The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has issued its annual book of preservation statistics, covering 1988-89 activities for 107 libraries in the U.S. and Canada. A total of $60 million was spent on preservation, which was a 23/ increase over 1987-88. Total preservation staff is 1620, 12.5% more than in 1987-88. They put 60,500 volumes on microfilm. Copies of the report ($20 members, $60 nonmembers) are available from ARL, 1527 New Hampshire Ave., W, Washington, DC 20036 (202/232-2466).
The Institute for Paper Conservation will act as the Cooperating Body in a research project being undertaken under the direction of Dr. Derek Priest at the Paper Science Department of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST).
The aim of the project is to establish the theory and practical principles for a method of determining nondestructively the mechanical properties of paper in a book, for use in condition surveys of library books.
A portable ultrasonic sensor, used with a portable computer, may be developed, based on the sensors already in use in paper mills for online readings of paper strength as it comes off the machine. A graduate student will work on the project for three years from September 1990.
The Carolyn Horton Fund Award is offered annually to support continuing education or training for professional book and paper conservators. Amount: $500. Only members of the AIC Book and Paper Specialty Group qualify. Deadline for application is February 1, 1991. Apply at Carolyn Horton Fund, FAIC, 16th St., NW, Suite 340, Washington, DC 20036. Amount of the award may vary.
The National Library of Medicine's National Preservation Program for the Biomedical Literature appears to be a balanced one, in the sense that not all their grants go for microfilming. It funded three new cost-sharing contracts September 21:
The Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library will preserve the collection of Dr. Philip S. Hench, prominent rheumatologist. Important books will be bound or boxed by Booklab, Inc., and manuscripts will be cleaned or copied by Carrabba Conservation in Austin, TX.
The A.T. Still Library at Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine will provide conservation treatment (at NEDCC), cleaning and better enclosures for its large collection of osteopathic literature.
Tufts University Health Sciences Library will microfilm four serials titles in the field of dentistry. Camera work will be done at MIT. (The NLM hopes to microfilm all brittle serials and monographs in core medical subjects.)
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded the Book and Paper Specialty Group for the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) a three-year grant in the amount of $72,559 to continue development of the Paper Conservation Catalog, a unique knowledge base (not a manual) of techniques in use today.
The funds will be used to prepare three new editions of the Paper Conservation Catalog, covering fiber identification, mold and foxing treatments, dry cleaning, hinge tape and adhesive removal; inpainting; and encapsulation, as well as solvent, and suction table treatments.
The majority of the work on the Paper Conservation Catalog is carried out by a dedicated group of Book and Paper Specialty Group members who volunteer hundreds of hours to the publication each year. The editorial board includes: Catherine I. Maynor - Project Director, Paper Conservator, National Museum of American Art; Sylvia Rodgers Albro, Senior Paper Conservator, Library of Congress; Margaret Sarah Bertalan, Paper Conservator, Library of Congress; Antoinette Dwan, Supervisory Paper Conservator, Smithsonian Institution; Janet English, Conservator, National Museum of American History; Meredith P. Mickelson, Conservator of Art on Paper, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; Catherine Nicholson, Senior Conservator, National Archives; Kimberly Schenck, Assistant Paper Conservator, Baltimore Museum of Art; and Dianne van der Reyden, Senior Paper Conservator, Library of Congress. Karen Kitteredge serves as editorial assistant.
The seventh edition, just published, covers washing, support problems and spot tests. The fifth, sixth and seventh editions are currently available for $8 per copy plus postage and handling from the AIC office at: 1400 16th St., N.W., Suite 340, Washington, DC 20036 (202/232-6636).
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of the U.S. has given $875,000 to a Canadian cooperative project to promote a coordinated national approach to the conservation effort and avoid duplication of work and expense in the production of microforms to replace brittle books. It will establish technical standards for microfilming as well as procedures and systems for reporting preservation [microfilming] activities and microfilm masters to a national register. This will complement similar activities in the U.S. and help coordinate the international effort. The National Library of Canada will administer the three-year project, which involves McGill University, Université Laval, and the universities of Alberta, British Columbia, and Toronto.
Papers are invited for Symposium 91, "Saving the Twentieth Century: The Degradation and Conservation of Modern Materials," to be held Sept. 16-20, 1991, in Ottawa. Focus will be on synthetic and modified natural polymers, metals and composites, as found in museums. Deadline for abstracts is Feb. 22. Write David Grattan, CCI, Dept. of Communications, 1030 Innes Rd., Ottawa, Ontario K1A OC8, Canada.
Columbia University Conservation Forum Lectures are held Thursdays, 4:10-6:00, in Butler Library, Rm. 506. Call 202/854-4178 for details.
The Institute of Paper Conservation (IPC) puts on a world-class conference once every six years. Previous conferences were held in Cambridge and Oxford; the next one will be in Manchester, April 1-4, 1992, at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). Those wishing to speak at the conference should write or fax immediately for guidelines before submitting papers. Papers need to be original in content, generally an the topics of albums and sketchbooks, sizing and resizing, 19th Century works of art, studies in book conservation and scientific matters. Contributions from curators, librarians, art and paper historians, scientists and administrators will be particularly welcome. Contact the conference secretariat, Millstream Europe Ltd., South Harting, Petersfield, Hampshire, GU31 5LF, England (Phone +44-730-825711, Fax +44730-825763).
The IADA meeting in Uppsala, August 26-30, 1991, will cost members about $257 and nonmembers about $317, if payment is made before May 1. A preliminary program is available from Jonas Palm, Universitetsbiblioteket, Box 510, S-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden (phone 46-18-18 39 00; Fax 46-1818 39 13). It lists 38 titles (though whether they are of papers or sessions is hard to determine), covering all or nearly all topics relevant to book and paper conservation.
There was a small flood in the National Archives and National Library in Ottawa, July 4, when an air-conditioning drainpipe burst. It damaged some pretty valuable material: 24 rare atlases and 500 volumes in the music print collections, as well as 21 or 22 bound sheet music sets in a copyright deposit collection from the 1840s to the 1860s. Staff worked through the night sorting and air-drying the affected volumes and had some freeze-dried. (From American Libraries Oct. 1990, p. 842)
Public Law 101-423, the new permanent paper law for the U.S., was sponsored by one or more congressmen in every state of the union.
The deadline for bids on deacidification of the Library of Congress's books has been extended from January 7 to February 7.
The Research Libraries Group (RLG) has been awarded $212,209 by the NEH to microfilm art serials. The 2,000 or so volumes to be filmed are from 75-100 deteriorated 19th and 20th century art serials owned by RLG members and the Library of Congress. Only those without color illustrations will be included. The work will be done at MAPS.
A list of recent natural and manmade disasters that have interrupted postal service around the world is issued by Johnson & Hayward, 516 W. 19th St., New York, NY 10011 (800/521-0080). Examples: July 17-18, Philippines, Manila: Earthquake caused considerable damage to property, roads and power supplies; July 8, Vietnam: Tropical storm destroyed bridges and caused severe damage to buildings, transport and commerce; July 30, Switzerland: Storms caused landslides and transport chaos in Western and Central Switzerland; July 11, Haiti: General strike.
The ALCTS Newsletter (formerly the RTSD Newsletter) v. 1 #6 reports some events from the ALA meeting that were not reported in the August issue of this Newsletter.
The Standard Subcommittee on Preservation Microfiche (in the Reproduction of Library Materials Section, RLMS) reviewed tests currently under way regarding the production of microfiche and discussed the problems of 105mm film as a preservation medium.
In the Resources Section, the Micropublishing Committee discussed the roles of commercial micropublishers in the national preservation effort and will use this as a basis for a future program. The committee decided to explore the possibility of working with other ALA groups in establishing an electronic bulletin board to alert colleagues about problem detected in micropublications.
The Guides Subcommittee in RS is planning a guide on preservation in acquisition processing
In the preconference, "Preservation Issues in Collection Management," Sherry Byrne and Jan Merrill-Oldham conducted a practicum on preservation decision-making for printed materials, and made these points: The role of collection management in preservation is to assist in planning procedures and work flow, develop methods to identify materials, provide prescreening and presearching for bibliographers, know the rationale for treatment decisions, and implement procedures.
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