Volume 11, Number 1, Jan. 1989, pp.22-23

From the Editor

Better late than never. It seems that the January issue of the Newsletter is the most difficult to pull together. The holidays, grant applications, end-of-year donations, the flu, and a computer failure in the paper lab at the Palace of the Legion of Honor, all, to some degree or other, complicate our lives.

In spite of the considerable complications of a Macintosh on the fritz, Pauline Mohr, with the help of Debra Evans and Bob Futernick, produced the ten year index to the WAAC Newsletter. A great deal of effort has gone into the production of the index, and we all owe Pauline, et al., a sincere thank-you.

Also deserving of praise and support is the newest conservation newsletter, the Archaeological Conservation Newsletter (see Technical Exchange, page 9). This 16 page find [sorry, just digging for a metaphor - Ed.], contains thought provoking articles that ought to be of interest to all conservators concerned with the preservation of our historical and artistic patrimony. In the "Perspectives" section, editor Jeffrey Maish has reprinted an excellent article by Curt Moyer that discusses the limitations of archaeological conservation training in the U.S. Do write for a complimentary copy, or, better yet, send $10 for a subscription.

After the overwhelming response in favor of continuing the WAAC Resource File, an ad-hoc committee has been established to look into releasing an updated version. Look for a mailing in March or so, that will present options to you, the membership, about proposed cost, format, and future updates. WAAC is a democracy and those of you who respond will be listened to.

Feature articles for the next issue are under preparation. Dale Kronkright has promised an article covering some of the material he covered in his presentation at the annual meeting. Sharon Blank and I are preparing an article on solvents and solvent strength. Our intention is to simplify and clarify how solvent behavior can be predicted and to introduce some to the concepts necessary to understand the revolutionary changes being introduced in the field by Richard Wolbers.