The American Institute for Conservation (AIC) is hosting Ask A Conservator Day today, November 18th. The day is meant to raise awareness about conservation, and conservators around the world will be participating on social media (follow the #AskAConservator hashtag across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to see what’s being posted and discussed by others). For a…Continue Reading It’s #AskAConservator Day!
[Un]Boxing is a series where we’ll explore the creative and unusual ways to safely house fragile materials for the Libraries’ collections. This is the first installment and features a project finished in 2019 for the Archives in Special Collections. As part of the MC 1798 Ralph Hyman Papers there is a set of three miniature…Continue Reading [Un]Boxing: String Trio
One of our Preservation Unit interests is the impact of our work on the environment around us. We’re interested in implementing sustainable initiatives in all aspects of preservation work—any steps to change both our habits and typical procedures are worth taking. Understanding the goal of preservation helps when considering sustainability in our operations. Our aim…Continue Reading Library Preservation and Sustainability: Part 1
I came from a background of archaeology, and there’s a saying that an archaeologist creates their own tool-kit, borrowing tools designed for other fields. Conservation and Preservation tools are essentially the same. As the trade is still developing, there are so few tools designed for our work specifically that we often amass a hodgepodge of…Continue Reading 10 Unusual Tools on our Preservation Workbench