Volume 4, Number 2, May 1982, p.6

Publications

New York Times Best Selling List, Non-Fiction

1. WAAC Resource File*, Z. Pinney, Editor
2. The Soul of a New Machine, J. Kidder
3. The Path Between the Sea, M. Maronio
4. The Mathematical Experience, Davis-Hersh
5. Bonzai Your Pet, Fujimoto To
6. Cooking the English Way, Westby Prescott-Smithe
7. Photography Today, P. Stiglitz
8. The Manhattan Project, L. Mann
9. Pavarotti, C. Ashford Kline
10. Ball Four, T. Mack

*The WAAC Resource File is a comprehensive card file system of conservation resources. The file contains over 300 entries and covers all areas of conservation. Available for $20.00 (WAAC Members) or $25.00 (non-members) plus $2.00 for postage and handling to Tatyana M. Thompson, 1024 S. Orange Grove Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90019. Or, if you have already purchased a Resource File, we plan to distribute them at the October 1982 WAAC Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

Elements of Book Conservation
by Jack C. Thompson. Color videotape, approximately 40 minutes. Published by Istor Productions, 1417 N. W. Everett, Portland, OR 97207. Available in VHS or Betamax formats. Cost $250.00.

This production is the first of three, designed to explain and demonstrate some of the steps taken to restore function to deteriorated books. When the series is complete it is anticipated that the material covered will include books from the 12th century through approximately 1850.

Book and Paper Specialty Group Post Prints.

The A.l.C. Book and Paper Specialty Group Post Prints will be available to A.l.C.B.P.S.G. members this fall. Inquires should be directed to the A.l.C. offices, 1511 K Street, N.W., Suite 725, Washington, D.C.

Boxes for the Protection of Rare Books: Their Design and Construction

Guide for the protection of rare books published by the Library of Congress. The Library's National Preservation Program has announced publication of Boxes for the Protection of Rare Books: Their Design and Construction, a book compiled and illustrated by Margaret R. Brown, with the assistance of Don Etherington and Linda McWilliams, when they were with the Library's Preservation Office.

The 320-page, looseleaf guide is a result of one of the major objectives of the preservation program which is to provide practical information on the conservation of library materials. According to Peter G. Sparks, chief of the Library's Preservation Office, "one important function of the office is to communicate to the rest of the library and archival community important preservation information developed by those who work on the Library's own collections. Boxes for the Protection of Rare Books is the first in a proposed series of publications on box designs and other workshop material to be produced under the auspices of the National Preservation Program."

Book boxes protect the important library volumes by substantially reducing mechanical damage, such as that caused by abrasion from adjacent volumes, shelf surfaces, supports, dust particles, and damage from handling by stack attendants and others during service to readers. Boxes also minimize the effects of environmental conditions ranging from extreme fluctuations of temperature and humidity to airborne pollutants. This preservation publication provides detailed instructions and step- by-step line drawings on how to make eight types of book boxes for housing and protecting volumes that require special attention because of their rarity, value, aesthetic qualities, or condition.

Though each of the detailed directions, ranging in complexity from the more simple phase box to the rather elaborate rare book box with portfolio, has special features to solve particular problems, all are designed to provide a high degree of protection.

The material, presented in a looseleaf format, without binder, has illustrations on heavier paper so that individual drawings can be used as guides at the workbench. Descriptions of the various boxes precede each set of directions and drawings and are presented in the order of their difficulty of construction. The construction methods used allow for flexibility so that each design can be tailored to the specific size and shape of a given volume and to its use within a collection.

Boxes for the Protection of Rare Books, measuring 8-1/2 by 11 inches, with 102 illustrations, is available for $18 from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (Stock No. 030-000-00124-9). It can also be purchased in person at the Sales and Information Counter, Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building. Contact: John Sullivan (202) 287-5108.