Category Archives: Adopt-a-Book

What’s In the Lab: Lovely Illustrations

November 19, 2021 Beth Doyle

We have had so many books come through recently with amazing illustrations. From butterflies to coral, travel images to bee flies, our eyes have feasted on some truly lovely images this week.

“The Natural History of Foreign Butterflies” by James Duncan is a beautifully illustrated book filled with vibrantly colorful butterflies. They look real enough to flutter off of the page.

“Le Voyage de L’Isabella au Centre de la Terre” by Léon Creux and illustrated by Paul Coze is a beautiful book inside and out. We fell for this highly illustrated cover depicting a fanciful above- and below-ground image.

“東海道五拾三次 / Tōkaidō gojūsantsugi” by 歌川国盛 / Kunimori Utagawa, is a lovely book of woodcuts of Tōkaidō printed circa 1840’s. The original outer box is a traditional Japanese book box with bone clasps, lined with printed paper. These two structures were some of the first I learned as a bookbinder.

“Plances de Sebe, Locupletissimi rerum natrualium thesauri” by Albertus Seba is filled with all sorts of amazing creatures. Coral and puffer fish are regulars on the Coral City Camera, a live underwater camera in Miami, Florida. The scientists behind this camera are studying urban coral growth and the effects of shipping traffic on the waterway in Biscayne Bay. I think they would like this book.

Lest you think the only cool stuff we get is from special collections, check out the “Manual of Central American Diptera” edited by B.V. Brown, et. al. Who knew fly parts would be so intriguing.*

Some of these books are are here because the boxing was funded through our Adopt-a-Book Program. Others came from the Rubenstein Library reading room. This has been one of those weeks where we get to appreciate how beautiful books are as objects. We love our jobs!

*Bonus insect pic from the bookplate in “Plances de Sebe, Locupletissimi rerum natrualium thesauri” by Albertus Seba.

Adopt-a-Book, Events

Sharing Our Work With Alumni

April 15, 2019 Henry Hebert

Last Friday was the start of a full weekend of activities for alumni as part of Duke Reunions and the library was a popular destination for those visiting campus. A few of us in Conservation Services were able to participate in some of the events and share our work.

In the morning, Rachel Penniman and I partnered with some of our colleagues in Research Services, Technical Services, the Digital Production Center, and Exhibitions to talk about all the behind-the-scenes work that went into preparing the items currently on display from the Lisa Unger Baskin collection.

Each speaker took a few minutes to describe their role in bringing the exhibition to life. Rachel and I discussed how we assessed and treated all of the items selected for imaging and exhibition, giving an overview of general principles of conservation treatment and some of our workflows.

Over the course of an hour, the audience was able to learn more about the complex work that goes into cataloging, preserving, and documenting the items that the library makes available for scholarship. The event was very well attended and we even had time at the end to speak with some of the alumni and answer questions.

In the afternoon, Beth Doyle and I brought some of the new items for adoption up to the Biddle exhibition suite to share with visitors of the exhibition.

Many of the people who stopped by to talk with us had very personal connections with the items we had on the table. Several alumni commented that, even as students, they had regularly come to the library to see the “double elephant folio” copies of The Birds of America. The first editions of Tolkien were also a huge hit. We even had some items adopted on the spot!

It’s easy to get absorbed in the day-to-day challenges of supporting library projects and collections, but it is very rewarding to climb out of the basement once in a while to talk about our work with members of the campus community. I am reminded of how engaged both current and former students are with this university and their fondness for the library.

Adopt-a-Book

Big Birds, Dragons, and Gardens…Oh My!

April 5, 2019 Beth Doyle

Just in time for graduation and Mother’s Day we have new items available for “adoption” through the Duke University Libraries Adopt-a-Book program.

Just added are titles such as Game of Thrones…

The Lord of the Rings trilogy…

A group of wonderful titles centering on women and children…

An awesome grouping of Octavia Butler first editions…

And if you are in the mood for some really big birds, three of the Audubon elephant folios are still available for adoption. Who doesn’t fall in love with these books when you see them?

To adopt the conservation of any of these, go to our Adopt-a-Book page and simply click on the big blue button of your choice.

Why adopt?

You help Duke Libraries preserve their collections so that these titles are available to researchers and patrons for a long time. Best of all, because you receive an electronic bookplate acknowledging your gift, you don’t have to find space for a three foot book on your book shelf. Marie Kondo would approve.

Adopt-a-Book, Conservation

Saving Horace Trumbauer From 91 Inches of Tape

September 27, 2016 Beth Doyle

In 2014 we implemented our Adopt-a-Book Program. To date over 44 items have been adopted by 22 donors. We started this program as a way to raise money for the conservation of materials from across our collections, especially those that we might need to send out for conservation because of an object’s size or special needs.

One such project was adopted by Mrs. Georgeann C Corey in memory of George Nassif Corey (T’69). This architectural blueprint of Duke’s East Campus by Horace Trumbauer was created in 1924. At some point in its lifetime it was the recipient of a DIY repair with self adhesive tape and the adhesive caused a lot of staining and damage.

Duke University East Campus as designed by Horace Trumbauer (1924) [recto; Image courtesy of NEDCC]

This was a perfect item to put up for adoption due to its size, the amount of tape removal needed, and its need to be lined. This blueprint is 52-1/8″ by 40-1/8″. It is too large to fit comfortably in our washing sink, and we have no suction table or karibari board to facilitate the lining. We also wanted a digital image and facsimile reproduction made so that the original could be safely housed while the facsimile could be displayed.

Thanks to the generosity of Mrs. Corey, we were able to send this drawing to the Northeast Document Conservation Center for treatment. You can see from the images below that the treatment was truly transformative. NEDCC conservators removed 91 linear inches of tape, reduced the staining from the adhesive, washed it and repaired the tears and losses, and finally lined it with Japanese tissue. NEDCC digitally captured the drawings and made a 1:1 physical print of the file for us to use as our use copy.

This is one of many success stories from our Adopt-a-Book Program. We look forward to sharing others with you in the future.

Adopt-a-Book, Conservation, What's In The Lab

Say Hello to Eddie Cameron

March 10, 2016 Henry Hebert

Eddie Cameron is a very well known figure around campus. His forty-six year career with the athletics program is the second longest tenure in Duke’s history and our indoor stadium was renamed for him in 1972.

The Edmund M. Cameron Records in the University Archives consists of nearly 14 linear feet of materials produced during his career, and includes three large scrapbooks. Those scrapbooks were adopted for conservation treatment recently through our Adopt-a-Book Program and, over the course of treating one of them, I was able to (quite literally) see Cameron in a whole new way.

Two of the scrapbooks in the collection focus on particular bowl games, but the third is a more general collection of photographs and newspaper clippings from Cameron’s time at Duke. The scrapbook is no longer bound and is currently stored as loose sheets in an over-sized records box.

During my initial examination, I came across a large folded sheet at the bottom of the stack, which I could pretty quickly tell was a large drawing executed with a few different colors of marker.

The thick, machine-made paper had been folded in half three times so that it could fit inside the scrapbook. Two of the edges of the sheet had been rough-cut with scissors, leading me to believe that the paper came off of a large roll. Short pieces of masking tape had been applied along the outer edges of the sheet, presumably to mount it on a wall. There were also stains along the folds and some significant scarf tears. In consultation with the University Archivist, the decision was made to unfold and repair this drawing. We decided not to pursue stain reduction as a part of this treatment, but it could be an option for the future.

The adhesive of the masking tape had become desiccated and powdery, so I was able to simply remove the carrier layer of the tape and gently brush adhesive from the paper surface. The front and back of the poster were then dry-cleaned with white vinyl eraser crumbs to remove any surface dirt or grime. Since the paper was quite thick and had not become brittle, I was able to unfold the sheet during cleaning, but it remained heavily creased and undulated. After testing all of the inks for solubility, the folded poster was placed in a humidity chamber for a couple of hours and then moved to a large felt stack to press for several weeks. When fully flattened, the tears were mended with toned Japanese paper and wheat starch paste.

The drawing is not signed and we may never know the name of the artist, but I really like it. I think that it captures Cameron’s likeness pretty successfully. The unfolded poster is quite large (39″ x 30″), so it was placed in a Bristol board folder and will now live safely in flat file storage.

I am wrapping up treatment on the three Cameron scrapbooks now. With some repairs and new enclosures, they are now much easier to handle and have already been getting some use. On March 1, the New Era Pinstripe Bowl trophy was on display in Perkins Library, along with other historical Duke football memorabilia from the University Archives. Cameron’s scrapbook about the 1945 Sugar Bowl was one of the items on display.

University Archivist Valerie Gillispie with Coach Cutcliffe and President Brodhead

Adopt-a-Book, Conservation, Training

Photo Conservation Workshop: Day 4

October 20, 2014 Beth Doyle

Working with a variety of historic and modern heat set tissues.

Last day of class and we are knee deep in attaching and removing various heat set tissues. We removed them mechanically with a variety of implements, and attempted to remove them chemically with varying success. I have a feeling some of these were successful only because they haven’t been sitting in an attic or outbuilding for 50 years. Maybe some artificial aging of the samples is in order.

Thanks to the Nasher Museum for lending us their heat set press. We wouldn’t have been able to do any of the last day without it.

Addendum: We have posted images from the workshop on Flickr, and you can see composites and a brief description of Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4 on Preservation Underground.

Adopt-a-Book

Adopt A Banned Book!

October 7, 2014 Beth Doyle

For adoption: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (first edition).

I’m always late in honoring the American Library Association’s Banned Book Week. I’d like to say it is because I believe in celebrating banned and challenged books all year ’round, which I do, but really it’s just been so busy here that it completely took me by surprise.

So, in honor of Banned Books Week and brilliant writers everywhere who write about difficult truths (or just plain human truths), we have placed a few frequently challenged titles on our Adopt-a-Book page. Adopt the conservation of a banned book today (better late than never)!

Adopt-a-Book

Our First Adopt-a-Book Repairs

June 2, 2014 Beth Doyle

By Erin Hammeke, Senior Conservator

DUL recently launched an Adopt-a-Book program and I just completed the conservation treatment of some our first adoptees. Jonathan Swift’s “Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World”, otherwise known as Gulliver’s Travels, was printed in four parts in London from 1726-1727 and our set was bound into two full-leather volumes.

Both volumes had loose or detached boards and had previous leather spine repairs. I secured the attachment of loose boards by using a treatment technique called a board tacket. This repair requires lifting small patches on the spine and inside of the board and reattaching the board with discrete stitches or tackets formed between the text and board with linen thread. I put the lifted patches back down with adhesive and applied small tissue repairs to the joints, end caps, and spines. The two volume set looks better now and is much safer to handle.

Thanks to our anonymous donor for adopting Gulliver! We look forward to seeing more Adopt-a-Book items make their way through the lab.

Gulliver’s Travels before treatment.	Gulliver’s Travels before treatment.
Gulliver’s Travels after treatment.	Gulliver’s Travels after treatment.

Why adopt?

Duke University Libraries Preservation