Hand in Hand: Analog and Digital Preservation

Sometimes people are surprised to find out that I have an interest in digital preservation.  I find their surprise surprising.  It’s as if they assume that, because I am a book and paper conservator, I must labor away in an ivory tower filled with moldering books while the modern trappings of technology hold no sway over me, if, indeed, I realize that “digital technology” exists at all.

Image from Lisa Gregory’s ASERL-sponsored webinar “Preservation Planning and PREMIS,” held on April 2, 2013, 11 am EST.

While it is true that my profession entails a love affair with history (i.e. “the past”), and the literal tools of my trade are mechanical devices and hand tools designed centuries ago, my passion for preserving the cultural record crosses the boundary of analog versus digital.  As time ticks relentlessly on, the culture of the present day slips ever backwards into history, and preserving born-digital works becomes just as important as preserving centuries-old manuscripts.  In truth, I see little difference in the mission.  In my day-today activities, I may deal more with the chemical deterioration processes of cellulose than I do with corrupted bitstreams, but I still consider it a significant part of my profession to stay informed about advances in all aspects of library and archives preservation.

I’m lucky to have a supervisor who shares my sentiments.  Our Head of Preservation includes me on the “Digital Team,” which is made up of our Head of Preservation, the Digital Initiatives staff, the Digital Repository Coordinator, the University Archivist and Assistant Archivist, and — when the position is filled later this spring — our Cataloging and Metadata Management Librarian.  This also means that I am invited to educational webinars like the one we all attended today, the ASERL-sponsored webinar “Preservation Planning and PREMIS,” presented by Lisa Gregory, the Digital Collections Manager at the State Library of North Carolina.  The webinar is the first in a series of four about digital preservation.  I enjoy thinking over the theories and practicalities of digital preservation while I’m at the bench, repairing and mending books and documents centuries older than I am.

 

Call for Applications: 2013 Lennox Foundation Preservation/Conservation Internship at ISU

We will be accepting applications for the 2013 Lennox Foundation Internship for Preservation Education, Training, and Outreach at Iowa State University Library through Thursday, January 17, 2013.  Please visit our updated internship information page for details:

http://parkslibrarypreservation.wordpress.com/lennox-foundation-internship/

 

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.

 

What’s Archival About It?

“I use this stuff on my family photographs and documents.  It says it’s archival.  It’s okay to use isn’t it?”  It’s the inevitable question after every “caring for your family treasures” talk.  Or, “I saw this product at a scrap booking store and it says its acid-free.  What do you think?”  Of course I launch into “archival” doesn’t really mean anything in this situation and “acid-free” is only one concern of many.

These products always catch me by surprise and I can only address their properties in a very general way as they relate to what we consider appropriate for conservation.  I guess I should spend more time in scrap booking and hobby stores.  What’s out there? How much of it is acceptable?  Everyone who seeks our advice generally has good intentions when they start out organizing and caring for their collections, but then cost, availability and ease of use affect their decision making.

Are sticky blue dots or adhesive dot rollers something we should approve if individual handmade, Japanese tissue photo corners  attached with hand-stirred wheat starch paste are not really an option?  Let’s face it, archival photo corners often fail quickly and what we expect from conservators goes well beyond the skills, knowledge, and patience of anyone else.  Is there something in between?  Sticky blue dots state that they are photo safe and permanent.  No mention of staining over time or cold flow issues.  Will it soften emulsions over time?  Indirect contact or not, there is opportunity for adverse chemical reactions, but are there any?  Adhesive dots are from the same company that brought us Post-It, a removable adhesive that becomes pretty permanent over time.  Did they warn us about that?  I’m not picking on 3M, I love their stuff, but our intentions and expectations my be different when viewed with time as a variable and also reversibility as a criteria.

Maybe you all can help me out with my grocery list.  What have you been asked about? What have you heard about or seen that made you go “hmmm?”  Perhaps I’ll have a chance to do some simple testing on my own and at least understand what the potential risks are.

 

BookDrive Pro

We were pretty happy this year when we realized that our budget would allow us to purchase a pretty piece of equipment for our photo doc room. Seeing the ATIZ BookDrive Pro online is one thing – seeing it in person is a whole different story. This thing is a beast as far as size goes but a very smart beast in terms of what it is capable of doing. This beautiful piece of equipment is able to take high quality photos (using 2 angled cameras) of items (books, papers, newspapers, etc.) which we can then process for our digital collections.

Atiz’s rep Mary teaching us about the BookDrive Pro

Are you wondering why we didn’t save a few pennies and just use the couple of scanners we already have? First off, taking a high-resolution photo of the item is SO much faster than waiting for a scanner to scan a page at a high resolution. Also, with the BookDrive Pro we are able to capture an image of the book pages without having to flip the book over and press it open on the glass scanner bed to get a good image (which isn’t good for any book, and is especially bad for some fragile books).  You know how you can sometimes get that glare or bend in the page near the gutter of a book when scanning? Well, we don’t have to worry about that either! Our books will rest safe & secure in a cradle and a v-shaped piece of platen will gently sandwich the book to hold the pages open & flat.  The BookDrive Pro and cameras are  hooked up to a computer so that you can see the captured image of the pages as soon as you take the picture.  You can also view the pages in “live mode” if you so wish, which makes it easy to make small adjustments before taking the picture. The two cameras are mounted in place but are easy to maneuver if you need to do so.  The cradle is also on a sliding track, so adjustments are quite easy to make.

The BookDrive Pro is very new to us (as in, not even a week old) so we are all still learning its ins-and-outs, but we see this being a very useful tool in the near future.