ALCTS/PARS session on forensics

ALA Annual Program
Preservation Forensics and Document Optical Archaeology at the
    Library of Congress
ALA Annual Conference in Washington D.C.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Presentations 1:30 - 3:00, Tours 3:00-4:30
Library of Congress (Coolidge Auditorium)

RSVP required*
(Attendance limited to the first 200 participants to RSVP by email
to alaprtd<-at->loc<.>gov)

This program is co-sponsored by ALCTS (Association for Library
Collections and Technical Services), PARS (the Preservation and
Reformatting Section), and the Preservation Directorate at the
Library of Congress.

The Library of Congress Preservation Research and Testing Division
has developed methods of accessing information from documents that
is otherwise invisible to the unaided eye.   Three presentations
(1:30 - 3:00) will outline methods of recovering lost information,
revealing hidden writing on manuscripts, degradation mechanisms in
film and CDs, and unheard sound on damaged audio recordings. Linking
these techniques increases access through the creation of a "digital
cultural object" that can be described as "scripto-spatial
imaging"--a GIS system for documents and manuscripts. Examples range
from "fingerprinting" analysis of the Gettysburg Address with
hyperspectral imaging of obscured features, to E-SEM imaging of film
and parchment, to quantifiable tracking the growth of blemishes on
CDs, to scanning "phonautographs" with the IRENE machine.

Through an interactive program, scientists from the Preservation
Research and Testing Division will illustrate through a range of
examples what can and has been done at the Library of Congress, and
how this informs the library community at large.

Afterwards, the Preservation Research and Testing Division will
provide behind-the-scene tours (3:00-4:30) of the upgraded
laboratories where preservation forensic techniques are employed to
access information from documents that's invisible to the unaided
eye. Participants will tour the Optical Properties Lab and the
Chemical and Physical Testing labs to learn more about methods that
allow non-destructive analysis of fragile, singular documents such
as the Gettysburg Address.

Please note that this event will be held at the Library of Congress.
Additional directions and information will be provided in the RSVp
confirmation email.

Holly Robertson
Head, Collections Care Section
Binding and Collections Care Division
Preservation Directorate
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave SE
Washington, DC 20540-4520
202-707-6579
Fax: 202-707-3434


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:4
                   Distributed: Sunday, June 13, 2010
                        Message Id: cdl-24-4-011
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