Talk on Collections Care for On The Front Lines 2012

1. Collections Care for the
Real World
Lynne M. Thomas
Northern Illinois University
March 14, 2012

2. Preservation vs. Conservation vs.
Collections Care
• Conservators = expertise/training in hands-on
book/paper/art repair
• Preservation librarians = expertise/training in
determining needs for conservators, basic book
repairs, prevention, disaster plan, etc.
• Preservation administrators = plan, find money to
fund the preservation librarians and conservators
• Collections care = How do we keep this in use?

3. Preservation “expertise” for
Paper-Based Materials
Environmental
Controls
Staff & Patron
Education
Benign Neglect
Basic Library Preservation

4. The Beauty of “Benign Neglect”
• Stabilize it, shelve it, ignore it.
• “Benign neglect” often does the trick
– Paper & Microfilm
• …Except when it doesn’t
– Audiovisual materials
– The Digital Age

5. Environmental Controls
• Turn off the lights!
• Keep your temperature and humidity as stable
as possible
• Be nice to your building services folks
• Understand your building (and have a plan for
when it breaks).

6. Disaster Plans
• HAVE ONE. You will need it eventually.
• Free Disaster Planning Tool: dPlan
http://www.dplan.org/
• “I think we have insurance” does not count.
• Supplies: Gaylord.com; home improvement
stores

7. Staff and Patron Education
• Model good behavior
• Shelve and Unshelve properly
• Photocopying and scanning practices
• Don’t make temporary additions to books
permanent: (post-its, paper and paperclips
and rubberbands, oh my!)

8. Sometimes, You Win
• Patron and Staff education
– Bookmarks
– Signs
– Halloween Horror Show (exhibit or online)
– Rainy Day Bags
– Policies, procedures, and plans: HAVE SOME.

9. Sometimes, You Lose
• Mold
• Tape
• Mishandling
• Lack of replacement funds
• Degredation of
materials (i.e. brittle books,
vinegar syndrome)

10. Sometimes, It Rains. Indoors.
• Disasters
• Bathtub Dunks
• Act of Dog
• Library Cafes
• “Deferred
maintenance”

11. Collections Care: Paper
Stabilization: The most bang for your buck
– Tying/Boxing
– Envelopes
– Encapsulation
– The magic words: “lignin-free” “alkaline”
“buffered”

12. Collections Care: Paper
• Minor Repairs
– Glueing
– Tipping-in of single leaves
– TAPE = EVIL
• Medium Repairs
– Spine repair
– Reattaching boards

13. How do I…?
• Search YouTube for how-to videos
• CARLI Preservation Working Group workshops
• Preservation webliography:
http://www.carli.illinois.edu/mem-serv/pres-
weblio.html
• http://www.campbellcenter.org/ (Mt.
Carroll, IL)

14. Calling in the professionals
• Major repairs: re-backing, re-binding, re-
casing
• Full conservation treatment: don’t try this at
home!
• Finding a conservator
– American Institute for Conservation (AIC)
guidelines:
http://aic.stanford.edu/public/select.html

15. How do I pay for this?
• Find a donor/sponsor or a Friend
• Talk to your administration
• Get a grant
– IMLS http://www.imls.gov/
– NEH Preservation assistance grants
http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/pag.html
– NEH Grants for Stabilizing Humanities Collections
http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/stabilization.html
– Guide to Foundation Grants for Preservation
http://www.loc.gov/preserv/foundtn-grants.html
– Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board (ISHRAB) grants:
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/ishrab/ishrab.html

16. When it’s gone…it’s gone
• You can’t save everything. Really. (And that’s
ok.)
• Can it be replaced if it can’t be repaired?
• Alternative formatting
– Preservation photocopies
– Digitization

17. Questions?
• lmthomas@niu.edu
• http://lynnemthomas.com
• Twitter: @lynnemthomas