Saint Bonaventure University Preservation Department
by Peter Jermann and Susan Mackey FrakesCollections Served
Circulating collection: 275,000 volumes (monographs and periodicals)
Franciscan Institute Collection: 10,000 volumes (monographs and periodicals)
Rare Book Collections: 10,000 volumes
History
| 1942 - 1980 | Book bindery established to bind serial titles. |
| 1980 - 1985 | Bindery evolves into a Preservation Department |
| 1985 - 1992 | Full service Preservation Department |
Organization
The Preservation Department answers directly to the Director of the Library. Department responsibilities extend to all library collections and include operation of the in-house bindery, commercial binding, commercial microfilming, in-house reformatting and staff preservation education.
Work flow for in-house repair and rebinding is generated by the circulation department and technical services. the circulation department traps damaged books as they are checked out or returned and routes them to the bindery. Technical services forwards all new paperbacks to the bindery for re-binding in addition to trapping damaged books and earlier paperbacks that come through the department as part of a reconversion project. Treatment decisions are made in the Preservation Department.
Resources
- Staff:
- Preservation Officer (full time)
- Student technicians (20 hours/week)
- Student technicians (20 hours/week)
- Space:
- 15' x 25' (office and work space)
- 10' x 14' (storage and work space)
- 10' x 14' (storage and work space)
- Equipment:
- 30" board shear
- 19" manual guillotine
- 15" glue machine
- 12" casing press
- 16" caging press
- 15" pinch press backing press fan gluing press
- IBM compatible PC
- Printer
- 19" manual guillotine
In-house Treatments
- Circulating materials:
- First time binding
- Hardback rebinding and recasing
- Paperback rebinding
- Paperback stiffening
- Pamphlet binding
- Expandable binders
- Marginal materials wrap-around boxes (20 pt. archival board)
- Hardback rebinding and recasing
- Rare and unique materials:
- Wrap-around phase boxes (55 pt. gray/white archival board)
- Polyester encapsulation
- Portfolios
- Polyester encapsulation
Annual production
Approximately 4,000 items/year (50% paperback rebinding, 25% hardback recasing, 25% other)
Treatment Philosophy
- Circulating Collections:
- The library is not a museum.
- The photocopy machine is here to stay.
- We only want to See it once.
- Rare Collections:
- Boxes and enclosures are the only truly reversible treatments.
- If it ain't broke don't fix it, if it does need fixing it goes off-site.
- Off-site conservation only happens for a damn good reason.
Susan Mackey Frakes, Preservation Intern
Friedsam Memorial Library
Saint Bonaventure, New York
Publication History
Received: Fall 1992
This paper is one of the institutional profiles offered by participants in the Library Collections Conservation Discussion Group at the the Book and Paper specialty group session, AIC 20th Annual Meeting, June 2-7, 1992, Buffalo, NY.
Papers for the specialty group session are selected by committee, based on abstracts and there has been no further peer review. Papers are received by the compiler in the Fall following the meeting and the author is welcome to make revisions, minor or major.