This year marks the Preservation Department’s tenth year serving the Duke University Libraries. This exhibit celebrates the work of the conservation laboratory by displaying a variety of different treatments from the libraries collections. The department is planning several events to mark the occasion which includes this exhibit, an open house, and interviews with staff members; for more information visit Preservation Underground.
(Displayed July 2010-October 2010)
The Preservation Department’s new exhibit highlights work from the Triangle Research Libraries (TRLN) Master Bookbinders Group. Our group consists of staff members from the conservation labs of UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State and Duke University libraries. Its purpose is to research historic bookbindings to deepen our understanding of the history of the book, and develop knowledge and skills that help inform our daily conservation work.
(Displayed October 2010-January 2011)
Just before leaving Trent Hall, the Conservation staff took advantage of the outdoor space to participate in a paste paper workshop on July 31, 2008. This technique of creating decorative paper using pigments and wheat starch paste is one of the earliest forms used for covers and endpapers. It is commonly found on materials from the 16th to 18th centuries and is still used today.
We used samples from the Jantz collection as inspiration to create, and in some cases re-create, patterns that are both decorative as well as useful for our work. Working outside on a hot and humid summer day was interesting, especially when it rained and we had to move into the women’s restroom in Trent Hall. Luckily for us there was plenty of space in the old dorm restroom to complete our work! Duke University Library staff may read more about this in the September 2008 IB.
In other news, the Conservation Lab has returned to Perkins Library along with the Digital Production Center and Winston Atkins. We moved on August 25-26th, and have been unpacking and settling into our new space. At some point in the near future we hope to have a formal open house to officially open the new lab.
The Edible Book Festival was held in the Gothic Reading Room this year on April 1, 2009. A silent auction was held to raise money for the Helene Baumann Memorial Fund. Read more from the Duke Office of News and Communications. Photos from the event are on the Duke University Libraries Flickr page.
We raised $628 for the DUL Memorial Fund (Helene Baumann Fund) through the silent auction and additional donations. A big thank you to everyone for attending and for making some great entries, and thanks to Mark Zupan for the images. We look forward to seeing you next year!
Punniest Entry: War and Peas (Amy Turner)
Best Book Structure: Vellum Bindings (Meg Brown)
Most Edible: Night (Judy Bailey)
Least Edible: Brief History of Thyme (Bridget Booher)
Favorite Overall: Very Hungry Caterpillar (Sarah Hodkinson)
Best Student Entry: Little Enginie That Could (Bernadette O’Reilly and Hannah Reynolds)
Most Votes Across All Categories: Little Engine That Could (Bernadette O’Reilly and Hannah Reynolds)
Our third annual Edible Book Festival raised $469 for the Duke University Libraries Memorial Fund. Images of the entries can be found on Flickr. Unfortunately two entries did not get their photos taken, both were entered by Emily Schmidt and titled “The Unbearable Lightness of Bean” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Sucrets.” The titles alone are amusing, apologies to Emily for the oversight.
Our second annual Edible Book Festival was a grand hit. Photos can be found at our Flickr site. We raised $227 for the Duke University Libraries Memorial Fund through a silent auction of the entries. Thank you to everyone who created entries, thank you to Mark Zupan for the image, and thank you to all those who bid on items.
We held our first annual Edible Book Festival and raised $255 for the Duke University Libraries Memorial Fund. Thank you to everyone who participated. Photos of the entries are on our Flickr site.
Collections Conservator, Beth Doyle, discussed the Preservation department’s use of social media as an outreach tool in a recent feature on ALA’s Preservation Awareness Week website.
The Herald-Sun, recently featured Conservation in an article titled “Conservators Give New Life to Old Books.”
The gorgeous book on Erin Hammeke’s table is 21 by 14 inches, 3 inches thick, with gold tulle and white vellum binding. It dates from the mid-17th century.
An atlas from the Dutch publisher Blaeu, it has gloriously vivid maps of the British isles. It also has a number of tears, some discolorations and maybe even some mold. It’s Hammeke’s job to repair and fix it all.
“[The repairs] are pretty straightforward,” Hammeke said the other day as she delicately worked on a tear. “You mend it with Japanese tissue and research paste. It’s transparent, and flexible. You just have to test all the colors to see if they are water soluble.”
Hammeke is one of five remarkably skilled technicians working in the conservation department of Duke University’s Perkins Library. They are responsible for keeping the library’s 6 million books and millions of other items in working condition for both current and future users, and for rehabilitating works that have suffered from decay or in some cases, disaster.
Read more: The Herald-Sun – Conservators give new life to old books
Winston Atkins, Preservation Officer for Duke University Libraries, offers tips and suggestions for storing newspapers from the recent historical election and inauguration. View details at the library’s YouTube site or read more from the Duke Office of News and Communications.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqkEY8ITUBw