392G - Management of
Preservation Programs
Spring 2008
Class 7
*Conservation of General
and Special Collections
*Mass Deacidification
Collections Conservation
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A preservation management strategy for the
physical treatment and protective housing of
endangered research materials that allocates
treatment resources for maximum benefit to
the collection.
History
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Collections Repair Manuals - early 1980s
Library Collections Conservators Discussion
Group premiered at AIC, 1992
ALA Show and Tell, early 1990s
Title “Collections Conservator”
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Berkeley - 1985
Connecticut - 1986
UT Austin - 1992
Collections Conservation
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Principles:
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Resources are focused on materials with the highest
preservation priority.
The useful life of materials in their original format is
maximized.
The scale of the collections conservation program is linked
to the scale of the problems in the collections.
The cost effectiveness of treatments is maximized by
batching work; using permanent, durable materials; and
employing sound methods.
Special collections materials are included as appropriate to
the collections approach.
Other preservation options are considered when feasible,
acceptable, and more cost-effective than conservation
treatment.
Collections Conservator
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A conservator who “manages a high-volume
production-oriented operation, and develops
strategies for conserving large collections of
general research materials in their original
format.”
Association of Research Libraries, 1988
Goals of a Collections
Conservation Program
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To improve and stabilize the physical
condition of library collections. This can
involve a broad range of activities, their
scope dependent upon the training, skills,
and experience of the program manager;
whether the program exists within the context
of a comprehensive preservation effort; and
the availability of resources.
Responsibilities of Collections
Conservation
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Establishment of a communications network
with the library system, which enables
collaborative development of policies, work
flows, and mechanisms for decision making.
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Development of specifications for a range of
conservation treatments appropriate for
general collections.
Responsibilities of Collections
Conservation
• Management of a conservation lab, including
evaluation of materials to determine the types
of treatment or protective housing they
require; treatment and housing of materials;
standards setting and quality control; staff
training and supervision; work flow
management; and selection and maintenance
of supplies, tools, and equipment.
Responsibilities of Collections
Conservation
• Direct management of (or involvement in the
management of) the library’s commercial
binding program, preservation reformatting,
and/or mass deacidification program,
including the management of contracts for
external services.
• Preservation needs assessment, including
designing and conducting surveys
Responsibilities of Collections
Conservation
• Environmental monitoring and participation in
the development of environmental
specifications for building renovation and
construction projects.
• Disaster preparedness and recovery, and
response to mold and insect infestation.
Selection Priorities
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Fundamental to the mission of a collections
conservation program is treatment of materials
that are in demand, combined with the overall
condition of the collections.
“[Consideration of both] condition and use is the
best strategy for selection…[It] assumes that funds
and facilities are likely to remain in too-short supply
for the foreseeable future to undertake preservation
with any goal other than solving today’s problems
first; …achieve[s] the lowest rate of
expenditure…and…channel[s] funding to areas of
immediate need.”
Barclay Ogden, U. of CA Berkeley
Selection Priorities
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The sooner materials are identified for treatment, the
more easily and quickly they can be repaired.
Problems are addressed as promptly as possible.
Selection decision-making incorporates
items currently damaged
and
at greatest risk.
Workflow Variables
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The appropriateness and availability of other
preservation options (library binding,
reformatting) for treating damaged materials
The rate of flow through the lab based on
availability of staff, their technical proficiency,
and library’s rate of demand for work
The appropriateness of the technical
solutions for the materials being treated.
Treatment Options
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Preparation for Use
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Pamphlet Binding
Tip-ins
Pockets
Paperback Reinforcement
Hinge Tightening
Bolt Cutting
Paper Repair
Protective Enclosures (envelopes, boxes,
wrappers, portfolios)
Treatment Options
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Preparation for Commercial Library Binding
Book Repair
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Hinge Tightening
Tip-ins
Paper Repair
Structural Repair for Standard-size Case-bound Books and
Paperbacks
Structural Repair for Other Types of Bindings
(e.g. book sewn on cords; oversize volumes requiring splitboard construction; books with older, fragile, machinestamped bindings; leather bindings)
Treatment Options
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Construction of Protective Enclosures
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Pamphlet Binding
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Paper Treatment
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Treatment of Special Collections
Special Collections
Conservation
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Defining “Special Collection”
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Collections of materials that must be maintained in their
original form (even if a surrogate is provided for access).
 Bibliographic interest
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Significant editions
Works of exceptional aesthetic value
Notable associational worth or provenance
Exemplars of binding, printing or illustration history
Photographs
Films and videos
Manuscripts
Sound recordings
Computer files
Special Collections
Conservation
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Difference between Special and General
Collections Conservation:
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“One-of-a-kind” treatment
Documentation
Minimal intervention and aesthetic reintegration
Rigorous respect for the integrity of the object and
an appreciation of its role as an object of material
culture.
Treatment Documentation
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Treatment Specification (conservator and curator,
bibliographer, archivist, etc.)
Treatment Proposal (curator contributes
information about use, value, where it is stored,
whether all parts must be retained, etc.)
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Description of original material and fabrication
(sometimes accomplished via tests for media solubility, etc.)
Potential courses of action, benefits, risks, limitations and
treatment time
Treatment Documentation
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Treatment Report
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Purposes:
 Helpful to the conservator during reconstruction portion of
treatment
 Serves future scholars and conservators wanting
information about the original structure and what was done
 Can function as a learning tool for both conservators and
curators
 Details the processes carried out during the course of
treatment, the materials used in treatment, and a
description of parts removed
 Provides photographic documentation.
Treatment Options
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Paper and Books
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Removing damaging mounts
Removing tape and adhesives
Removing stains
Cleaning
Deacidification (alkalinization)
Consolidation
Mending
Resewing or sewing stabilization
Spine repair
Housings
Conservation Labs
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http://www.lib.ku.edu/preservation/StannardLab/PicStanLab.shtml
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http://www.lib.uconn.edu/print/services/preservation/facilities.html
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http://libraries.mit.edu/preservation/index.html
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/conservationlabs/
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New York Public Library Preservation Database online artifactual
treatment documentation management system
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:bVVrTSAfl4J:palimpsest.stanford.edu/iada/ta99_047.pdf+conservation+treatm
ent+specification&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a
Holdings Maintenance Defined
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A range of basic preservation procedures
designed to prolong the life of archival
records by providing a stable storage
environment.
Holdings Maintenance Defined
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Includes actions designed to prolong the
useful life of records and to reduce or defer
the need for laboratory treatment by
improving the physical storage environment,
including:
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Replacing acidic storage materials
Improving shelving practices
Removing damaging fasteners
Reproducing unstable materials
Dusting boxes and shelves.
Holding Maintenance
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Focus on:
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Storage containers
Oversize records
Folded and rolled documents
Written notations on archival records
Dusting
Damaged records
Fastened documents
Bound volumes, including scrapbooks and albums
Preservation photocopying
Unstable copies
Mass Deacidification
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NYPL Study
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Test 1: 1,000 volumes of Slavic monographs selected at
point of shelf preparation.
Criteria
 pH acidic
Time to shelf
 3-week turnaround if no binding needed
 5-week turnaround if needing binding first
 Approximately 6 weeks
Costs
 $16.20 total (excluding binding)
 Costs mainly for deacidification and shipping
 $1.05 for initial review and selection, packing and shipping,
inspection of volumes upon return, 583 entry
Mass Deacidification
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NYPL Study
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Test 2: 1,000 volumes of Cuban monographs selected from
shelf.
Criteria
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Post 1950 publication
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Importance to collection
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pH acidic
Time to shelf
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3-week turnaround if no binding needed
Approximately 4 weeks
Costs
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$16.75 total
Costs mainly for deacidification and shipping
$1.65 for initial review and selection, packing and shipping,
inspection of volumes upon return, 583 entry
Mass Deacidification
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New York Cooperative State Grant
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NYPL, University of Rochester, Columbia University
Humanities and Social Sciences, 1950-71
1,700 volumes each year in each institution = 5,100
volumes total
All but NYPL went to the shelf for selection
 Preferred smooth, efficient workflow
Pulling, packing, shipping and receiving was placed in an
area that was already familiar with this workflow.
 At Columbia and NYPL, this was the shelf prep unit that
prepares items to go to the library binder.
Workflow Commonalities Keeping Costs Down
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Pulling, packing, shipping and receiving is placed in
a processing area already familiar with this workflow
(shelf prep, contract microfilming).
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583 entry is, for the most part, done in the unit
prepping, shipping and receiving the volumes (not
cataloging)