It has been a very busy week in Conservation. We are neck-deep in helping with the move of the special collections to swing space. The flat files moved this week, which was a very big job indeed. Everyone in the lab has been helping either with the physical move, preparing materials for transport, or providing … Continue reading It’s Been A Busy Week!
This month on the 1091 Project we are highlighting the non-book, non-paper items that come to the conservation lab for evaluation and rehousing. In our collections we have the usual amounts of prints, drawings, paintings and various other kinds of artwork. But we also have hanks of famous-people’s hair, pink felt dragons, christening gowns, weather … Continue reading 1091 Project: From Art To Eyeballs
The first Enabling Project underway is to review the bound monographs that are housed across five floors of stacks to determine if they are in good enough condition to move without causing damage. Our student assistants are reviewing each book to find broken or loose sewing, loose or detached boards or spines, detached pages, etc. … Continue reading Enabling Project: Starting the E’s (aka the bound monographs)
Today, Thanksgiving Day 2010, Preservation Underground turns one year old. It’s been quite a year, the department turned 10 years old and we celebrated with an exhibit and interviews with the staff (search “Tenth Anniversary Celebrations” and “Ten Years, Ten People” on our blog to find those). We’ve shared some fun projects like Boxing the … Continue reading Happy Anniversary Preservation Underground!
A brittle book from the general collections came in today whose binding is holding on only by its spine lining. The paper and sewing are brittle and several pages are loose. It failed even a single fold of a (very very tiny) double-fold test, so it is too brittle to repair. No problem, we’ll make … Continue reading What Good Is A Box?