Conservation & Preservation

Hands-on Sites | Preservation Organizations | Digitization | Product & Vendor

Hands-on Preservation Related Sites

• Basic Paper Treatments for Printed Book Materials: By Peter Verheyen (Published in the Guild of Book Workers Journal, Spring 1991).
• Book_Arts-L: A listserv serving the book arts community worldwide.
• Book Care and Repair Resources: List of linked resources provided by the Tippecanoe County Public Library.
• Book Supports for Exhibition and Reading Rooms: By Mary Baughman.
• Bookbinding, a Tutorial, Douglas W. Jones, University of Iowa.
• Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology.
• California Preservation Clearinghouse: Book repair and collections maintenance tutorials and bibliography.
• Cockroach Control Manual: Guide to identification of species and how to control them.
• Conservation OnLine (CoOL): Maintained by Walter Henry at the Stanford University Library Preservation Department, this site is the most comprehensive source for preservation information. Included are bibliographies, Commission on Preservation and Access publications. project reports, and archived files of listserv postings.
• Collections Care and Conservation: Care and handling instructions for a wide range of materials from the Preservation Directorate of the Library of Congress.
• Colorado Preservation Alliance
• Conservation and Preservation at Washington State University.
• Conservation Science Projects: From the Royal Dutch Library.
• Dartmouth College Library Preservation Department: Manuals for basic book repair and more advanced treatments. Also good section on required tools...
• Disaster Plan from the Preservation Department at the Syracuse University Library.
• German Case (Bradel) Binding Tutorial: Assumes that text block with endsheets...has already been prepared. An elegant solution and great for beginners because you'll know it fits before covering.
• Guidelines for the conservation of leather and parchment bookbindings. From the Royal Dutch Library.
• Guild of Book Workers, the national organization for ALL the book arts.
• How to care for...: Canadian Conservation Institute page with tips on caring for books, papers, photographs, and much more.
• ICPC Tip Sheet List: From the Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium. Topics include: Scrapbooks and photographs.
• Manuel Pour la Reliure et la Réparation des Livres Destinés à la Conservation à Long Terme: EXCELLENT manual for book repair and conservation from the Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire - Lausanne. Organized by type of problem and binding style. In French with very clear illustrations describing the techiques.
• Milton S. Eisenhower Library Preservation Department: At the Johns Hopkins University.
• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA): Preservation FAQ
• Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC): Links to basic how-to manuals for rehousing, care of photographs, books, as well as assistance in determining treatments and obtaining funding.
• Preservation at Cornell University: Has section on making simple enclosures.
• Preservation Department at Indiana University. Extensive online treatment manual.
• Repair of Broken Leather Joints Using Japanese Paper: By Don Etherington
• Repair of Original Cloth Case Bindings Using Japanese Paper: By Don Etherington.
• Colorado Preservation Alliance Scrapbook and Home Archives Preservation: From the Image Permanence Institute at RIT.
• Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education (SCMRE): Originally established in 1963, principally to provide technical support to the Smithsonian museums in the analysis and conservation needs of the collections, SCMRE moved in 1983 to the then newly completed Museum Support Center, to embark on a mission of independently formulated programs in research and education in conservation and scientific studies of collection materials, serving a nationwide and international professional audience. SCMRE has "guidelines" for taking care of collections under the Taking Care Section of
  the website.
• Structure Outline for Book Description Documentation by Robert Espinosa.
• Three Basic Book Repair Procedures: By Carole Dyal and Pete Merrill-Oldham. Instructions for three simple, non-invasive repair techniques as demonstrated at ALA in 1998.

Organizations with Preservation Activities & Other Resources | Top

• ALA Preservation and Reformatting Section.
• ARL: Association of Research Libraries: Homepage with links to preservation related documents via gopher.
• AMIGOS Preservation Service: Preservation resources and information in the Southwest region of the US.
• Canadian Conservation Institute: Includes information on "preserving my heritage," including books, papers, and other artifacts.
• Conservation Center for Art and Historical Artifacts (CCAHA): Philadelphia based regional conservation center offering book, paper and photograph treatments as well as workshops.
• e_conservation Magazine: Free online magazine, published bimonthly for all the professionals involved in the conservation-restoration of cultural heritage.
  It publishes peer-reviewed articles covering a large range of topics, including but not limited to: conservation and restoration treatment of works of art, conservation science and theory, preventive conservation, cultural management, documentation and ethics.
• European Commission on Preservation and Access: 
• Forum Bestandserhaltung: German language database dedicated to the preservation and conservation of library materials.
• The Getty: Conservation at the Getty
• GRIP - Gateway to Resources on Preservation: A project of the National Archives of the Netherlands) and the European Commission on Preservation and Access
• Heritage Conservation Historic Preservation: Conservation Department of State Library, Victoria, Australia.
• IFLA Section on Preservation and Conservation.
• Image Permanence Institute (IPI): Comprehensive information about IPI activities and "Scrapbook and Home Archives Preservation." At the Rochester Institute of Technology.
• Library of Congress has a great site which lists bibliographies, information pamphlets, preservation directorate information, as well as information regarding permanent paper initiatives.
• Nationaal Archief - National Archives of the Netherlands: Link goes to pages for preservation and conservation including disaster planning.
• National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
• Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC): Book, paper, photograph conservation as well as microfilming and duplication services. NEDCC also surveys, workshops, and disaster assistance.
• NISO: Standards for environment and materials.
• Northern Micrographics, Inc.: Specialists in Scanning and Microimaging, Digital Preservation, Demand Printing, and Fulfillment Services
• Northwestern University's Preservation Department: Has a quiz on the proper care and handling of books and the collection as a whole.
• Preservation Resources: Reformatting (Microfilm and Digital) services.
• RLG (Research Libraries Group): Homepage with links to many of its member institutions including museums.
• Smithsonian Institution Libraries Preservation Services
• Society of American Archivists (SAA)
• SOLINET Preservation Services.
• Midwest Art Conservation Center (MACC): not-for-profit regional center working for the preservation and conservation of art and artifacts in the Upper Midwest region. MACC is located within the Minneapolis Institiute of Arts, and is a conservation resource for cultural and professional institutions and private individuals.
• Verband Deutscher Restauratoren: German Association of Conservators.

Digital Library Project and Resources | Top

• Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE^TM: Great collection of digital library and SGML resources.
• Columbia University Imaging Projects: This site includes geological survey maps from the turn of the century as well as links to other imaging projects at Columbia University.
• Making of America: Joint Cornell and University of Michigan digital library project.
• Council On Library and Information Resources: Formerly the Commission on Preservation and Access. Offers links to publications, workshops, news and more. Order Into the Future from them as well. This video which was aired on PBS draws attention to the next and perhaps most serious challenge.
• D-Lib Magazine: The Magazine of Digital Library Research
• DigiNews: a quarterly web-based newsletter published by RLG.  intended to focus on the issues surrounding digital librarys, provide filtered guidance and pointers to relevant projects, as well as improve awareness of evolving practices in image conversion and digital archiving.
• Digital Libraries and Resources: IFLA site.
• Digital Preservation, Restoration, and Dissemination of Medieval Manuscripts: A description of the Beowulf Manuscript digitization project, discussing the issues surrounding manuscript digitization, and the equipment used for this particular project. Includes images of parts of the manuscript, plus links to the Labyrinth Medieval Server, a virtual library of medieval material.
• Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia: Links to SGML encoding resources.
• Harvard/Radcliffe Digital Finding Aids Project: links to Preliminary Indexing Decisions which offers guidelines for encoding using the EAD DTD.
• Library of Congress American Memory: Historical Collections for the National Digital Library.
• Library of Congress Exhibits: take a tour of the Library of Congress' most recent exhibits, including the dead sea scrolls, Russian manuscripts, the Russian Archives, the Vatican Library, and more.

Product & Vendor Links | Top

• Archival Methods: Vendors of supplies for rehousing, simple repair, interleaving. 
• Archival Products: Library Binding Service site with helpful articles.
• Benchmark: Artifact Mount making Supplies & Museum Exhibition and Installation Supplies and Services.
• Preservation Technologies: Manufacturers of Bookkeeper deacidification solutions. Site contains technical and product information.
• Bill Cole Enterprises, Inc.: Archival enclosures for photos, letters... in Mylar-D, polypropylene, and board.
•  Conservation Resources International: Manufactures and distributors of archival storage boxes and enclosures, as well as specialized conservation tools, equipment and chemicals.
• Etherington Conservation Center: A part of ICI Binding in Greensboro, NC. Top notch conservation service provider with extensive experience.
• Gaylord Brothers: Vendors of high quality supplies for book repair, rehousing, interleaving...
• Graphic Conservation Company: Chicago based paper, and art on paper conservation firm.
• Kapco Library Products: Supplies for protecting high use, circulating, and other non-rare materials.
• Light Impressions: Vendors of preservation storage supplies. Primarily for photographs.
• Metal Edge, Inc.: Vendors of supplies for rehousing, simple repair, interleaving...
• Multiform Studios / Exhibit Source: Providing artifact mounting solutions to the Museum Community, Corporations, Collectors and Designers since 1982. Collaborating with client staff and exhibit designers, we integrate collection materials into exhibitry, safely, securely... on budget and on time.
• Preservation Resources: Reformatting (Microfilm and Digital) services.
• Sources of Conservation/Preservation Products & Services: From the Solinet site.
• Thompson Conservation Lab: Founded by Jack Thompson in Portland, Oregon.
• University Products: Vendors of supplies for rehousing, simple repair, interleaving...