Conservation workflows for medium rare library materials

Jennifer Hain Teper <jhain<-at->illinois<.>edu> writes

>I would be interested in hearing from colleagues in library
>conservation labs who have a workflow or documentation protocol for
>"medium rare" collection materials, i.e. materials that are more
>special than your average general collections/circulating book, but
>not necessarily warranting full-fledged special collections
>conservation treatment.

I do not work in a library conservation lab, however, I have created
a preservation program with in-house repairs for my art museum
library's collection, which sounds very much like the medium-rare
materials you have described.  When I began my position in 2011
there was no form of collections care for the collection of
approximately 40,000 volumes (published 1850 - present), many of
which were from Paul Mellon's personal collection at Oak Knoll, so I
set out to establish a program for their care and maintenance.

Our collection does not circulate and many of the volumes are not
considered rare, but warrant a different approach than general
circulating collections care and full special collections
conservation treatments.  For treatment, I consider each book
individually and assess both artefactual value as object (ie copies
available via WorldCat, edition and materials) and inherent value
(value to collection, inscriptions, PM bookplate, etc.).  I created
a MS Access database to record bibliographic information, types of
damage, and treatment performed, as well as the value, artefactual
and inherent.  Since I am working on a very low budget with minimal
space and materials, I am not able to professionally photograph the
work but usually take photos with my own phone to show the various
stages of damage, treatment, and post-treatment.

As the Assistant Librarian for the collection and the program
creator, I do not involve any curatorial approvals for treatments,
and I would say that my treatment documentation is all recorded
within the MS Access database that combines checkbox fields and
fields for full length comments and descriptions, particularly for
treatment and value.  I have recently published an article on my 3+
year project which details the workflow, documentation, and
processes that I have created for my "medium rare" collection, which
is available via JSTOR:

    <URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/683386>

I'm happy to share the item level worksheet with you that I used to
form the basis of my Access database, as well as screenshots of my
database that provide a good idea of my workflow.  Both of these are
available within the article as well (Fig. 3 and Fig. 7).

I hope this information is helpful in some way and I would be happy
to answer any questions you might have.

Beth Morris, Assistant Librarian
Reference Library and Archives
Yale Center for British Art
1080 Chapel Street
PO Box 208280
New Haven CT 06520-8280
203-432-2848


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 29:31
                Distributed: Thursday, December 24, 2015
                       Message Id: cdl-29-31-002
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