Otfl thomas2012

Collections Care for the Real World

Lynne M. ThomasNorthern Illinois University

March 14, 2012

Preservation vs. Conservation vs. Collections Care

• Conservators = expertise/training in hands-on book/paper/art repair

• Preservation librarians = expertise/training in determining needs for conservators, basic book repairs, prevention, disaster plan, etc.

• Preservation administrators = plan, find money to fund the preservation librarians and conservators

• Collections care = How do we keep this in use?

Preservation “expertise” for Paper-Based Materials

Basic Library Preservation

Benign Neglect

Staff & Patron Education

Environmental Controls

The Beauty of “Benign Neglect”

• Stabilize it, shelve it, ignore it.• “Benign neglect” often does the trick– Paper & Microfilm

• …Except when it doesn’t– Audiovisual materials– The Digital Age

Environmental Controls

• Turn off the lights!• Keep your temperature and humidity as stable

as possible • Be nice to your building services folks • Understand your building (and have a plan for

when it breaks).

Disaster Plans

• HAVE ONE. You will need it eventually.• Free Disaster Planning Tool: dPlan

http://www.dplan.org/• “I think we have insurance” does not count.• Supplies: Gaylord.com; home improvement

stores

Staff and Patron Education

• Model good behavior• Shelve and Unshelve properly• Photocopying and scanning practices• Don’t make temporary additions to books

permanent: (post-its, paper and paperclips and rubberbands, oh my!)

Sometimes, You Win

• Patron and Staff education– Bookmarks– Signs– Halloween Horror Show (exhibit or online)– Rainy Day Bags– Policies, procedures, and plans: HAVE SOME.

Sometimes, You Lose

• Mold• Tape• Mishandling• Lack of replacement funds• Degredation of materials (i.e. brittle books, vinegar syndrome)

Sometimes, It Rains. Indoors.

• Disasters• Bathtub Dunks• Act of Dog• Library Cafes• “Deferred

maintenance”

Collections Care: Paper

Stabilization: The most bang for your buck– Tying/Boxing– Envelopes– Encapsulation– The magic words: “lignin-free” “alkaline”

“buffered”

Collections Care: Paper

• Minor Repairs– Glueing– Tipping-in of single leaves– TAPE = EVIL

• Medium Repairs– Spine repair– Reattaching boards

How do I…?

• Search YouTube for how-to videos• CARLI Preservation Working Group workshops• Preservation webliography: http://

www.carli.illinois.edu/mem-serv/pres-weblio.html

• http://www.campbellcenter.org/ (Mt. Carroll, IL)

Calling in the professionals

• Major repairs: re-backing, re-binding, re-casing

• Full conservation treatment: don’t try this at home!

• Finding a conservator– American Institute for Conservation (AIC)

guidelines: http://aic.stanford.edu/public/select.html

How do I pay for this?

• Find a donor/sponsor or a Friend• Talk to your administration• Get a grant

– IMLS http://www.imls.gov/– NEH Preservation assistance grantshttp://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/pag.html– NEH Grants for Stabilizing Humanities Collectionshttp://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/stabilization.html– Guide to Foundation Grants for Preservationhttp://www.loc.gov/preserv/foundtn-grants.html– Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board (ISHRAB) grants:http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/ishrab/ishrab.html

When it’s gone…it’s gone

• You can’t save everything. Really. (And that’s ok.)

• Can it be replaced if it can’t be repaired?• Alternative formatting– Preservation photocopies– Digitization

Questions?

• [email protected]• http://lynnemthomas.com• Twitter: @lynnemthomas