Workshop on values and decision-making for special collections conservation

The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic
Works <URL:http://aic.stanford.edu>, in partnership with The Wilson
Library Collections, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
presents a "Master Studies" Workshop:

    Values and Decision-making in Special Collections Conservation
    Thursday, July 29 - Sunday, August 1, 2004
    9am-5pm Thurs.-Sat.
    9am-3pm Sunday
    Instructor: Jan Paris
    Guest Lecturer: Daniel Traister

This course is designed for mid-career conservators working with
special collections materials in research institutions-libraries,
archives, historical societies.

Course Fee: $300 AIC members; $350 non-members
Enrollment Limit: 11
Registration Deadline: June 15, 2004 (if space remains).
Participants are responsible for all meals, housing, and
transportation. Participants will be selected based on the following
criteria: order of receipt of registration, professional training
and experience, diversity of institutions, level of responsibility
for special collections.

Description: As cultural production accelerates at the outset of the
21st century, the disproportion between conservation needs and
resources in the special collections of most research libraries and
archives is increasing apace. Collections are growing, decisions are
being made, and the historical record is being shaped. Yet the
values that influence our choices remain largely unexamined. Current
cultural and theoretical debates, changing technologies, and fiscal
realities in the world beyond conservation suggest that a broader
understanding of the conservator's role needs to be clearly
articulated and integrated into the practice of conservation.
Drawing on research and publications on values and decision-making
in related disciplines and other conservation specialties, this
3-1/2 day course will provide a forum to explore these issues and
their application to conservation of special collections.

Decision-making is sometimes seen as merely a step on the way to
somewhere else. The aim of this course is to slow the process down
and examine the conservation decision as a nexus of theory and
practice. Through pre-course readings, slide lectures, case studies,
hands-on exercises with books and manuscripts from the UNC special
collections, and group discussion, participants will develop:

    *   the ability to identify value judgments implicit in the
        process of conservation, with a focus on the context of
        special collections in research institutions;

    *   a greater familiarity with the ways that contemporary
        scholars use primary sources in special collections and
        implications for conservation decisions in our day-to-day
        work;

    *    a more conscious decision-making process and the ability to
        articulate not only how to treat, but why particular choices
        are made;

    *    communication skills and negotiating strategies to
        facilitate better

    *   collaboration with curators and scholars, with an emphasis
        on relating these skills to our own workplaces.

Participants will be encouraged to share experiences-positive and
negative. The group dynamic provides an opportunity to learn from
one another and to gain skill articulating the stages of the
decision-making process, a requisite for any collaborative practice.
To ground us in the cultural context in which we work, we will have
several opportunities to meet with curators and scholars in various
fields. Special collections curator, Daniel Traister, will lead a
session on contemporary scholarship and the use of primary sources.
A pre-course reading list will be sent to workshop participants.

Instructors:

    Jan Paris is Conservator for Special Collections at the
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she's worked
    since 1988. A fellow of AIC since 1998, Jan received a MS in
    Library Service with an Advanced Certificate in Library and
    Archives Conservation from Columbia University. She has held
    internships at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Bibliotheque
    Nationale in Paris, Trinity College Library in Dublin, and the
    Library of Congress. In addition to supervising conservation
    program interns, she has taught Preservation in the School of
    Information and Library Science at UNC and is a regular guest
    lecturer in a range of classes from art history to classics.

    Daniel Traister is Curator of Research Services, Annenberg Rare
    Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania. He has
    written extensively on the history of books and printing and on
    topics in English and American literature. Since 1983, he has
    taught annually at the Rare Book School at the University of
    Virginia. His courses have included a range of special
    collections topics, among them history of books and printing and
    rare book librarianship.

Housing and Transportation: Raleigh-Durham International Airport is
served by many major airlines, with nonstop service from dozens of
cities. Housing in newly renovated, air-conditioned residence halls
is available for $45 per night (advance reservation needed). Hotels
in a variety of price ranges are also available. Public
transportation within Chapel Hill is free. A wide selection of
restaurants is available within easy walking distance of the campus.
Specific housing recommendations and travel directions will be sent
to all participants.

This program is funded by the FAIC Endowment for Professional
Development, which is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
and by contributions from members of the American Institute for
Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.

For more information and registration forms, contact:

    Eric Pourchot
    Program Officer for Professional Development
    American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic
        Works
    1717 K Street NW
    Suite 200
    Washington, DC   20006
    202-452-9545, ext. 12
    Fax: 202-452-9328
    epourchot [at] aic-faic__org


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 17:55
                Distributed: Thursday, February 19, 2004
                       Message Id: cdl-17-55-007
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