Professional Development

NCPC Basic Book Repair Workshop, ECU Jan 24-25, 2008

Laupus Medical Sciences Library, East Carolina University

For two days, my colleague, Rachel Hoff and I, discussed and taught preservation concepts and treatments. It was two day-long Basic Book Repair Workshops sponsored by NCPC. Rachel and I have been teaching these workshops for several years both together and individually as our schedule permits. To prepare for this task, in 2004, we both received a 2-day training course at the Etherington Conservation Center in Greensboro. I also assisted Matt Johnson, ECC Book Conservator on one of his workshops.

The classes were filled with library staff from the eastern portion of North Carolina, many from ECU, but also the NC State Archives, Elizabeth City State, Campbell University, UNC-Chapel Hill and many school librarians. We discussed the library environment-cleaning, mold, dust, pest management, etc. and also covered the key preservation issues of “Do No Harm”, reversibility, and appropriate adhesives. Because this was a basic workshop, we also covered tools and assembling a tool kit, reference books (we gave them a bibliography) and web sites for preservation, and suppliers (they received a list). Each participant also received a glossary of preservation terminology, a diagram of the parts of a book, and step by step instructions on spine replacement, tearing Japanese paper and the use of heat-set tissue. We also briefly discussed disaster recovery and treatment solutions.

After the hour long discussion, the rubber hit the road. Rachel demonstrated various methods of tipping in loose pages and hinge tightening methods. Following this, I demonstrated the spine replacement my own students do. We completed making a new spine piece for each book and following a nice lunch overlooking the Medical Sciences campus, we glued the new spine piece into each book. This spine replacement is a tried and true method that I hope will be used by each person when they return home. Rachel has her own version of this spine replacement technique, which she also demonstrated. We also demonstrated using heat-set tissue to repair paper tears and tearing Japanese paper for hinge reinforcement.

Questions abounded from the classes all day long: “should we use tape on that; what do I do when the top edge of the spine is pulling off; is Filmoplast Ok to use; this is too long, do I cut it off, or leave it”.

These workshops are gratifying because many individuals are not able to get this training and are very appreciative of our workshops. The skill level of the participants can range from experienced preservationists to bona fide ‘tapers’. This is a good way to give back to those in our profession by sharing our knowledge and skill. Each time I do a workshop, I feel very fortunate to have all the resources I have to do my job.

Following the first day of the workshop, I decided to visit the Preservation Lab at ECU’s Joyner Library. When I asked at the Circulation Desk, the student didn’t know there was a Preservation Lab. I walked a few steps and saw it listed on the map as being on the very same floor. We both laughed as he called the Preservation Staff, who to my surprise, had been in our workshop that day! ECU has a wonderful lab-it is open, with multiple work spaces for the staff and students, lots of equipment (fume hood, de-acidification sprayer, ultrasonic welder for encapsulation of documents, a 6′ board shear, numerous presses, and job backers, a sewing cradle, and tons of supplies. Each student who works in Preservation has their own work bench-impressive!

The ECU workshops were enriching to me and hopefully, the participants, who were sent home with a packet of information and repair techniques to improve the condition of their own library’s collection.

On Friday, Nov. 2nd, Sharon and I attended the annual conference of the North Carolina Preservation Consortium at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill. The topic of the conference was The Great Migration: Audio Preservation in the Digital Age. The keynote speakers addressed many aspects of preserving audio materials in a time that there are more materials out there than a typical repository can juggle.

Sam Brylawsaki, from the Donald C. Davidson Library at UCSB, gave some practical guidelines for audio preservation, including how to store records and cassettes; they should be put on the shelves vertically instead of horizontally to avoid cracking and breakage from the weight of other materials on top of them. He also stressed to SAVE THE ORIGINALS! Don’t dump them to make shelf space after they’ve been reformatted. Why, you ask? We want to preserve the imperfections which don’t always transfer to the new medium, and more importantly, because most CD’s and DVD’s today are NOT good preservation mediums. They are an interim choice at best, until a better way is developed.

Sam knows his stuff, since he worked for many years at the Library of Congress as head of the Recorded Sound Section in its Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division. He is also editor of UCSB’s Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings. He had slides that vividly showed the damage that can be caused by improper storage of materials, as well as the proper types of facilities and storage areas to make sure that originals are well protected.

George Blood, from Safe Sound Archive, gave a very technical talk about Magnetic Tape and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: The Science and Psychology of Audio Preservation for Archivists and Librarians. Mr. Blood has documented over 4000 live events and has recorded and edited som 600 nationally-syndicated radio programs, most of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has recorded or produced over 100 CD’s, 2 of which were nominated for Grammy Awards.

He discussed the types of originals that need reformatting, such as LPs, 78’s, CD’s, CDR’s, and analog reel-to-reel tapes. He also went into great detail about the scientific structure of sound waves, and how they transfer from originals to new mediums. The reformatted copy usually misses some of the sounds from the originals, which means that we want to save the original as well, for as long as it will last.

Mr. Blood had some audio clips that he played for us, to demonstrated the importance of having a professional recording engineer do the transfer to the new medium, vs. having a grad student undertake the same project. The difference was amazing! The student captured the basics of the audio, but it was clear that much was missing from the final product when he played a piece that had been professionally transferred. Alas, the cost of hiring a professional is many times cost-prohibitive to most institutions.

Some additional resources that were offered were these links:

• Audio Preservation and Restoration from the University of Washington Libraries
• Sound Savings: Preserving Audio Collections from ARL
• Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs from CLIR, Council on Library and Information Resources