SCHOOL OF INFORMATION
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
Special Topics in Information Science: Conservation Lab Techniques for Non-Specialists
INF 385T
SPRING 2010
Unique number: 27850
Lecturer: Karen L. Pavelka
Meeting time: Monday, 9:00 – 12:00
pavelka@ischool.utexas.edu
Meeting place: UTA 1.506B
471-8286 (if no answer, 471-8290)
Office hours:
Mon. 1:00-3:00 or by appointment (I am generally around the building, either in
my office or in the lab. Please feel free to talk to me whenever you see me.)
Course Overview:
Students will learn basic procedures and techniques for the care and handling of materials found in
library and archival collections.
Techniques
Techniques will be covered that can do a substantial amount of good for the collection, but can be
performed with minimal equipment, space and materials. Additionally, students will learn how to teach
techniques to others and how to evaluate and improve technician’s performance.
Specific techniques will include:
 Dry-cleaning
 Humidification and flattening
 Mending
 Matting and hinging
 Housings
 Tipping in
 Knitting needle joint tightening
Assessment
Students will learn how to evaluate a collection in terms of physical condition and how to make logical
and rational recommendations for the long-term care of the collections. Specific topics will include:
 Setting priorities
 Comparing materials
 Assessing resources
 Condition reports
 Risk analysis
Lab Management
Students will learn some basic principles of lab management. The goal is to impart some understanding
of the special requirements that come with a lab or repair space. Topics will include:
 Tools and equipment
 Health and safety
 Working with and hiring collection-care staff
Grading
Grades will be based on tests and assignments (65%), lab work (15%), and class participation (20%).
Course policies:
1. The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for
qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at
471-6259, 471-4641 TTY.
2. All assignments must be written in a gender-inclusive language.
3. All assignments must be typed in a 12 point font, double spaced and single sided.
4. Submit all your assignments on time. Late submissions will not be accepted unless an emergency is
involved. In the event of an emergency, the student must contact the instructor as soon as possible.
5. The instructor will provide any assistance upon the student's inquiry. However, the student is
responsible for his/her own effort to complete the assignments.
6. Students are required to attend class and to be on time. Any absence or lateness will affect the class
participation grade.
7. The instructor reserves the right to issue a course grade of F if any assignment is not completed.
8. The instructor welcomes feedback from the class.
January 25
Week 1
Assignment 1 - Due February 1
Introduction to lab equipment, tools, and materials
Health and safety
February 1
Week 2
Assignment 2.0 - Due February 8
Principles of documentation
Dry cleaning
February 8
Week 3
Assignment 2.1 - Due February 15
Basic humidification and flattening
February 15
Week 4
Assignment 2.2 - Due February 22
Basic mending
February 22
Week 5
Review dry cleaning, humidification and flattening, and mending
All samples treated in class must be submitted by March 1. The samples will be evaluated and returned to
the students the following week.
Assignment 3 – To be implemented by March 22
March 1
Week 6
Exhibit prep: Mat cutting, supports, cradles, etc.
March 8
Week 7
Exhibits and loans
Installation
March 15
Spring Break
March 22
Week 8
Assignment 4
Field trip: Book drops, preservation lab
March 29
Week 9
Assignment 5
Care and handling of materials: Assessing vulnerabilities
April 5
Housings
Week 10
April 12 Week 11
Housings
Double fan adhesive binding
April 19 Week 12
Assignment 6
Staff concerns: Hiring and management
April 26 Week 13
Working with a conservator
May 3
Week 14
Evaluation and wrap-up
Course readings
Appelbaum, B. (2007). Conservation Treatment Methodology (Monograph). London: Butterworth
Heinemann.
Chapter 5: Written documentation. (1995). Paper Conservation Catalog. Retrieved January 9, 2010, from
http://www.conservation-wiki.com/index.php?title=BP_Chapter_5_-_Written_Documentation
Chapter 14: Surface cleaning. (1992). Paper Conservation Catalog. Retrieved January 9, 2010, from
http://www.conservation-wiki.com/index.php?title=BP_Chapter_14_-_Surface_Cleaning
Chapter 6: Visual examination. (1995). Paper Conservation Catalog. Retrieved January 9, 2010, from
http://www.conservation-wiki.com/index.php?title=BP_Chapter_6_-_Visual_Examination
Dyal, C., & Merrill-Oldham, P. (n.d.). 1-3. In Three Basic Book Repair Procedures. Retrieved January 9,
2010, from http://www.philobiblon.com/bkrepair/BookRepair.html
Rose, C. L., Hawks, C. A., & Genoways, H. H. (Eds.). (1995). Storage of natural history collections
(Monograph). Washington, D.C.: Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections.
Turner, J. (1992). Brushes: A Handbook for Artist and Artisans (Monograph). New York: Lyons and Burford.
Assignment I
A quick search for “lab safety”, “lab etiquette”, “lab rules” etc. will give you many, many results. Please
spend some time looking at examples of lab safety rules and adapt them to the conservation laboratory.
You may also wish to look at the University of Texas, Environmental Health and Safety.
http://www.utexas.edu/safety/ehs/
Your instructions need to be useful both in terms of protecting people working in the labs and in terms
of being readable. Generally instructions that run more than one or two pages are not read, although
you might refer the user to other resources for special circumstances.
Assignment 2.0
Each student will be given a discard book in good condition.
Part I: Write a condition report for the book.
A condition report is a document that allows staff to evaluate the condition of an object that is being
sent out for loan. It needs to highlight the parts of the object that are most vulnerable to damage. A
condition report can be a verbal description or a checklist. A condition report is normally accompanied
by one or more drawings or photographs.
Assignment 2.1
Part II: Damage the book
Students will exchange books. Each person will then take the book for a week and treat it aggressively,
but not cruelly! That is, you might carry it in a backpack; eat lunch over it; leave it in the sunlight; etc.
But please do not go for anything too obvious, such as dropping it in a river. We are looking for subtle
forms of damage here.
Assignment 2.2
Part III: Evaluate condition report
Students will re-claim their original book. Using the original condition report they will evaluate the book
for damage. Can you prove by the original condition report that the book suffered damage and pinpoint
exactly where the damage is?
Assignment 3: Planning an exhibit
The space on top of the cubbies in the front of the Paper Lab is for exhibits. This is a place where we can
showcase the work we do, present basic tenets of conservation, prepare didactic material to educate the
public, or highlight anything else of importance.
The class is charged with producing one exhibit to be installed after Spring Break and taken down the last
week of the semester. You will need to set the exhibit schedule; plan and prepare the exhibit, install and
de-install the exhibit, and return or discard all exhibited material as appropriate.
Schedule
If there were to be more than one exhibit, you would want to strike a balance between creating
interest from the target population (students, faculty, administration) and maintaining a
schedule that is not burdensome. Changing the exhibit weekly might be attractive and generate
interest, but it is an excessive amount of work. On the other hand, changing the exhibit only
once a semester might turn the window into a “dead space” that will be ignored. It is sometimes
useful to balance several “quick and dirty” exhibits with larger, more complicated ventures.
However, this class will do only one exhibit so the schedule refers to preparation time,
installation and de-installation.
Curation
You will need to plan and design your exhibit. You may do this as a class, individually or in small
groups as you like. Think about what you want other students to know about conservation and
how you might best present that. An obvious idea is to chronicle treatments. You might want to
explore disaster recovery, principles of materials deterioration or anything else related to
conservation. We can have collection materials on display for short periods of time only with
the approval of the curator of that collection. We will measure light levels and make decisions
about exposure based on that information. Surrogates may be the best option, that is, a
photograph of the object. The security and care of the object is of course paramount.
The exhibit space you have is limited, so the number of objects that can be displayed is limited as
well. You will have to plan the exhibit so that the objects and labels are presented in a fashion
that they can be seen and appreciated. Part of curation is creating explanatory information; this
is normally label a label to accompany each object and a text panel to explain the overall
concept.
Exhibit prep
You will have to support and protect the objects you exhibit. For instance, if you want to display
an open book, it needs to be on a cradle, strapped open, and open no more than will not
damage the sewing structure. If you are displaying paper objects, you might want to build
supports to vary the height and angle of the objects displayed.
Labels need to be printed and possibly mounted to board.
Installation and de-installation
You will place the objects on the mounts you have created, strap and protect as necessary.
When the exhibit time is over, you will need to take it down. Objects need to be returned to
their home with whatever accompanying material they have. For instance, if a book has a
slipcase, you might choose only to exhibit the book. The slipcase has to be stored somewhere
and labeled so the pieces can eventually be reunited. You will probably choose to discard exhibit
labels, surrogate materials, didactic panels and other materials that were created just for the
exhibit.
Assignment 4
Empty a book drop. The class will observe and assist as one or more book drops on campus are emptied.
Working individually, each student will evaluate the book drop in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, ease
of use for patrons and staff, damage to materials. Each student will then design a book drop to meet the
needs of a high-use public library.
Assignment 5
Spend at least 1 hour observing people in a reading room. It can be special collections or circulating
collections. Describe the amounts and types of materials that are being used. What damage is occurring
from use? For instance, if the most common use is to photocopy a book, what type of damage, if any,
occurs on that binding? Is the sewing loosened? Is the cover-to-text attachment weakened?
Questions: How would you prevent the damage? How would you repair the damage? What does the
repair cost in terms of staff time and materials?
Assignment 6
Teaching techniques.
Part I: Write a one-page summary of instructions for dry-cleaning materials. Students will exchange
summaries. Each student will then assume the position of a technician and interpret and perform the
instructions as written. Each “technician” will have a challenge that interferes with the complete
understanding or completion of the task. Students may pick their own challenge. Some examples are:
 Technician is over 70. He or she has been working in the department for a long time and
does not need instructions from a whippersnapper.
 Technician has extremely poor vision and cannot see the damage s/he is causing.
 Technician has no natural talent for working with hands and cannot really evaluate his/her
own work.
 Technician hates the supervisor and will do anything to make him/her look bad.
 Technician means really well but is going through rough personal times.
 You are free to create your own complication.
Part II: Write a one-page summary of how you will improve the technician’s performance. Firing the
person in question is not an option. All solutions must be ethical and legal!