Class- Nov 18th, Readings - Ch. 18

This class was spent talking about Photographs, which was a very interesting genre for preservation for me. I found the idea of working on photographs to be a very interesting one as it is something that everyone deals with, regardless of age or generation. However I liked how we discussed how Photographs and other non-paper formats of items have different preservation strategies, especially when you start talking about Preservation of digital items. However, I had not really realized how many different forms of non-paper items there were. We discussed Transparencies, something I remember from my elementary school days, as well as Art and clay tablets. These types of item seem to me like more of a museum piece, however I can see how special libraries, such as a presidential library would catalog these types of items along with the other items. Look a the FDR Presidential Library where the library is part of a historical complex comprising multiple buildings!

Most of this class period we discussed various aspects of The Game. My group went over each of the points in our section of the checklist. I also posted our rough draft for the Admins on the Wiki. Beyond this, I realized that the best way to show how our work is developing is to post various updates of our work to the wiki as well. I had not realized that using a Google Doc (which I feel is working very well) would make it difficult for the Admins or the Prof to see what we have been doing. I think its important to look at the work in process, not just the final project. I have also been working on the budget to set up the area in Tech Services, which has become more of a project than I had first thought it would be. I have really only gotten one departments supply list, which is somewhat frustrating. However, I do know other Department Heads are looking at the budget stuff, so hopefully I get more info soon (Of course, its Thanksgiving break, so I can't really expect that much). I do need to look at how the physical space needs to be set up. I am thinking that using Kitchen counters from IKEA would work the best at this point. I like these items because they are durable, and they have a lot of free-standing items so they would be movable, and it would be easy to get. Also, I think the Kitchen counter stuff would be practical for this type of  project because in general it is already organized for various sized items and the counter-tops are made to withstand use. So I am going to look into this as it seems to be my decision now.

Chapter 18: Preservation of Information in Nonpaper Formats
I found it very interesting that some of the drawback to non-paper formats was that a lot of them deteriorate more rapidly than paper and a lot of them are machine dependent. I had not realized that things like photos would not last as long as book, but it makes sense. Photos, for example, are so acidic that they would take a very special environment to keep them in good condition. I would expect that this would have very different humidity and temperature controls than that of books. I would expect both would need to be lower in fact. Also, I had not realized that copying materials is really how preservation of nonpaper formats is how you preserve it! I mean, its strange to think that sometimes the best we can do is make a copy of something. What if all you can do is continuously make copies in formats? Eventually you lose the integrity of the original. it like making copies of copies of a letter on a copy machine.

Class- Nov 11th, Readings - Ch. 11 &16

Class today was spent talking about Special Collections and Exhibits. I found it interesting that the class seemed to find it easier to describe what Special Collections aren't, rather than what they are. I hate to be obvious, but I think the easiest way to describe Special Collections is to say that they are a collection of Specialty items, sometimes based on theme, author, or time period. I felt that was a little obvious....I guess it was one of those times when the question seemed like a trick. Anyway, I liked that we went over what exactly the issues with a special collection would be when it comes to repairs. I appreciated that we went over what types of items would be included and how most special collections won't be your generic books. I liked that there were various resources we went over for these items like Minnetech and OCLC.

I also found the discussion and reading on Exhibits to be interesting. I had no idea that there were lengths of time to how long things should be on display. I remember the library I went to growing up had the same things on display constantly....I am happy to say that since then they have built two new buildings and have much better display practices. Maybe they got new librarians as well? Anyway...I also found it interesting that some places have you work on your displays so far in advance! I mean the idea that you think about something you want to display 2 years before you actually do anything! It does make sense that there would be people whose only job was to figure out and coordinate displays from that moment on. I'm sure there are bunches of people working on college campuses all over the world that have that job exactly.

Chapter 11: Exhibition Policy and Preparation
What really stood out to me in this chapter was how the policy really makes the standards for exhibition and for loaning of items. I had not really thought about contracts between libraries, but it makes me think about insurance policies that would need to go with these contracts. In fact this very much reminded me the policies that museums have regarding their items. Of course, there are libraries that have museum-worthy pieces. Look at the MN historical society! They have a lot of items that could go into their various museums (like the James J. Hill House). It was interesting to me that the book comments on how you need to have it in your contract the very specific guidelines that you need them to follow, but you need to pay attention to what is too much. If the requirements are to extravagant, then it is possible that no one will borrow those items from your collection. For some this may be their goal, but it seems rather selfish to me.

Chapter 16: Special Collection Conservation
I appreciated that the book pointed out that a special collection may not contain only textual items. I also liked that the book explained that you need to look at an item as something that a researcher may wish to look at, perhaps for its artifactual value, or perhaps for its content. In class we discussed how some of the serials for Sherlock Holmes were being looked at for the ads in them, not just for the stories. Which makes me think of how important it is the preserve the original item, even if you don't think the entire thing is what is needed at the time. Think of all the cultural information that is in periodicals, that in the future may be exactly what a researcher is looking for!

Class- Nov 4th, Readings - Ch. 9

The Game has become a very interesting part of my life. I have had various discussions with the admins and have finally come to realize (just this week!) what the heck we are supposed to be doing. I almost wish I wasn't the department head for Tech Services since it is taking so long to get things done, but the people in my groups are great. I actually really like working with very opinionated people as that way you actually get opinions! And my group has had no problem speaking their minds about this project. While I still feel the distribution of some of the work is strange my groups has come to general consensus on how to deal with the work we need to do. We are creating Google Docs that we all can work on and post our general ideas. For me this make group work really easy as then you don't have to constantly be meeting. Yipee! It was somewhat frustrating when the Admins refused to make a decision. I understand they wanted everyones opinions and asked for a vote on things like due dates, but it would have been nice to have some of those decisions made by the end of class.

Lecture was interesting to me...I especially liked the pictures of natural disasters for libraries. I was reminded of my formative undergrad years (ok, ok, so 2 years ago...) at Colorado State University. I would like to take this moment to point out that there is large difference between CU and CSU. Please don't get them mixed up. Anyway, so the natural disaster picture of CSU was interesting as it has been a subject I had heard about since my orientation at CSU. I learned participially about that flood when I took Geology. In that class I learned a few things: the flood was caused by a trailer blocking the only water outlet (which was really small) and all of Fort Collins is in a flood plain. And the library? it was on a low spot in the middle of that flood plain. Since then there has been a new library built....on top of an artificial hill, with a VERY small basement. Still the fact that the library was so damaged that it was destroyed and none of the collection was saved is mind boggling. They don't talk about that on the tour (they do mention how the new building was designed to look like an open book). Still it really makes you think that you need to realize WHERE your library is. If you are at the base of mountains, could you flood? If you are in California, what do you do after an earthquake? I can't imagine what the disaster plan would be for someplace where that are tsunamis, but they have got to have one. I also started to wonder what areas of the country would be the safest place for a library (on that note it would also be the safest place for people too)? Of course every place has its own safety issues, so perhaps isn't not about where you are it just about knowing what the risks really are and knowing how much damage can be caused. After all it is commonly said, "Plan for the worst, hope for the best" and that is really the motto a disaster plan should follow.

Chapter 9: Preservation Management: Emergency Preparedness
I found it funny that the 3rd sentence in this chapter is about Insurance companies, and how emergency preparedness is always something that concerns them, and so should concern you when discussing a Preservation program. The idea that a librarian needs to think about risk management was very interesting to me. Risk management has always been a business term to me, so perhaps this is one way that libraries are being run more like businesses. It makes sense that aspects of running a business should also be used in managing a library, especially when you look at maintaining your product integrity. It makes sense that the Emergency Preparedness plan should match the Collection Management plan. The Collection Management would really be a guide to how materials are taken care of or stored, which will tell you how much damage could possibly be avoided in case of an emergency, and what you should expect would need to be done to correct that damage.

Field Trip #2 - Minnesota Historical Society

Our second field trip at the Minnesota Historical Society with Carolyn Ogden was extreemly interesting. I found it interesting that they concentrated on one thing at a time, rather than the whole collection like at the Bindery. But it was also strange since they are in charge of some much. They have preservation responsiblitity for not just the collection at the historical society but also the Hill House, Ramsey House, and Mill City Museum.This made the 4 labs seem very reasonable since they don't work on tons of projects at once. The 4 labs were also really interesting, especially the Flag lab. I found it really strange that in every other lab they constantly washed EVERYTHING, but in the Flag lab they didn't at all! That did make sense when Carolyn explained that half of the historical value of the flag was where it had been flown, so the dirt and blood, and other stuff that make the flag dirty would be important and add value to the flag. I also hadn't realized that soldiers took parts of the flag with them....it makes me wonder if that is still done today.

I was also impressed with the security of the Preservation center. I had not realized that there would be so much. I does make sense that they would need to protect a lot of what the ywrok on as I'm sure some of it is very valuable, especially the things that are rare, like what is in the Mille Lacs Indian Tribe collection. I found it somewhat shocking that to some tribes the use of gloves was actually disrespectful. However I can see how learning about the culture attached to objects is important. It reminded me of Star Trek (yeah I'm gonna bring it up) and the Prime Directive, not to cause damage to another culture or to affect them. That seemed to be what Carolyn was getting at. I was impressed with the amount of work she had done to show other people interested in preservation the differences between modern american culture and the historical culture of Native Americans.

Field Trip #1 - U of M Bindery

Out first Field Trip to the U of M Bindery was interesting. First of all it was not in a part of town that I expected. For some unknown reason I thought that the bindery would be right in the middle of the U's campus, near the library. However after going there and learning about the different things that the bindery does it makes sense. If you serve so many facilities it doesn't make sense to stay close to only one of them. I was pretty surprised at some of the machines. I especially found the hand sewing processing startling. The machines that they were using were so far from modern they looked somewhat out of place. However, some of the other machines were actually more dangerous than I thought. Just looking at some of the stuff that was around was somewhat scary. When our guide showed how they trim pages, I was a little shocked. I understand that there are A LOT of safety features on those machines but then he was saying that they change the blades themseleves! That seems far from safe. Also the whole process of trimming pages makes me wonder how many times a book could be re-bound before it is impossible to do anything with. Or is that when you turn to some place like the Minnesota historical society to preserve the item?

 I don't know why but I origionally thoguht that a book bindery would be like a well- run shop. In fact it was more like a factory. I was also surprised at how their numbers had gone down. I found it interesting that they used to have people basically at every station working on something and would get as many students as they could and now they have people that jump from one area to another in order to have enough to do and only a few students. But it was also interesting that the Google Books project the U is working on is adding work for the bindery! I would not have thought that by scanning books you would need to rebind them, but I was happy to hear that the bindery would be able to compensate for that need. I really was really surprised at how quickly the books and periodicals could be re-bound, but I was surprised that paper played such a role in how the binding went. When our guide was talking about magazine paper versus normal paper I had realized that the texture of paper and how saturated with ink it was could cause that much of a difference!

I asked if theft was a problem, as it seems that books could go missing. Especially since we have learned how the unpacking process is where books are most vulnerable to theft when they are delivered to the library. While he said it wasn't an issue, I wonder if is more of one at larger facilities and at actual publishing houses? I wonder a publishing house has an insurance policy like the bindery does.