Basic information
Instructor: Karen L. Pavelka
Class location: UTA 1.504
SCHOOL OF INFORMATION
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
CONSERVATION OF LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE MATERIAL
INF 393C
SPRING 2012
Unique number: 28730
Instructor: Karen L. Pavelka
Class location: UTA 1.504
Date and time: Thursday, Noon - 3:00
Instructor information
Email: pavelka@ischool.utexas.edu
Office: UTA 5.422 phone: 471-8286
Lab: UTA 1.506B phone: 471-8269
Office hours: By appointment, but feel free to drop in
Teaching Assistant: Margaret Schafer
Email: margaret.schafer@gmail.com
Phone: (630) 334 – 6347
Lab Hours/Office Hours: To be set after the first day of class
Course description: Assessing risks in library, archive and museum collections;
developing strategies to manage the risks; evaluating management strategies.
Learning objectives
Students will learn to:
 Assess risks within collection
 Compare the relative probability and magnitude of various risks
 Select and apply mitigation strategies
 Evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation strategies
 Identify the difference between symbolic and useful plans
Course policies
Assignments
 Assignments are due at midnight on the due date. Unless otherwise
instructed, please submit assignments to me by email as an attachment.


Please use Word and title the file as follows:
studentlastname_assignmentname
Late assignments will be penalized by lowering the earned grade one level
for each day it is late.
Exceptions to these penalties may be granted if you make arrangements with
me at least 48 hours before the assignment is due.
Class attendance and participation
 Students are expected to attend all classes. If you need to miss a class, if
possible let me know before class begins.
 All readings should be done before the class meets.
 Class participation is 20% of your grade and is measured by vocal
participation, enthusiastic participation in class exercises, unassigned
additions to course content, and anything else that makes the class a richer
experience.
 Laptops are allowed and encouraged. Facebook is not. If you plan to read
Facebook and such during class, please just cut.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism and academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Please refer to the UT
General Information Bulletin, Appendix C, Sections 11-304 and 11-802 for more
information. The Office of the Dean of Students maintains a webpage on academic
integrity that can answer many questions. If you have not read the section on
plagiarism, it is worth a review.
http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acint_student.php
Students with disabilities
Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from
the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with
Disabilities, 512-471-6259.
Schedule
I reserve the right to make changes to the following schedule. Any revisions will be
discussed in class and you are encouraged to ask as many questions as needed.
Date
Week 1: January 19
Theme
Assignments
Agents of deterioration
Readings
"Ten agents of deterioratio
http://www.cciicc.gc.ca/crc/articles/mcpm
-eng.aspx
van der Burg. (2010). Preve
Week 2: January 26
Overall evaluation of
collections
Week 3: February 2
Types of risks;
Estimating extent
Week 4: February 9
Estimating loss of
value
Magnitude of risks
Week 5: February 16
Week 6: February 23
Week 7: March 1
Week 8: March 8
SPRING BREAK
Measuring the
environment;
Microclimates: T, RH,
light, vibration,
pollutants
Measuring the
environment;
Microclimates: T, RH,
light, vibration,
pollutants
Disaster recovery
Collection Groups will
build a microcosm of a
collection
Due: February 2
conservation: A deliberate c
(on web)
Boersma; pp. 1-30
Ritzenthaler; pp. 46-94
Waller, R. (2002). A risk m
collection preservat
Waller, R. (1991). Conserva
risk assessment: A s
for managing resour
preventive conserva
Waller, R. (1995). Risk
management applie
preventive conserva
Waller, R., and S. Michalski.
(2005). A paradigm
preventive conserva
and a software tool t
facilitate the transiti
Waller, R. R. (2008). Cultur
property risk assess
Matching approach
purpose.
Report_I Write Report
I to present to your
stakeholders
Due: March 8
Handouts
Boersma; 31-60
Ritzenthaler; 95-102; 136-1
Hutchins; First aid for Art
or
Field guide to emergency re
Week 9: March 22
Week 10: March 29
Week 11: April 5
Week 12: April 12
Week 13: April 19
Evaluate disaster
recovery
Mechanical systems
Vermin: Biological
attack
Contaminants: Within
and without
Monitoring
Week 14: April 26
Selecting mitigation
strategies
Week 15: May 3
Assessing for
conservation
treatment
Quiz: Psychrometric
chart
Boersma; 61-80
Ritzenthaler; 103-104; 141
Ritzenthaler; 130-135
Monitoring_plan
Patkus, B. (n.d.). Monitoring
Create a monitoring
temperature and relative hu
plan to best protect
(Available on web.)
your collection.
Due: April 26
Report_II Write report
II to stakeholders.
Due: May 6
Readings
Required text: Both are available on Amazon
Boersma, F., Brokerhof, A., van den Berg, S., & Tegelaers, J. (2008). Unravelling
textiles: A handbook for the preservation of textile collections. London:
Archetype.
Ritzenthaler, Mary Lynn. (2010). Preserving arcives & Manuscripts. 2nd ed. Chicago:
SAA.
Choice of:
Hutchins, J. & Roberts, B. (Ed.) (2006). First aid for art: Essential salvage techniques.
Lenox, MA:Hard Press Editions. (Available at Amazon and others.)
Field guide to emergency response. (2006). Washington DC: Heritage Preservation.
(Purchase directly from Heritage Preservation; discount with Disaster
Wheel.)
A reading list is given below, divided by topics. There is some overlap between
topics, of course. Some readings are indicated for certain classes; this is the
minimum necessary for that class. Students are advised to skim the resources on
the list below. Not every reading will be of interest for every student and some of
the material is quite technical, but many of the works will be useful background
information when you are writing your general conservation assessment. The
articles you choose will depend on the slant your survey takes.
The required readings, other than the two required texts, are copied onto
Blackboard.
General
Appelbaum, B. (1991). Guide to environmental protection of collections. CT: Sound
View Press.
Baryla, C. (Ed.). (2008, May). International Preservation News, (44). Retrieved from
www.ifla.org/VI/4/ipn.html
Baryla, C. (Ed.). (2008, August). International Preservation News, (45). Retrieved
from www.ifla.org/VI/4/ipn.html
Brokerhof, A., T. Luger, B. Ankersmit, F. Bergevoet, R. Schillemans, P. Schoutens, T.
Miller, J. Kiers, G. Meuthing, and R. Waller. 2005. Risk assessment of
Museum Amstelkring: application to an historic building and its collections
and the consequences for preservation management. Pp. 590-596 in
Preprints of the ICOM-CC 14th Triennial Meeting, The Hague 12-16 September
2005. International Council of Museums and James & James Publishers,
London.
Cassar, M., & Pender, R. (2005, March). The impact of climate change on cultural
heritage: Evidence and response. 14th triennial meeting, The Hague: Preprints
ICOM Committee for Conservation, 14, 610-616.
Getty Conservation Institute, & Heritage Preservation. (1990). The conservation
assessment: A tool for planning, implementing and fund-raising. In CAP
publications at your fingertips. Retrieved January 17, 2008, from
http://www.heritagepreservation.org/Update/03spCAPpub.htm
Hadlow, E. (2006, June). Sustainable storage? Western Sydney Records Centre, Stage
6. AICCM National newsletter, (99), 25-26.
Jefferson, M. (Ed.). (2006, March). Cambridge’s newest conservation center. ICON
News: The magazine of the Institute of Conservation, (3).
Jones, M. (2008). Museums and climate change [Brochure].
Knight, B., Shenton, H., Daniels, V., France, F., Horie, V., Strlic, M., . . . Gibson, L. (2009).
Advances in paper conservation research (Monograph). Retrieved from British
Library website: www.bl.uk/aboutus/stratpolprog/ccare/events/index.html
Museum environmental conditions in an era of energy constraint. (2008). [Brochure].
NEDCC. (2008). Resources: Preservation leaflets. Retrieved January 17, 2008, from
http://www.nedcc.org/resources/leaflets.list.php
Padfield, T. & Borcherson, K. (Ed.) (2011). Museum microclimates: Contributions to
the conference in Copenhagen 19-23 November 2007. Denmark:
Nationalmuseet. Available online: http://www.natmus.dk/sw53828.asp
Thomson, G. (1994 or later). The museum environment. London: Butterworths.
van der Burg. (2010). Preventive conservation: A deliberate choice. Retrieved
December 28, 2010 from http://www.econservationline.com/content/view/911/309
Wilson, W. K. (1995). Environmental guidelines for the storage of paper records. In
NISO Standards. Retrieved January 17, 2008, from
http://www.niso.org/standards/resources/tr01.pdf
Walker, A., & Foster, J. (2009, February 6). Statistical tools for the evaluation of
preservation (Monograph). Retrieved from IFLA website:
http://www.ifla.org/annual-conference/ifla75/index.htm
Planning
Bioletti, S. (2007). Collection preservation at Trinity College Dublin. In NPO e-Journal.
Retrieved January 17, 2008, from
http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/stratpolprog/ccare/pubs/2007/index.html
Risk Assessment
Brokerhof, A., Luger, T., Ankersmit, B., Bergevoet, F., Schillemans, R., Schoutens, P., et
al. (2005, March). Risk assessment of Museum Amstelkring: Application to an
historic building and its collections and the consequences for preservation
management. 14th triennial meeting, The Hague, Preprints ICOM Committee
for Conservation, 14th triennial meeting, 590-596.
Waller, R. (2002). A risk model for collection preservation. International Council of
Museums Committee for Conservation, Preprints of the 13th Triennial
Meeting, Rio de Janeiro, 102-107.
Waller, R. (1991). Conservation risk assessment: A strategy for managing resources
ofr preventive conservation. IIC Pre-prints of the contributions to the Ottawa
Congress, London, 12-16.
Waller, R. (1995). Risk management applied to preventive conservation. Storage of
Natrual History Collections: A preventive conservation approach. SPNHC.
Waller, R., and S. Michalski. (2005). A paradigm shift for preventive conservation,
and a software tool to facilitate the transition. Pp. 733-738 in Preprints of the
ICOM-CC 14th Triennial Meeting, The Hague 12-16 September 2005.
International Council of Museums and James & James Publishers, London.
Waller, R. R. (2008). Cultural property risk assessment: Matching approach with
purpose. In J. Bridgland (Ed.), 15th triennial conference, New Delhi, 22-26
September 2008: Preprints/ICOM Committee for Conservation (pp. 815-819).
ICOM Committee for Conservation.
Psychrometrics and HVAC
Carrier Corporation. (1993). Psychrometrics introduction [Brochure]. Carrier
Corporation.
Maekawa, S., & Morales, M. G. (2006). Low cost climate control system for museum
storage facility on Tenerife Island. In PLEA 2006: 23rd international
conference on passive and low energy architecture (pp. 411-416). Geneva:
Universite de Geneve.
Morooka, T., Homma, Y., & Norimoto, M. (2007). Criterion for estimating humidity
control capacity of materials in a room. Journal of Wood Science, 53(3), 192198.
Padfield, T. (n.d.). Conservation Physics. Retrieved January 15, 2009, from
http://www.padfield.org/tim/cfys/
Padfield, T. (n.d.). How air conditioning works. Retrieved January 17, 2008, from
http://www.natmus.dk/cons/tp/aircon/aircon1.html
Patkus, B. (n.d.). Monitoring temperature and relative humidity. Retrived December
28, 2010 from
http://nedcc.org/resources/leaflets/2The_Environment/02TemperatureAn
dHumidity.php
Watts, S., J. Berry, A. de Joia, and F. Philpott. 2002. In control or simply monitoring?
The protection of museum collections from dust and vibration during
building works. Pp.108-115 in Preprints of the 13th Triennial ICOM-CC Meeting,
Rio de Janeiro, 22-27 September 2002 (R. Vontobel, ed.). James and James,
London.
Biological Deterioration
Adverse human health effects associated with molds in the indoor environment.
(2002). American College of occupational and environmental medicine.
Retrieved January 23, 2008, from
http://www.acoem.org/guidelines.aspx?id=850
Arenstein, R. P., & Dincan, N. (n.d.). Museumpests [Web site]. Retrieved January 13,
2009, from http://www.museumpests.net/default.asp
Child, R., & Pinniger, D. (2008). Using anoxia to kill insect pests: Methodologies and
methods. In J. Bridgland (Ed.), 15th triennial conference, New Delhi, 22-26
September 2008: Preprints/ICOM Committee for Conservation (pp. 563-567).
ICOM Committee for Conservation.
Dantigne, P. (2007, July). Preservation of books, pictures, fabrics and others from
mould spoilage. International preservation news: A newsletter of the IFLA
Programme on Preservation and Conservation, (41), 19-21.
European Commission on Preservation and Access. (n.d.). A virtual exhibition of the
ravages of dust, water, moulds, fungi, bookworms and other pests. Retrieved
January 17, 2008, from http://www.knaw.nl/ecpa/expo.htm
Florian, M.-L. E. (2002). Heritage eaters: Insects & fungi in heritage collections.
London: James & James.
Friedman, D. (2005, September 23). Mold “Testing” - Examining the validity of
current indoor mold sampling techniques. In Building & environmental
inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from Home
Inspection & Construction Information Website Web site:
http://www.inspect-ny.com/sickhouse/SampMeth.htm
Guild, S., & MacDonald, M. (2004). Mould prevention and collection recovery:
Guildelines for heritage collections. CCI Technical Bulletin, 26.
Price, L. (1994). Mold. Managing a mold invasion: Guidelines for disaster response
[Brochure]. Philadelphia: CCAHA.
Disaster Preparedness and Response
Disaster preparedness and response. (2007, March 6). Conservation on line.
Retrieved January 17, 2008, from
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/bytopic/disasters/
Heritage Emergency National Task Force. (2009). [Brochure]. Heritage Preservation.
Jensen, G. (2006). Minimum Invasive fire detection (Monograph). Scotland:
Riksantikvaren the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
Only the Table of Contents and Title Page are available here.
Mainella, F. P. (2006, Winter). The National Park Service and its partners taking
action in the Gulf Coast and around the country. Forum Journal, 20(2), 11-16.
Matthews, G. (2006, May). Disaster management research. NPO e-journal, (4).
Retrieved from http://www.bl.uk/services/npo/journal/4/disaster.html
Matthews, G. (2006, May). Disaster planning: REDS all over the land? NPO e-journal,
(4). Retrieved from
http://www.bl.uk/services/npo/journal/4/matthews.html
NEDCC. (2008). Disaster planning: d Plan. In About NEDCC: News. Retrieved January
17, 2008, from http://www.nedcc.org/about/news.dplan.php
Zombie Attack: Disaster preparedness Spsimulation exercise #5 (DR5). (n.d.).
[Brochure]. University of Florida.
Health and Safety
Hawks, C. et al. (Ed.) (2011). Health & Safety for museum professionals. Washington
DC: Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections; Health and
Safety Committee of the American Institute for Conservation.
Pollutants
Grzywacz, C. M. (2006). Tools for conservation. Monitoring for gaseous pollutants in
museum environments. Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute.
Hamann, B. (2006, Spring). Testing cultural material for arsenic and interpreting the
results: A case study at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Collection
Forum, 20(1-2), 13-22.
Lloyd, H., Brimblecombe, P., & Lithgow, K. (2007). Economics of dust. Studies in
Conservation, 52(2), 135-146.
Nguyen, T.-P., & Dubus, M. (2007, July). The National Library of France: Indoor air
pollution in the storage rooms as a consequence of an ill-suited air
purification system. International Preservation News: A Newsletter of the IFLA
Programme on Preservation and Conservation, (41), 14-18.
Ormsby, M., Johnson, J. S., Heald, S. C., Chang, L., & Bosworth, J. (2006, Spring).
Investigation of solid phase microextraction sampling for organic pesticide
residues on museum collections. Collection Forum, 20(1-2), 1-12.
Palmer, P., Martin, M., Wentworth, G., & et al. (2006, Spring). Pesticide
contamination on Native American artifacts: Methods, results from sis case
studies, and next steps. Collection Forum, 20(1-2), 23-32.
Rhyl-Svendsen, M. (2006). Indoor air pollution in museums: Prediction models and
control strategies. Reviews in Conservation, 7, 27-41.
Exhibits
Thickett, D., Stanley, B., & Booth, K. (2008). Retrofitting old display cases. In J.
Bridgland (Ed.), 15th triennial conference, New Delhi, 22-26 September 2008:
Preprints/ICOM Committee for Conservation (pp. 775-782). ICOM Committee
for Conservation.
Thorn, A. (2008). Vibration impact: Methods and results of some recent studies. In J.
Bridgland (Ed.), 15th triennial conference, New Delhi, 22-26 September 2008:
Preprints/ICOM Committee for Conservation (pp. 783-790). ICOM Committee
for Conservation.
Light Damage
Morris, Hannah R. & Whitmore, Paul M. (2007). “Virtual fading” of art objects:
Simulating the future fading of artifacts by visualizing micro-fading test
results. JAIC 46(3), 215-218.
Saunders, D., & Kirby, J. (2008). A comparison of light-induced damage under
common museum illuminants. In J. Bridgland (Ed.), 15th triennial conference,
New Delhi, 22-26 September 2008: Preprints/ICOM Committee for
Conservation (pp. 766-774). ICOM Committee for Conservation.
Richardson, C., & Saunders, D. (2007). Acceptable light damage: A preliminary
investigation. Studies in Conservation, 52(3), 177-187.
Assignments
Building a collection
Due February 2
Report I to stakeholders
Due March 8
Monitoring plan
Due April 26
Report II to stakeholders
Due May 6
Grading
Class participation: 20%
Assignments: 70%
Building a collection (10%)
Report I to stakeholders (20%)
Monitoring plan (20%)
Report II to stakeholders (20%)
Quiz(es): 10%