Relocating Print Serials into the Periodical Room

Written by Suzette Schmidt, Preservation Services unit.

Iowa State University Library Periodicals Room

There are three reasons that serials are put into the Parks Library Periodical Room: 1) new serials titles have been requested by a bibliographer to be part of the Periodical Room Collection; 2) reanimated titles selected by the requesting bibliographer to go to this location (i.e. journals which had been closed, but which we are now receiving again); 3) journals being transferred to the Periodical Room from the General Collection due to space overflow issues (also at the request of a bibliographer).

Transfer form with bibliographic information.

The relocation process requires three steps. First of all, I take the paperwork or information given to me and then check the computer to determine if we have additional holdings of the serial on either microfilm, which is located in the Library Media Center, or in electronic journal format.  If we do, then the shelf tag label will indicate this.

Typing the call number and title into the computer program (left); printing directly to the label maker (right).

Secondly, I click on the P-touch icon on my computer where I format and type in the call number and title, which are then subsequently printed out by the label maker and added to the label.

Labeling the shelf (left); shelf label with an “e” to indicate that the Library also holds an electronic copy of the journal (right). Labels with an “m” indicate that the Library also holds a copy of the journal on microfilm.

Lastly, these labels along with their corresponding journals are then placed onto the appropriate call number shelf in the Periodical Room.  In order to do this, there may be some physical shifting of the serials already located in the Periodical Room to make room for the incoming ones.

 

1091 Project: From Art to Eyeballs

As any book and paper conservator working in archives knows, a more diverse range of items crowds the shelves than the expected books, documents, and photographs.  While the focus of our training may have been the treatment of books and paper, we often find ourselves responsible for the physical care of other artifacts as well.  Globes, trophies, and medals are, perhaps, not so unusual.  However, the ISU Library Special Collections and Archives also contains the wax drum of the first ABC computer, chemistry equipment, a death mask, a street sign, and a handmade marionette puppet, to name just a few of the more unusual artifacts.  The Conservation Unit of the Preservation Department cares for all of these items and more.  In some cases, a simple condition assessment and rehousing may suffice.  Sometimes, the artifact may be cleaned or treated in-house.  In other cases, we may work with contract conservators to make sure fragile or damaged items receive appropriate conservation treatment.

     

Most recently, we have been assessing artifacts from the Christian Petersen collection.  Among the Christan Petersen “Papers” can be found several plaster models of Petersen’s larger, bronze sculptures from the 1930s and 1940s, as well as a collection of his hand tools.  Right now, these items are stored in the Special Collections vault and restricted from public access.  We are currently working to photodocument the condition of the items, rehouse them in display-worthy enclosures that will allow the public to access them safely, and arrange for any conservation treatment they may need.

Plaster model for Library Girl, 1944

Buffalo

Medal

Tools belonging to Christian Petersen.

Tools belonging to Christian Petersen.

Along with these artifacts, the Christian Petersen collection includes several linear feet of sketches, photographs, letters, and other documents.  We’re excited about working with the Special Collections staff toward the goal of giving researchers the valuable gift of access to all of these materials together, in context.  To see more images of the Christian Petersen collection, visit our Christian Petersen Digital Collection.

Don’t forget to visit Preservation Underground to see what interesting artifacts Beth Doyle has faced in the Conservation Lab of Duke University Libraries!

 

Care of Historic Scrapbooks Workshop at the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation

Recently, I attended the Care of Historic Scrapbooks workshop taught by Jennifer Hain Teper at the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies in Mt. Carroll, IL.

Jennifer Hain Teper lectures on the preservation challenges particular to scrapbooks as composite objects made up of many different types of materials.

The Head of Conservation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (which, full disclosure, is where I performed the third-year conservation internship required by my conservation study program), Jennifer generously shared her experiences working with UIUC’s extensive scrapbook collection.  The workshop at the Campbell Center lasted two full days, with lectures and discussion in the mornings, and hands-on training in the afternoons.

Hence the name: an example of a true “scrapbook,” made up of scraps of fabric and paper clippings adhered to the pages of a wallpaper sample book.

In addition to an overview of the common materials and preservation challenges of scrapbooks as artifacts, Jennifer presented us with a case study of a scrapbook assessment and treatment project performed at UIUC.  Jennifer shared her projected and actual budgets both for the condition survey and the treatment project, as well as a thoughtful analysis of the inevitable discrepancies.  Her honest assessment of the project pointed out potential pitfalls and areas of concern when designing a scrapbook conservation project.  Having the opportunity to learn from her experience puts me in a far better position to begin planning our own scrapbook project at ISU Library, since I now have very concrete data on which to base my own estimates.

An example of a scrapbook rehousing designed by the UIUC Libraries Conservation Lab.

Our lively, engaged group of workshop participants included three librarians from Western Kentucky University Library Special Collections, a curator from the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, a student from the Museum Studies Program at Western Illinois University, an archivist from UIPUI University Library, and an archivist from the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission.

Sue Lynn McDaniel, Special Collections Librarian at Western Kentucky University, practices consolidating red rotted leather with Cellugel.

Jennifer demonstrates the intricacies of properly wrapping a book for storage or transport.

Among our group, I was the only conservator taking the class.  However, while I am already well-versed in the actual treatment techniques we practiced (encapsulating, making wrappers, paper mending, hinging, backing removal), the class still proved to be a valuable experience for me.  Learning some tried-and-true approaches from someone who has been thinking about the complexities of scrapbooks for much longer than I have saves me from having to reinvent the wheel when I approach our own scrapbook collection.  It was also just a joy to have two uninterrupted days to think about scrapbook preservation problems non-stop, and to bounce ideas off of others struggling with similar issues.

Jennifer’s solution to isolating an attachment which still needs to be handled: a Melinex encapsulation with a window cut into it, so the card can still be opened and read.

I’m very happy to announce that we have just started our own scrapbook project at ISU Library.  The overall goals of the project are to:

• Identify and inventory scrapbooks in the Manuscript and Archives collections
• Assess the condition of the scrapbooks
• Prioritize scrapbooks for digitization, rehousing, stabilization, and full treatment
• Treat scrapbooks according to the determined priorities

Images of some of the scrapbook challenges which await us in ISU Library Special Collections and Archives.

Our conservation volunteer, Martha, will be working with me on this project, so look for updates from either one of us in the months ahead.  In the meantime, if your own scrapbook collection needs some TLC, I can recommend Jennifer Hain Teper’s Care of Historic Scrapbooks workshop at the Campbell Center without reservation.  Whether you work within the conservation field or practice an allied profession, you will end the course better equipped to tackle the challenges of these complex artifacts.

 

1091 Project: Today in the Lab

What’s happening in the ISU Library Conservation Lab today?  I just put the finishing touches on a gigantic portfolio enclosure for housing oversize panoramic photographs.  We have two such photographs in the Archives right now, one of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Convention in 1922, and one of Ft. Des Moines.  Both photographs are over 60″ long, which makes them too big to house in a map folder in the flat files.

This portfolio will rest on top of two side-by-side flat files.  It measures 14″ high x 66″ wide, and its depth allows room for more collection materials, should any more oversize panoramics join our collection in the future.  I wonder what they’re up to today at the Duke University Libraries Conservation Lab?

 

Beanie Box: The ISU Freshman Beanie, ca. 1918

Click on image to enlarge.

Here in the Conservation Lab, I am currently treating the original of the photo shown above, a silver gelatin print of a football game at ISU on August 21, 1930.  Thanks to my oh-so-discreet arrows and captioning, you’ll notice two young men in the crowd wearing beanies.  These beanies, with alternating triangles in cardinal and  gold, are ISU freshman beanies (also called “prep caps”).  The beanies were worn by ISU freshman (emphasis on the men only) from 1916 until 1934.

The Library Special Collections and Archives holds a rare example of such a beanie from 1918.  Since campus tradition dictated burning the freshman beanies in a bonfire at an end-of-the-schoolyear “moving up” ceremony, surviving examples are few and far between.  This past spring, our undergraduate intern Alex Menard designed a special box for the beanie which would allow this artifact to be viewed by Library visitors — and even removed from its box for exhibit — without the beanie itself being handled.

First Mock-up.

Second Mock-up.

First, Alex built a few miniature mock-ups to test her design.  The first design was simple and elegant, but was not as structurally sturdy as she wanted it to be.  The second design added some reinforcements that worked beautifully, but also added a complicated drop-down front that Alex ultimately decided was unnecessary.

Museum-quality hat stand for the beanie.

Next, Alex ordered a museum-quality hat stand to support the beanie, and measured off the stand to get the exact measurements to use for the final box.  The sturdy final box functions easily, and allows a dramatic presentation of one of our treasured artifacts of ISU history.  Great work, Alex!