Today is a big day in the library and it is graduation weekend. You want the library to look its best all of the time but especially so at times like these.
While Meg was installing the new exhibit, we noticed that a few feet away our Henkel press was really dusty. I got out the trusty HEPA museum vacuum and cleaned a lot of dust from the press. I suspect the dust on the Swiffers may now be archival since it dates to the old hallway area that is now under construction.
Duke University acquired the press in 1931 from the Henkel family. It is the press that the Henkel family used to print most of their early 19th Century books. Ambrose Henkel purchased it sometime before 1810 for $135.00. The screw was made by Henry Ouram in Philadelphia. The press is constructed in the style of Adam Ramage, also of Philadelphia, who is credited with making about 1,250 of these “lightweight” presses.* It is now clean and ready should a certain famous rock musician decide to visit the exhibit.
*This information is from the sign on the press, author unknown.
Today we got to use our new sit-stand table to roll out a Japanese scroll. We are excited about our new tables, they replace low tables that were immobile and difficult to work on. These have wheels and fit through the doors, so they can go anywhere in the lab and can adjust from a sitting height to chin-height. They are perfect for large objects like this Japanese scroll.
Here left to right are Lauren (Rubenstein), Grace (Conservation), Andy (Rubenstein) and Kris (DUL International Studies) are all helping to identify this object. I love when we can bring in experts from around the library to discuss treatment and housing options. Conservation is truly interdisciplinary in that way, and its one of the most satisfying parts of our work.
This month on the 1091 Project we are talking tours. I recorded eight official tours so far this fiscal year. These included tours for library donors and prospective donors; the Library Council, a group of faculty that meet with the library’s Executive Group during the school year; and most recently to the Alumni Association during the annual Alumni Weekend. That tour consisted of about 20 people, but we have had as much as twice that on large tours.
Henry Wilhelm (right) and John Baty (yellow shirt) tour DPC. Alex (left), Zeke (back to camera) from DPC, and Atlas from Internet Archives explain their work.
We also give a lot of informal, spur of the moment tours that don’t make it to the “official” record. These tours are generally for new staff and interns, faculty and visiting scholars, and other interested individuals. This year we gave a tour for artist Bea Nettles, and Henry Wilhelm, of Wilhelm Imaging Research, and John Baty, a conservation scientist. Wilhelm and Baty also toured LSC and DPC.
Tours are an important development tool. They are also a chance to educate people about the work we do, why the work is important and how it relates to the mission of the Library. I love to see people’s faces light up when they realize that you can wash paper or resew a book and make it whole again. Of course the best part is showing off our highly skilled and talented staff.
Bea Nettles talks books with Erin (left) and Tedd (right).
I know some labs include tours in their yearly stats. I report our big tours in our fiscal year report, but I don’t record every tour we give. I would love to hear your experience with documenting tours and/or how you report tours to your administration in your year-end reports.
The Schimanek board shear (big crate on left) and book presses (on right) arrive at the loading dock in 2003.
Equipment Day is our lab’s official birthday. While the conservation lab as we know it began in July 2002, our large equipment didn’t land on the loading dock until spring 2003. It was then that the lab felt “real.”
We’ve come a long way since 2002. We’ve expanded our staff, purchased additional large equipment, and even spent some time in the old nurses’ dormitory during renovation.
Old conservation lab in 2002.Verne and Tanya Roberts Conservation Lab in 2014 (photo Mark Zupan).
A big thank-you to everyone who entered, bid, and helped set up the festival. Thanks especially to Mark Z. for taking pictures. It takes a village to put on this event and we are deeply appreciative of the support we get from our Library and our colleagues.
So much of what we know as conservators is based on learning at the elbow of someone else. Discovering the perfect tip or trick is immensely valuable and can mean the difference between an elegant repair and one that is “good enough.”
This week we held an extended in-house workshop covering several types of leather repair techniques: headcap repair, Etherington tissue hinge, Brock split hinge repair, tacketing and rebacking. Our colleague, Craig Fansler, came up from Wake Forest University to learn along side us.
Mary shows us headcap fills.
Mary demonstrated reconstructing damaged leather headcaps. This repair needs to not only look good, but it needs to function well and stand up to the flexing of the spine. Mary is very skilled at making these repairs, so she showed us her tips on creating well integrated and beautiful replacement headcaps.
Along the way we discussed the benefits of various adhesives and how to maximize their working properties to achieve the desired outcome.
Erin demonstrated the Etherington tissue hinge, tacketing, the Brock split linen hinge, and rebacking with leather. She showed us some of her prior rebacks to help us understand what the end result should look like, and had models for each of the repairs so we could see those as well. We discussed the benefits and detractions of each repair and why we would select one type of repair over another.
The most important tips we learned during our session were
Selection is key to a successful repair, and
Repairs should be done in stages and allowed to dry in between each stage. Going slowly and deliberately will lead to better decisions and a better final product.
Erin demonstrates board tacketing.
Craig practices lifting brittle leather.
I am very grateful to have such talented colleagues who are willing to share their expertise. Through this sort of collaborative training we can learn new skills and continue the tradition of passing on our knowledge. Craig has written a blog post on the Z. Reynolds Smithy blog. Be sure to check that out.
This week we worked with Craig Braeden from Rubenstein Library and Zeke Graves from the Digital Production Center to test a cleaning workflow for moldy reel-to-reel audio tapes we recently received from Haiti.
Conservation doesn’t have expertise in cleaning magnetic media, so this was a chance to learn more about these materials and to do some cross training.
The method is simple enough. While the tape is running you gently hold a piece of Pellon to the tape to remove the mold. What is more difficult is learning to evaluate the tape to be sure it isn’t too fragile for this treatment, holding the tape with just enough pressure to clean it but not too much to damage it while it is moving through the deck, and watching for splices. Craig brought over an old deck and we set it up in the fume hood in Conservation. Zeke helped clean and repair the tape when we encountered previous splices.
Craig has posted a brief video on the Devil’s Tale about this collection and what it will take to clean, digitize and make it accessible.
The Content, Context and Capacity Project (CCC) was a multi-year collaborative digitization project of archival collections that documented the civil rights movement in North Carolina and the triangle. Josh Hager of Duke University Libraries’ Digital Production Center scanned several collections and approximately 66,000 individual items to contribute to this important project.
Some materials required minor repair before digitization, but since they are relatively modern, most of the materials were in stable condition and could be safely handled for scanning. There were some instances when items weren’t fragile, but because of format issues they needed attention before they could be imaged. These items included documents with attachments or bindings with restricted openings.
Before treatment: Heavy staples in side of publication.
The Basil Lee Whitener Papers, 1889-1968 contains several government issued documents that were side stapled to form quick bindings. These bindings didn’t open freely and some had text positioned so far into the gutter that they could not be scanned as they were. In some cases the staples were rusting and damaging the paper as well. With input from curatorial staff, we decided to alter the bindings in order to better capture the content and to ensure their long term preservation.
This process involved Conservation staff removing the heavy duty metal staples — sometimes with a microspatula, and sometimes with every tool we could get our hands on — from wire clippers to vise grips. We then replaced the metal staple with a loop of linen thread that was tied very loosely to allow for unrestricted opening during scanning. After scanning, we cinched and tightened the loop of thread to form a linen “staple.”
Before treatment: Staples restricted the opening and information was hard to read.
After treatment: Metal staples replaced with thread.
Mold and mold removal is a complex issue. Covering everything you should know about mold would take much more than this blog post. There are good references out there if you are interested in learning more.
Our stacks are fairly well controlled for both temperature and humidity so we don’t find mold growing in the stacks unless there has been an undetected environmental problem. Most often mold is identified during archival processing or at circulation points.
Since 2003 we have removed mold from over 5,900 library items. That number will rise significantly this year as I recently finished drying and cleaning over 1,800 items from a large manuscript collection.
Removing mold
For rare and archival items we will do what we can to clean any mold from the collection. Mold must be dormant before attempting to remove it. Small amounts of materials can be dried quickly in the fume hood. Larger amounts of wet materials are put in the freezer until both the paper and the mold are dry.
Once the mold is dry and powdery, the spores can be carefully removed from the paper’s surface either with a dry cleaning sponge or HEPA vacuum. You must be careful with these techniques since you don’t want to drive spores deep into the paper or damage the already weak paper by being too rough with it. Even after treating the surface spores, there may still be spores imbedded deep in the paper fibers. Staining can also be left due to the “biological output” of the mold. These stains may be difficult or impossible to remove. If necessary, after dry cleaning we may wash the paper in an alcohol/deionized water solution.
When we are finished cleaning an item, we apply a label to the box alerting our patrons to the fact the collection was moldy. We believe it is best practice to alert patrons so that they may determine their own best course of action when handling these materials. The library is happy to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and a mask if anyone is concerned about handling these materials.
Label alerts patrons and staff to the mold removal.
We will clean circulating items that have mold only on a few pages, or send them to the commercial bindery if the mold is isolated on the covers. If the mold is extensive we will talk to Collection Development to determine if a replacement can be purchased. If it cannot be replaced, we will treat it the best we can, or we may decide collaboratively to remove it from the collection because the damage is too great.
Mold health and safety
You can build up an allergy to mold and some of those allergies can be severe. To avoid that, we make sure we are protected from mold exposure as much as possible.
We work with very moldy items in our fume hood to reduce the risk of spores getting into the lab. We wear protective nitrile gloves and we make sure our face is protected by the fume hood sash. When the project is over, we clean our tools and the fume hood with soap and water, followed by an Isopropyl alcohol wash. We then thoroughly wash our hands.
Using a dry cleaning sponge to remove mold.*
Using a HEPA vacuum and micro tools to remove mold.
If we are working on site somewhere, we wear protective gloves, N-95 respirators, and long-sleeved shirts and pants that can be washed in warm, soapy water. For extra protection, goggles can be worn to protect your eyes. It is best practice to always wear PPE when handling moldy materials.
*I know I’m not wearing gloves in the picture above. Don’t be like me.
How to prevent mold
Mold can thrive in a variety of environments, even in the Antarctic. To reduce the risk of mold in your collections:
Keep your papers and books in a cool and dryenvironment. This means keeping collections out of the attic, basement or shed, and away from leaking pipes or other water sources. Best practice is to keep temperatures from fluctuating beyond 5 degrees of your temperature set point, and keeping humidity within 5% of your humidity set point. For example: if your set points are 65 degrees F and 40% humidity, your environment would be between 60-70 degrees F and 35-40% humidity. Not always practical or possible, but aim for as stable an environment as you can.
Control the humidity. If you keep the humidity levels around 30-45%, chances are mold will find it difficult to thrive. Mold can grow in cool temperatures as long as the humidity is high enough (e.g. the veggie drawer in your fridge), so if you have to choose one set point to keep stable, humidity is the one to focus on if you are worried about mold growth.
Check inon your collections regularly to see if anything is amiss. While you are looking for potential mold growth, also look for signs of insects and rodents (chewing, droppings, bodies, etc.). Pests like the same conditions as that mold does.
No post about mold would be complete without my favorite moldy item that has come to Conservation. I am talking, of course, about the banana book. Isn’t it something to behold?
Our Audubon double elephant folios are on the list of adoptable items along with many other books and manuscripts.
We are pleased to announce a new initiative we have been working on for some time. The Duke University Libraries new Adopt-a-Book Program will raise funds to support the Conservation Services Department by giving you an opportunity to adopt the costs of the conservation treatment for an item from the collection.
How Do You Decide What Is Adoptable?
We select items based on the three classic criteria used for our regular workflows: value, use and risk. An item can be valuable as an object, as part of a larger collection or because of who created or owned it. Use can be through circulation, in the Rubenstein Library reading room, in a class, publication, digital project, exhibit, etc. An item is at the most risk if it cannot be used safely without incurring further damage or loss, or if it cannot be used at all due to its current condition. We work closely with DUL and Rubenstein Library to find items to place on the adoption list that meet all three criteria.
How To Adopt
Collection materials are listed on our website. When you decide which item you would like to adopt, contact Kurt in our Development Office with your selection. He will notify us of your donation and we will schedule the project. When an item is adopted, we will remove it from the list and put a new item in its place. We hope to have a constant flow of new materials available for adoption, so check back often.
Benefits of Adoption
An electronic bookplate will be displayed in the record when you adopt its conservation treatment.
When you adopt an item we will list you as a contributor on our website, and we will place an electronic bookplate in the item’s catalog record. If you wish to remain anonymous, be sure to tell Development and we will honor your request. You may also adopt in honor of someone or something special such as your mom on Mother’s Day, your son or daughter at graduation, etc.
The adoption process is easy. One quick phone call or email can help save a book, manuscript or archival document. Your support helps us in our mission to protect our collections and make them accessible now and in the future.
