THE CONSERVATION KITCHEN

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THE CONSERVATION KITCHEN

• BASIC TOOLS FOR ANY PRESERVATION RECIPE

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PRESERVATION V. CONSERVATION WHAT IS THE
DIFFERENCE?

• Preservation The activities associated with
  maintaining library and archival materials for
  use, either in their original physical form or in
  some other format. Preservation is considered a
  broader term than conservation.
• From A Library, Media, and Archival Preservation
  Handbook, by Dr. John N. DePew

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WHAT IS CONSERVATION?

• Conservation The treatment of library or
  archival materials, works of art, or museum
  objects to stabilize them chemically or
  strengthen them physically, sustaining their
  survival as long as possible in their original
  form.
• From A Library, Media, and Archival Preservation
  Handbook, by Dr. John N. DePew

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FIRST DO NO HARM!!!

• Proper shelving
• Make sure the item is fully supported i.e.,
  nothing is hanging over the edge of the shelf.
• Make sure that oversized books are on shelves
  that are spaced to allow for the height of the
  items. If this is not possible, shelve the books
  on their spines.

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PARTS OF A BOOK
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WARNING!!! WARNING!!!

• DO NOT SHELVE BOOKS ON THEIR FORE EDGES!!!!
• Over time, the books text block will begin to
  separate from its case.
• The books hinges will become loose and may
  eventually break.

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THERES AN ELEPHANT IN MY LIBRARY!

• Folio and elephant sized materials should be
  shelved flat on extra-deep shelving designed for
  that purpose.
• Do not stack more than three folio volumes on top
  of each other.
• Do not stack larger volumes on top of smaller
  volumes.

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KEEP YOUR COLLECTIONS IN A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT!

• Most materials in collections (e.g., books,
  photographs, textiles, artwork, etc.) react to
  the environment around them. The following
  culprits can do harm
• Temperature
• Humidity
• Light
• Acid
• Office supplies!!!

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WHAT NOT TO DO!

• Avoid attics! High temperatures in summer, low
  temperatures in winter. You may also have
  uninvited guests bats, birds, squirrels, mice,
  insects.
• Avoid basements! Subject to damp and/or wet
  conditions, inviting mold, mildew, and insects.
• Avoid garages! Problems from poor temperature,
  relative humidity, moisture, insects, and various
  guests.

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TEMPERATURE

• Keep it cool! 63 degrees Fahrenheit if you can
  do it. Just think of how much you will save on
  your heating bills!
• If 63 degrees is too chilly, 70 will do if the
  relative humidity is 50 or lower.
• If at all possible, try to avoid temperature
  fluctuations of more than 3 degrees.

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RELATIVE HUMIDITY

• Keep it dry! 35 relative humidity if you can do
  it.
• 50 is acceptable, but try to avoid anything
  higher!
• If at all possible, try to avoid fluctuations of
  more than 3.

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SEE THE EFFECTS OF POOR STORAGE CONDITIONS!

• The Image Permanence Institute offers a helpful
  tool here
•    http//www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/shtml_
  sub/storedalive.html

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LIGHT

• Both UV and incandescent light can cause damage
  to materials.
• Fading
• Accelerated aging

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WHAT IS THE COLOR OF THE COVER OF THE TALLER BOOK?

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PURPLE THE PART EXPOSED TO LIGHT FADED
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THE SPINE HAS FADED AS WELL
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WHAT CAN I DO?

• Keep lights turned off as much as possible.
• Block natural light by installing heavy curtains
  or light-blocking shades in front of windows. If
  this is not an option, consider having
  UV-absorbing film installed on windows.
• Install UV-absorbing filters on overhead light
  fixtures.
• Consider having lights on timers in
  infrequently-used, closed stacks areas.

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ACID

• Acid and paper do not mix! Some of the problems
  include
• Self-destruction of wood pulp paper (aka brittle
  books) A worldwide epidemic, affecting
  millions of books!
• Destruction of good paper by acidic inks.
• Acid migration from newspaper clippings,
  bookplates, acidic glue, acidic mats, etc.

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EXAMPLES OF ACID MIGRATION

• LOOK AT THE GHOST IMAGES ON THE LEFT

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GHOST IMPRINT FROM MAP BEING FOLDED
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WATCH THOSE OFFICE SUPPLIES!

• Elastic bands
• Tape
• Paper clips
• Staples
• Report binders
• Glue, including rubber cement
• String
• Construction paper and cardboard

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SOME BASIC REPAIRS YOU CAN TRY AT HOME!

• Hinge strengthening
• Tip ins
• Tear repairs

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HOW TO STRENGTHEN A HINGE

• What you will need
• pH neutral glue
• Squeeze bottle or other container for glue used
  in repair
• Knitting needles 2 pairs
• Sponge brush
• Bone folder
• Waxed paper
• Press board
• Weight (can be 4-pound bag of beans or rice)

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HOLLOW OF BOOK

• Want to make sure glue only goes into the hinge.
• The hollow allows the book to move properly.
• Destroy the hollow, and you shorten the life of
  the book!

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FAN OUT BOOK
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BRUSH GLUE ONTO KNITTING NEEDLE
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INSERT THE NEEDLE INTO THE HINGE
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USE YOUR BONE FOLDER NEXT
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USE YOUR WAXED PAPER NEXT
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USE YOUR CLEAN PAIR OF KNITTING NEEDLES NEXT
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APPLY WEIGHT PUT THOSE BEANS TO GOOD USE!
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HOW TO TIP IN A LOOSE PAGE OR ERRATA SHEET

• What you will need
• pH neutral glue
• Waxed paper
• Brush for glue
• White scrap paper
• Prop (e.g., withdrawn book, brick covered in
  paper, etc.)
• Bone folder
• Acrylic press board
• Weight (can be 4-pound bag of beans or rice)
• Hand sander

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SUPPORT THE BOOK TO AVOID DAMAGE TO ITS SPINE
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FIRST DETERMINE HOW THE TIP IN WILL BE
POSITIONED

• Check for page numbering.
• Glue should be applied to the back of the page on
  the gutter edge.

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MASK THE AREA TO BE GLUED BY USING SCRAP PAPER

• Mask off about 1/8

• Colored paper was used for a clearer
  illustration.
• Plain scrap paper (I take it from my recycling)
  should be used for your repairs.

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BRUSH ON YOUR GLUE

• Glue has a short drying time, so try to work
  quickly!
• Brush away from yourself.

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INSERT PAGE INTO BOOK
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USE YOUR BONE FOLDER
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INSERT SHEETS OF WAXED PAPER ON EITHER SIDE OF
TIP IN
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USE YOUR WEIGHT
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CHECK OUT THIS VERY CLEVER PAGE TRIMMING
TECHNIQUE!
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THE HEARTBREAK OF A PERFECT BINDING
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WHAT IS A PERFECT BINDING?

• Anything but perfect!
• Pages come out, often in clumps.
• Try to work with commercial binder to have these
  rebound.

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WORKING WITH A COMMERCIAL BINDER

• Make sure the bindery is a member of the Library
  Binding Institute (LBI), which adheres to the
  highest library standards, including Z39.78-2000.
• Explore batching your bindery work to take
  advantage of economies of scale. More can be
  better!
• DO NOT SEND HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT OR RARE
  MATERIALS TO BE REBOUND! PHASE BOX OR TALK TO A
  CONSERVATOR!

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TWO FLAVORS OF TEAR REPAIRS

• Quick and easy but not for rare materials.
• Japanese tissue and wheat paste for rare
  materials.

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QUICK AND EASY

• What you will need
• Pressure Sensitive Mending Tissue
• Bone folder

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JUST APPLY DOCUMENT REPAIR TAPE AND RUB WITH BONE
FOLDER
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TEAR REPAIR FOR RARE MATERIALS

• What you will need
• Japanese tissue
• Water pen or fine brush and water
• Wheat or rice starch paste
• Bone folder
• Waxed paper
• Small weights
• Tweezers
• Micro Spatula

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CHOOSE TISSUE OF APPROPRIATE WEIGHT COLOR

• Tissue should be thinner than the page you are
  repairing.
• Tissue should match color of page being repaired.
• Tissue grain should run the same direction as the
  grain of the page being repaired. Page grain
  usually runs parallel to the spine.

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GRAIN DIRECTION
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TEARING TISSUE

• Leave margin of 1/8 or less on either side of
  tear.
• Use water pen or fine brush and water to outline
  where you will tear tissue tearing tissue with
  water leaves feathery, soft edges.
• Soft edges are gentler on paper, because the
  weight of the tissue is more evenly distributed
  over the repair.

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USING THE WATER PEN
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EXAMPLE OF FEATHERED EDGE
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GLUE TISSUE INTO PLACE

• Put waxed paper beneath tear.
• Wheat starch paste should be slightly diluted
  with water to a syrupy consistency.
• Pick up some paste with your brush and work in
  from the center of the tissue outward.
• Keep edges of tissue wispy!

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HOW TO APPLY PASTE
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PLACE TISSUE STRIP OVER TEAR

• Pick up tissue with tweezers and line up over
  tear.
• Use spatula to work wispy edges into page.

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WORKING IN WISPY EDGES
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LET TISSUE DRY

• Cover tear with waxed paper.
• Put weight on top.
• Let dry.
• NOTE Wheat paste dries slowly!

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REMEMBER DO NO HARM!

• If in doubt, contact a professional conservator.
• A list of professional conservators may be found
  at the American Institute for Conservation of
  Historic Artistic Works. Check out their Web
  site at
• http//aic.stanford.edu

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HUNGRY FOR MORE INFORMATION?

• The DVD of Conservation Kitchen Basic Tools
  for Any Preservation Recipe may be borrowed from
  the Washington State Library
• Includes pdf files of repairs shown today!

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SOME HELPFUL SITES ON PRESERVATION BOOK HANDLING

• http//www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/
• Image Permanence Institute
• Great interactive site for basic information.
  Check out Stored Alive to see the effect of
  time, temperature, and humidity on various types
  of materials
• http//palimpsest.stanford.edu/bytopic/genpub/ -
  Conservation Online
• Provides links to many reputable sources on the
  protection of personal collections
• http//www.loc.gov/preserv/ - Library of Congress
• Information for the general public on care of
  personal collections as well as links to
  conservators and appraisers
• http//www.archives.gov/preservation/family-archiv
  es/ National Archives
• How-to links for caring for family treasures

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MORE PRESERVATION SITES

• http//www.dartmouth.edu/preserve/repair/html/ma
  terialid.htm Dartmouth University
• Detailed information on the care and repair of
  books. Includes tip-ins, repair of tears, and
  hinge tightening. Check out the link to Parts
  of a book.
• http//www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/brochu
  re/Fam20Papers200120Text.pdf - Cornell
  University
• Illustrated brochure providing a wealth of
  information on the Care of Family Papers and the
  Home Library.
• http//www.wilhelm-research.com/ - Wilhelm
  Imaging Research
• In-depth information on preservation of
  photographic images.
• http//www.nedcc.org/resources/leaflets.list.php
  - Northeast Document Conservation Center
• Link to online pamphlets on a wide array of
  preservation and conservation topics.

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BOOK REPAIR SELECTIONS IN THE WASHINGTON STATE
LIBRARY COLLECTION

• Balloffet, Nelly and Hille, Jenny. Preservation
  and conservation for libraries and archives.
  American Library Association, c2005.
• 025.84 BALLOFF 2004
• Lavender, Kenneth. Book repair a how-to-do-it
  manual. 2nd ed. Neal-Schuman Publishers, c2001.
• 025.7 LAVENDER 2001 
• McQueen, Sharon. In-house bookbinding and
  repair. Scarecrow Press, 2005.
• 025.7 MCQUEEN 2005 
• Morrow, Carolyn Clark and Dyal, Carole.
  Conservation treatment procedures a manual of
  step-by-step procedures for the maintenance and
  repair of library materials. 2nd ed. Libraries
  Unlimited, 1986.
• 025.7 MORROW 1986 
• Ogden, Sherelyn. Preservation of library
  archival materials a manual. Northeast Document
  Conservation Center, 1992.
• OVERSIZ 025.84 PRESERV 1992 
• Ogden, Sherelyn. Preservation of library
  archival materials a manual. Revised and
  expanded edition. Northeast Document
  Conservation Center, 1994.
• OVERSIZ 025.84 PRESERV 1994 
• Schrock, Nancy Carlson. An introduction to book
  repair. Gaylord Bros., c1995
• 025.7 SCHROCK 1995 

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CONNECTING TO COLLECTIONS - AVAILABLE FROM THE
WASHINGTON STATE LIBRARY

• Adelstein, Peter Z. IPI media storage quick
  reference. Image Permanence Institute, Rochester
  Institute of Technology, c2004.
• 778.58 ADELSTE 2004 
• Drewes, Jeanne M. and Page, Julie A., editors.
  Promoting preservation awareness in libraries a
  sourcebook for academic, public, school, and
  special collections. Greenwood Press, 1997.
• 025.84 PROMOTI 1997 
• Ellis, Margaret Holben. The care of prints and
  drawings. AltaMira Press, c1995.
• 760.0288 ELLIS 1995
• Field guide to emergency response. Produced by
  Heritage Preservation in support of the Heritage
  Emergency National Task Force Heritage
  Preservation, c2006. (Includes Emergency
  response and salvage wheel in separate folder).
• OVERSIZ 658.477 FIELD G 2006 
• OVERSIZ 658.477 FIELD G 2006b 
• Framework for preservation of museum collections
  chart plan de préservation des collections de
  musées. Canadian Heritage, Canadian Conservation
  Institute, 1999?.
• OVERSIZ 069.53 FRAMEWO 1999?
• Gorman, G.E. and Shep, Sydney J., editors.
  Preservation management for libraries, archives
  and museums. Facet, 2006.
• 025.84 PRESERV 2006
• The international review of African American art.
  Museum of African American Art, c1984-.
• 700.8996 INTERNA 2007 v21no4
• Long, Jane S. and Long, Richard W. . Caring for
  your family treasures heritage preservation.
  H.N. Abrams, 2000.
• 745.1028 LONG 2000
• Malaro, Marie C. A legal primer on managing
  museum collections. Smithsonian Institution
  Press, 1998.
• 344.7309 MALARO 1998  

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SOME SOURCES OF CONSERVATION SUPPLIES

• Dick Blick http//www.dickblick.com
  1-800-828-4548
• Sells Niji water brush
• Gaylord http//www.gaylordmart.com 1-800-962-9580
  
• Talas http//www.talas-nyc.com 1-212-219-0770
• University Products http//www.archivalsuppliers.
  com
• 1-800-628-1912
• Wet Paint Online Store http//www.wetpaintart.com
  
• 1-651-698-6431
• Sells Niji water brush

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BINDERY INFORMATION

• http//www.thehfgroup.com/
• The HF Group (bindery)
• 1-800-253-5456 (Walla Walla)
• Includes contact information for commercial
  binding operations, as well as Etherington
  Conservation Services.

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LINK TO CONSERVATION KITCHEN HANDOUTS

• http//wastatelib.wordpress.com/handouts/

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QUESTIONS?

• E-mail us at
• preservation_at_secstate.wa.gov