Class - Dec 2nd, Readings - Ch. 6 & 17

Class this week was discussing digital preservation which was very interesting as there are so many form of digital items. I really was not surprised, but interested, when I realized that so much of digital preservation had to do with Metadata. I am currently taking Metadata, and working on cataloging a digital collection with some of my classmates, and I can totally see how it connects to Preservation and Conservation. I found it interesting that when you start looking at cataloging digital items one of the main things you need to think about is access. I knew (somewhere in the back of my mind) that other countries, like China, had restrictions on what people could see as far as digital information, but I had not thought about how you catalog something you can also influence people's access to information. It was also interesting as the two types of digital items influence the issues with digital media. If something is born digital I believe that it is easier to preserve it. That is not to say that an item would be in danger of losing some of its integrity if you migrate it to another digital medium; however, it is more likely that this problem would be prominent if the item you wish to migrate was made into a digital item from a CD, or something.

My group also met briefly to discuss the game. We mostly went over what little we needed to finish, when it needed to be done so I could do the final editing as well as how we were going to be doing the editing section of the work. I also updated my group on the budget proposal that I had been working on for not only the Tech Services department, but 2 others as well. I had been spending the last week compiling information on the creation of the repair area and putting together a budget for it. It was actually more difficult than I thought it would be. Mostly the hard part was making sure that we weren't doubling-up on items between departments. There ended up being a lot more items than I thought there would be. Plus I had to research what we could use to create the space that would be reasonable in cost, durable, and have plenty of storage. It was interesting to say the least.

Chapter 6: Issues in Digital Archiving
In this chapter one line really stood out to me, "...professional librarians are uniquely qualified to take up the technological challenge. But if we do not, we will contribute to the stagnation of our own profession as well as fail in our responsibility to civilization. (p. 99)" This was especially important to me as I can see that lacking in keeping up with technology could create a self-damaging cycle for librarians and libraries. If you do not have the newest form of technology at your disposal, then how do you keep patrons interested? However, how to you keep materials in a useful form if the newest digital technology is not compatible or feasible? Users may wish their library had iPads to check out, but is that really the best way for a library to use its resources? Still as librarians we need to look at the long-term affects technology will be and is having on the environment we work in.

Chapter 17: Digitization for Preservation and Access
This chapter was somewhat repetitive, but its basic concepts were laid out very clearly. I can understand that microfilm is a great product for many libraries. We had already learned that if stored and taken care of correctly it has an extremely long life, but for many patrons, microfilm is not a good source for information. Personally, I would much rather look at a PDF rather than microfilm. It was interesting to me that there are not really standards or guidelines for digital media. I would have thought that the ALA or IFLA or someone would have started to come up with a general set of digital guidelines, as digitization of objects is really becoming a priority for libraries/librarians. Of course that also falls into the sad fact that most digital media is not thought of in the long-term. It reminds me of the new version of planet of the apes. In that there is a library, with a digital custodian (or librarian, if you will). the books have crumbled away and the custodians program is starting to fall apart. At that point I always wonder, didn't they have a backup plan? Of course it doesn't come to this, but if your digital collection is gone, and you have no physical collection anymore, then what precautions did you take to insure you had materials for the future?

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.

Class Reading - Ch. 14 &15

Chapter 14: Commercial Library Binding
I found chapter 14 to be really informative, far more than the title actually implied. I wasn't surprised that for many libraries the main concern is to fix  things now, rather than try to preserve things from the beginning for the long-term future. However one thing that stuck out to me was that the managerial structure of the institution would have the most affect on how the program is run. I am not that surprised now that I have thought about the
way an administration could change what is a priority in the library. I have had positions where one administrator wanted one thing, and then you get a new administrator who changes the policies and things change! It would make sense that the same is true in a library as well. If you have a administration that is very concerned about the long term maintenance of its collection they would put a much larger emphasis on things like shelving books correctly and reinforcing things before they are even put on the shelves in the first place! versus just trying to fix things later on. I wonder how long this would last. Basically when that administration leaves, or retires, and the new administration no longer cares about long term conservation, would it become noticeable that materials before they started we lasting longer than newer materials?

Chapter 15: Preservation Microfilming and Photocopying
Until I read this chapter I had no idea that libraries had used so many microfilms, and that it was such a reasonable way to make a longer lasting copy of materials. I was especially surprised when the chapter said that the life expectancy of items on microfilm was 500 years. That seems crazy to me....but reasonable. However it makes me wonder what will happen after this point, and as fantastic as that sounds, I just wonder if there needs to be some introduction to the general populace of your library to the use of microfilm. I don't know a lot of people that use microfilm. And I hate to be that person, but it doesn't make a lot of sense to have something last for 500 years if no one will use it.

Class Oct 7th, Readings - Ch. 8 & 13

During class we discussed security and staff training, which is something that has already come up in basically every class I have taken at St. Kate's. I agreed with everything we discussed about what you staff would need to know in regards to security and training, but I found it interesting that the class had come up so many ways for an administrator the ability to disseminate information to your staff is key in keeping thing security and keeping your preservation plan in place. I did love that it was commented that people really learn "on-the-fly"...I feel that for most people experience is what you use to really learn about something. In fact, I feel that regardless of how much knowledge you have, you need actual experience. Think about the medical profession: it takes years of study before you are allowed experience with actual patients, and even then you are still supervised. While the library profession is not quite the same as the medical I do think the same concept applies. 


Chapter 8: Collections and Stack Management
I had not truly realized the entirety of what collection management meant. I always thought it meant working to preserve the items that you currently have in your library. Specifically to keep damage from happening in the present. I had not thought of it as preserving items through access and storage from when the library receives the item until it is deaccessioned. I also had not thought about how the responsibility of the items can be traced to multiple institutions, especially when the item could be circulated to multiple institutions. It makes sense then that the institutions policies would be important. It has really surprised me how over and over again the book has reiterated the idea that the library's policy is really what defines how library's treat their materials. It makes sense but I had always thought it was more about the librarians and how the patrons treated their materials.

Chapter 13: The Conservation of General Collections
I really liked how the text pointed out the differences of working to preserve a general collection rather than a special collection. It makes sense that with a general collection you have to be much more concerned with exposure to the elements and how patrons are treating the books (Its not like a library where people request books and then they are brought out but never allowed to leave the room!). I did appreciate that the text pointed out that it entirely depends on the resources of the library when you consider treatment options for fixing materials. Again the book pointed out the need for a good library policy, and the need for the staff, from administration down to pages, to follow that policy.

Class - September 23rd (Assignment 2 - Literature Review)

This week's assignment was not exactly what I expected. I really thought that it would be a rather easy and straight forward affair. However, it really wasn't. It took me much longer than I thought it would. While the different areas were well marked out, for some of the topics I would first have to go to the library encyclopedia that St. Kate's has access to in order to confirm what the topics were. I also found things that I hadn't expected when searching different topics. When I was looking up an article for Digital Preservation I found a great article that described the overall way preservation techniques and how it has developed. Which is rather good since I was having a hard time finding an article otherwise. It's not like typing the search term "Preservation" or "library preservation" into a search engine will get me what I wanted. There were WAY too many articles. I started to feel like a failure for a librarian. I should be able to find a simple article! Of course I did find it when I wasn't actually looking for that topic....Otherwise the major issue I was having was finding things no older than 2007. Occasionally I would forget to limit my search and then I would find the perfect article, and it would be from 2001 or from 1998. How annoying. In the end the assignment did allow me to look at a lot of different articles and learn how many aspects there are to so many topics withing the umbrella topic of 'Preservation'.

Class on Sept 23rd was interesting . The "rainy day story" was especially enlightening. I personally understand exactly why you would save items by freezing them, but I don't know if I would have immediately thought of it. Of course it was not a surprise me that the food service people wanted their freezer back after a couple weeks. It was especially interesting that you could use a freezer to dry books. I can see how this would take a really long time and would not be that easy, but for specialty items its a good way to help the items dry out. It makes me wonder about any other short-cuts or random ways that can be used to save books in emergency situations. Hopefully we will hear more in the future!

Class - September 9 (Assignment 1: Web Site Reviews)

The first class had me thinking a lot about how materials are cared for, what environment they are in and how various things can affect their longevity. It made me wonder about how the region of the world a library is located in could affect its materials, and how that affects the library's budget. Wouldn't you need a larger budget dedicated to having a controlled budget in an area of the world where there was more humidity, or where the weather was less predicable? I have been trying to find resources on this, however I can't seem to find much. I'm not surprised as many libraries don't necessarily have it in a specific part of their budget as it would include air conditioning/heating, materials, etc. I am guessing that while it costs a good portion of money in order to really find out if location changes how much is spent you would need to look at similar-sized libraries in various places throughout the country and go over detailed budgets and look for information on these areas.

After going through the first class I had a much better idea on how to go about looking for web sites to review for assignment #1. However, it was still difficult to find reasonable websites that would work for the assignment. I found web sites where the topic was Preservation or Conservation, however it was not necessarily geared toward Library professionals. I also found websites for specific libraries, like Harvard or Cornell, however these sites were for their specific library, which makes it rather useless for the assignment. I did find 3 websites that could work. I am adding the links below and will chose two for the assignment. I also found a very good example article of a web site review from College & Research Libraries News so I think I have a good handle on the first assignment.

http://www.guildofbookworkers.org/about/index.php

http://www.loc.gov/preserv/pubscare.html

http://www.philobiblon.com/pressite.shtml