All posts by Beth Doyle

Conservation, Preservation Week

It’s Preservation Week! Preservation Video Rodeo Roundup, pt. 1 (Conservation)

Happy 2nd Annual Preservation Week to you all.  There are many exciting events happening across the country for PW this year. To find an event near you, simply find one on the ALA PW map.

In our library, the Preservation Office is hosting a lecture by Ryan Shaw on Wednesday, details can be found at our previous blog post.

Here at Preservation Underground we are hosting a Preservation Video Rodeo Roundup. Each day will have a theme, and we will link to videos related to that theme that we have found on the web. There are tons of videos out there, we will link to our favorites. Please participate! If you have  favorite preservation, conservation or digitization themed videos we should know about, tell us about it in the comment section.

Today’s Theme: Conservation

The J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah put together a fine video showing their beautiful conservation lab. This video highlights some of the work they are doing in both the book lab and the paper lab. Hosted by Randy Silverman, Preservation Librarian.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQNmEDkyOEU

Brigham Young University has a hilarious take on the old TV show called ER. In this video, titled “BR” you get to see the work of the “book doctors” in the conservation lab.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyNbUWvq2mM

The Georgia Archives offers this fantastic video on a recent project to conserve a map dating from 1808.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym-NkKcA7LM&feature=share

Our very own Erin Hammeke was interviewed last year by Duke at Work. We have our own videos listed in the “video” category if you want to see more.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDNbU-XW300

Just for fun: Jeff Peachey, maker of wonderful paring knives, shows us just how easy paring leather should be.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB5ZHNdqTPQ

Announcements, Preservation Week

Preservation Week: Save the Date for Ryan Shaw

Written by Winston Atkins, DUL Preservation Officer. For more information on this event, contact him at Winston [dot] Atkins [at] duke ___edu. More information can also be found on the event page.

As part of the Duke University Libraries’ Preservation Week activities, our Office of Preservation is sponsoring a talk by Professor Ryan Shaw entitled “Event as Data: Conceptual Infrastructure for History,” based on his use of technology to examine traditional approaches to organizing knowledge.

This will be an interesting opportunity to hear how faculty use traditional sources and new technology in their research, and to convey their results.  Especially exciting for those of us in preservation, it will offer us an opportunity to see the sorts of presentations of research that we will be called upon to preserve. You can read a more complete description of the presentation here: http://library.duke.edu/news/main/2011/article56.html.

Edible Book Festival

Edible Book Festival VI (2011)

Our sixth annual Edible Book Festival was a huge hit!

Thank you to all of the contestants, bidders and voters. We raised over $1000 for the DUL Memorial Fund in honor of Helene Baumann. Thank you to our sponsors, the Gothic Bookshop, the Sallie Bingham Center, and Duke University Libraries. Thanks, too, to Mark Zupan for taking pictures of all the entries.

The following were the winners of the popular vote:

Most Edible: Custard out of Carolina (Kelly Wooten)

Least Edible: Medium Raw (Beth Doyle)

Punniest: 100 Ears of Salad Dude (Judy Moore, her entry is pictured above)

Best Student Entry: Make Whey for Ducklings (Dana Powell)

Most Book-Like: Things Fall Apart (Winston Atkins)

Best in Show: Cat-a-log (Amy Turner)

The item that got the most votes across all the categories: Things Fall Apart (Winston Atkins)

Check out the other press we got!

Duke News Video

Herald-Sun article

Duke Chronicle [we are in the slide show for weekend happenings]

Thanks again for making EBFVI a success, see you next year!

P.S. If you haven’t taken our blog survey, please do. Last I checked, we were in the lead amongst all DUL blogs….but the attorneys are gaining on us. Vote now and vote often (just kidding…just vote).

Conservation, Exhibits

Best Before Treatment Image Ever

3 Comments

Conservators take images both before and after treatment to document what the item looked like when it comes to the lab, and what it looks like when it leaves the lab. We also create written documentation that describes the condition of the objects as well as the materials and techniques we will use to fix them.

To get ready for the next exhibit “Animated Anatomies,” Erin is working on repairing two flap books from the History of Medicine Collection that will be on display. Her before-treatment documentation has created some of the best treatment images ever.

The exhibit opens on April 6th. These are rare and beautiful research materials from as early as the sixteenth century. If you are in the area be sure to see visit the library to see them.

Image of Witkowski, “Human Anatomy and Physiology” pt. 7.

P.S. If you haven’t done so, please take a couple minutes to answer the five questions in our blog survey. We are currently the front runner in survey responses, but the lawyers are quickly closing in on us. Please help! Your input is important to us.

Edible Book Festival

The Worst Picture of Me

4 Comments

I tend to look awkward in photos, like this one from Edible Book Festival IV (2009), that’s me on the right. I thought I would embrace my penchant for knowing exactly when to look ridiculous and share this image as a way of reminding you that we are just a couple weeks away from EBF-VI.

We will once again be holding a silent auction of each entry, with the proceeds to benefit the DUL Memorial Fund in memory of Helene Baumann. Bring your competitive spirit and start a bidding war for that incredible chocolate concoction that may or may not look like a damp squid.

You will also get to vote for your favorite entries in each of six categories: most edible, least edible, punniest, best student entry, most book-like (the item that looks most like an actual, physical book), and best in show. Prizes will be awarded to the winners of each category.

Join us on April 1st, 2012, at 2pm in the Gothic Reading Room in Perkins Library. If you have an edible entry, please bring it to the Gothic at 1:30 so we can get you checked in and take a photo of your entry for our Flickr page. Refreshments will be served.

P.S. If you haven’t yet, please take our survey by clicking on the orange button on the right. We are collecting information from our readers so that we can make our blogs better and more informative. It won’t take long, just five easy questions. Thanks!

What We Find In Books

What the…??

4 Comments

This DIY book repair came to the lab today. I believe that the patron was just trying to keep the pieces together. At least, I want to believe that they were trying to help…but wrapping the whole book with duct tape? Three times? With duct tape? *sigh*

Accidents happen, angry dogs happen, things break. It’s OK, we understand. We also have people who specialize in repairing library books. Next time, dear patron, just put it in a zip-top bag and bring it in, we know what to do.

P.S. If you haven’t done so already, please take our opinion poll. Your input is appreciated. Click on the big orange button to the right to get started. Thanks!

Announcements

Change Blog Readers Can Believe In (Take Our Poll)

We’re librarians: we like information. For the next three weeks, Preservation Underground will be gathering information from you, our reader, in our first-ever feedback poll!

This is your chance to tell us a little bit about your blog-reading habits and what you’d like to see when you visit Preservation Underground. In the sidebar you’ll see a link to our short, five-question poll, and we hope you’ll take a few minutes to help us learn how to create a better, more informative blog. Of course, your responses and comments will be submitted anonymously, so click away!

We’ll be gathering responses through Friday, April 15th, and we’ll be sure to let you know what we’ve learned once the results are tabulated.

All of the other Duke University Libraries blogs will be running the exact same poll, so head over to the other blogs that you read and leave some feedback for them, too.

Thanks!

Image from the Ad Access online collection.

Edible Book Festival

Edible Book Festival VI (April 1, 2011)

1 Comment

April 1, 2011 – Gothic Reading Room (Perkins Library), 2-3:30pm
Duke Libraries

The International Edible Book Festival is a yearly event held on or about April 1. Since 1999 bookbinders and bibliophiles have been creating books made of edible materials for everyone to enjoy.

The only rule? Make edible art that has something to do with books as shapes or content. Information and inspiration can be found on the Festival’s home page at www.Books2Eat.com.

You do not need to enter an edible book to attend our event. Festivities will include not only edible books but refreshments you will actually want to consume and voting for your favorite entries in several categories. We will also hold a silent auction for those of you wishing to support the Duke University Libraries Memorial Fund (Helene Baumann) by purchasing a unique object.

For more information or to participate in this year’s festival please contact: Beth Doyle, Head of Conservation Services Dept., or call the Conservation Lab at 919-660-5906. Entries must be delivered to the Gothic Reading Room no later than 1:30 p.m. on April 1, 2011.

Images from past EBF’s can be found on our Flickr site. Bon Appetit and Happy Binding!

Collaboration, Conservation, Digital Production Center, Digitizing

Learning On The Job

Recently Alex from the Digital Production Center came by to ask if I could fix a cassette tape. The tape broke while they were digitizing it, and they just needed it to hold together long enough to record Side B. I know a lot about the chemical and physical make-up of magnetic tapes, but I have never had to actually fix one before.

Librarian skills activate! I searched the professional literature and the internet to no avail. There are a lot of DIY articles on the web, but we try to hold ourselves to a higher standard in our lab whenever possible. I finally called a friend who actually does this for a living.

Hannah Frost, Manager of the Stanford University Media Preservation Lab, walked me through how to repair the tape and assured me that I had the skills necessary to do it correctly. In the end the repair took less than ten minutes, and now I know how to do this the next time it happens.

The thing about working in a library is that we collect everything from the usual stuff like paper and skins but we also have poison arrows, glass plate negatives, hair, textiles, paintings, glass eyeballs and magnetic media. I can’t tell you how important it is for a library conservator to create a large network of friends and colleagues who specialize in areas that are not your own. Sooner or later you will find yourself working on something completely different and unknown, and you need to know who to call. Thanks Hannah, I owe you a drink at the next AIC conference.