Re: Brittle book repair

["Martha J. Hanson" <mjhanson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello everyone!  I ditto what Janet says in her message below.  At 
Syracuse, we try to do everything we can to put the original book 
back on the shelf, including repair of brittle books in-house.  Marty



> Date:          Tue, 5 May 98 10:31:28 EDT
> Reply-to:      padg@xxxxxxx
> From:          Janet Gertz <gertz@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To:            padg@xxxxxxx
> Subject:       Re: Brittle book repair

> > Hello all,
> > 
> > Here at Emory our practice concerning brittle books has been to seek
> > replacements, build enclosures or to reformat through preservation
> > microfilming or preservation photocopying.  We have not done any repairs
> > due to concern with creating additional damage, and due to the time and
> > expense involved in working with these fragile materials.
> > 
> > Many volumes in our theology library are brittle, difficult to replace,
> > and still in demand by library users.  Library staff would like for us to
> > perform some book repair treatments on these volumes, sufficient to give
> > perhaps 5-10 years of useability.  Heavy use is not predicted for these
> > materials.
> > 
> > Our conservator is resistant to doing "bad repairs."  As preservation
> > officer I agree, but also want to offer the best possible service in a
> > "real world" situation where best practice may not result in the desired
> > ends.
> > 
> > How are other libraries handling this?  Do you do any repair treatments to
> > brittle volumes?  What is your rationale for repairing, or for not
> > repairing these materials?  Is there a reasonable compromise solution that
> > will extend the life of these materials?
> > 
> > I'd appreciate your perspective on this problem.
> > 
> > Thanks you,
> > 
> > Janice Mohlhenrich
> > Coordinator, Preservation Initiatives & Services
> > Emory University
> > Atlanta, GA
> > 404-727-2437
> > jmohlhe@xxxxxxxxx 
> > 
> 
> If the text block is intact and the problem is strictly with the
> covers, we will repair them in-house so that the cover can continue to
> protect the text block and allow the book to receive some further use. 
> If the problem is a broken text block, or loose or damaged pages, then
> we turn to replacement or reformatting.
> 
> Janet Gertz
> Columbia University Libraries
> 
Martha J. Hanson
Preservation Administrator
Syracuse University Library
Syracuse, NY  13244-2010
phone: 315/443-1947
fax:   315/443-9510
email: mjhanson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx