nonprofit professional
associations in the preservation field as well as companies that
manufacture and distribute conservation products will be on hand to
answer questions and offer other information on preservation
products and issues.

The emphasis of the workshop will be on the preservation and storage
of books, paper, newspaper, magnetic media and film; there will be
no provision for evaluation services.  Persons who have old books or
rare prints whose worth they would like to have assessed should
consult with a reputable rare book or print dealer.

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world.  It
contains 111 million items that include more than 17 million books,
4 million maps, 13.5 million visual materials, 2 million sound
recordings and 47 million manuscripts.  The mission of the Library's
Preservation Directorate is to preserve these collections for future
generations.  Founded in 1972, the preservation program has trained
innumerable distinguished scientists, conservators and other experts
in the preservation field; the program is also open to interns from
all over the world, who learn while working with the Library's
professional staff.  Many of the methods developed at the Library
have become standard procedures in libraries and archives worldwide.

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress was established
in 1977 to stimulate public interest in books, reading and libraries
and to encourage the study of the book as an artifact, art form and
means of communication.  Its projects are supported by contributions
from individuals, corporations and foundations.

Amparo R. de Torres
Special Projects Officer
Preservation Directorate, LM G 21
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave., SE
Washington, D. C. 20540-4500, USA
202-707-1026
Fax: 202-707-3434

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 10:76
                Distributed: Thursday, February 27, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-10-76-006
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