Volume 15, Number 2
Apr 1991

Effectiveness of Commercial Mass Deacidification Studied

The Metropolitan Toronto Chairman's Committee for Preserving Documentary Heritage (CCPDH) announced in February the start of a study to assess the effectiveness of commercial mass deacidification processes on the permanence of various materials. The study will be conducted at the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) of Communications Canada, under the direction of Helen Burgess, Senior Conservation Scientist for Conservation Processes Research. The study will consist of four parts:

Evaluation of the treatment of paper fibers
Influence of prior degradation from pollutants or oxidation Evaluation of media and other materials
Evaluation of protein materials.
Publication details of the study results are to be announced at a later date.

The CCPDH was established in July 1990 by Alan Torks, Chairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto in recognition of the brittle book crisis facing libraries and archives. Its ultimate goal is the establishment of a mass deacidification facility at the end of five years. The work is funded by a number of Canadian libraries and other institutions, and by Akzo Chemicals and FMC Corporation.

More Preservation Resolutions for White House Conference

The resolution passed at New York state's conference was printed in the last issue. Since then, resolutions from other to governor's conferences" in Connecticut, Florida and Maryland have been received.

Connecticut's "Policy Recommendation 14P" recommends that "the 1991 General Assembly of the State of Connecticut shall establish by law and fund a State Office for the Preservation of Library and Archival Materials which shall be responsible for preservation training; coordinating statewide preservation activities; and planning and managing a competitive grant funding program, utilizing peer review. Through this program libraries, archives, historical societies, museums and other repositories can apply annually for funds to preserve significant library and archival resources by means of education, conservation treatment, microfilming, and other actions."

Florida's "Consent Resolution #20" urges passage of legislation requiring use of alkaline paper for "all state records and publications, with the exception of those to be updated or amended an a regular basis." Maryland's "Resolution #3" describes the major preservation challenges in repositories (acidic paper, non-paper media, inadequate environment for storage, disasters, and preservation of newspapers and local records stored in public libraries, and recommends that a task force be appointed to formulate a statewide preservation plan.

State Laws on Use of Alkaline Paperr

• Nebraska's Legislative Resolution 45 was adopted unanimously by the Legislature on March 11, 1991. It has a persuasive set of Whereases, including ones that mention the fact that alkaline paper production is environmentally sounder, one that mentions the bill signed by the U.S. President last October, and one that says it is as accessible as acidic paper and costs no more. It recommends that both state and local governments publish on alkaline permanent paper, and that two administrative agencies study the use of alkaline papers, both permanent and recycled, and submit a report in 12 months.
• Last year, Virginia's House Joint Resolution No. 36 requested the state librarian to study the feasibility of printing all state publications and public records on alkaline paper. The state librarian reported his findings in House Document No. 22, and a new resolution (House Joint Resolution No. 311) establishes it as Commonwealth policy that publications and records of enduring value be produced on alkaline permanent papers. The state library and archives are to provide guidance in implementation.
• The Massachusetts Executive Order establishing a policy on permanent paper that was signed December 31 is only the first step in a statewide permanent paper initiative aimed at the long term preservation of public records and publications of enduring value. Similar efforts are now underway with the legislative branch, and regulations are expected to be forthcoming from the Secretary of State's Office in the future, regarding the use of permanent paper in other state and local governmental jurisdictions.

Medievalists to Hear Papers on Early Books

At the 26th International Congress on Medieval Studies May 9-12, in Kalamazoo (see "Events"), there will be two sessions dealing with books:

Session 115, May 10: Medieval Depictions of Scribes, East and West. (Organizer: R.A. Rosenfeld, Univ. Toronto)

• The Scribe in His Chamber: The Relationship of the Writer to the Text
• Scriba, femina: Images and Meaning
• What is Wrong with this Picture? Scribal Depictions and the Archaeological Record

Session 248, May 11: The Use and Abuse of Books. (Organizer: Martha W. Driver, Pace University)

• The Otho Reviser and the Rise of the Literary Language
• Hot Tongs: The Problem of the Exeter Book and the "Husband's Message"
• The Carthusian MS and Book Tradition: Use in the Cloister and Beyond