Help needed to prepare session on book repair techniques

Call for volunteers and donations for a demonstration of three basic
book repair techniques at the next ALA midwinter and/or the next ALA
Annual meeting.

A little history.

At ALA midwinter in 1996 in San Antonio, the idea of demonstrating
basic book repair techniques at ALA was kicked around at I believe
the Small to Medium Libraries Preservation Discussion Group.  The
idea was to find some forum where staff (not necessarily
preservation or conservation folks) of small to medium sized
libraries, both academic and public, could come and learn some very
basic, no-fault book repair techniques.  The subject was brought up
again at the PARS All Committee Meeting in New York City in July
1996.  Finally at ALA Midwinter a plan was developed by Barbara
Burger of Cornell and Pete Merrill-Oldham of Acme Bookbinding to try
and provide a demonstration of three basic book repair techniques at
a poster session in San Francisco at the 1997 Annual Meeting.

If approved, the poster session would consist of a bulletin board
with enlarged photographs of Carol Dye, Collections Conservator at
the University of Connecticut, demonstrating tipping in pages and
two types of joint repair.  A handout including these photographs
along with text would be given out.  On site demonstrations and
hands-on repairs by visiting librarians would be performed and
overseen by several collections conservators who graciously
volunteered their time.

The poster session for "Basic Book Repair"  at ALA in SF was
rejected by the reviewers. They stated that "the poster session was
found unacceptable". The reviewers questioned "whether anything
innovative would be shown to attendees and that the intention of a
poster session is not to be a hands-on demonstration".

Undaunted by the short sighted Poster Police, the rejection of the
poster session was reported to the Education Committee for PARS at
ALA Annual in San Francisco this June.  Everyone feeling that it was
still a good idea to get some basic book repair knowledge into the
minds and hands of North America's librarians, it was decided to go
for bigger game and try to present the demonstration at a rented
both in the exhibit hall at either or both the next Midwinter or
Annual ALA meetings.  If the demonstration proved successful, there
would be an effort to have these demonstrations at future ALA
meetings.

Here is what is needed:

    1.  Volunteers to demonstrate the three techniques.    Depending
        on the number of volunteers and the time they are available,
        demonstrations will take place at specified times with the
        times posted at the booth.

    2.  Books for the demonstrations.  Library discards that either
        require joint tightening, or books that we can distress into
        the desired condition.

    3.  Equipment and supplies.  While we will try to show how these
        repairs can be done on the cheap, using low cost materials
        like knitting needles, PVA adhesive, boards, and covered
        brick weights, it might also be useful to have on loan a
        small press or two and metal edged boards.

    4.  Money!  A 10x10 booth costs $1,325.  A corner booth which
        would allow more participants and better viewing, costs an
        additional $150 per open corner.  We don't have the prices
        for furniture yet, but probably an additional $300 would pay
        for several tables and a rug.  For the photographic display,
        hanging foam core panels from the back of the display would
        probably be the cheapest and most effective way of using the
        space. This material could be purchased from the exhibit
        coordinators.  Printing costs for 1,000 to 2,000 eight page
        b&w handouts with 24 half tones would cost around $2,500.
        Supplies and shipping costs would finish off the
        requirements.  In total probably something around $4,500 to
        $5,000.

A list of all donators would be printed on the handout, and also
listed in large bold type on the display.

All those persons, libraries, and companies willing to participate can
contact

    Pete Merrill-Oldham
    Acme Bookbinding
    P.O. Box 699
    Charlestown, MA 02129-0004
    pete<-a t->acmebook< . >com
    617 242-1100
    Fax: 617-242-3764

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:19
                  Distributed: Monday, August 25, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-11-19-006
                                  ***