The Library of Congress Preservation Directorate is excited to present a Topics in Preservation Series (TOPS) for Preservation Week 2020! From April 27-May 1, we are hosting webinars every day at 11am (EST). The five, hour-long webinars will feature preservation related projects conducted at the Library of Congress. Register now for any, or all, of the following webinars at http://LOCPreservation.eventbrite.com or at the links below. For more information and resources related to preservation at the Library of Congress, visit https://www.loc.gov/preservation/
Keeping it Cool – Designing the Library’s New Gutenberg Bible Display Case
Monday, April 27th, 11am – 12pm Register here
The Library of Congress’ Gutenberg Bible is on permanent display in the Thomas Jefferson Building. Even though its three volumes are displayed on a rotating basis, the concerns about the adverse effects of long-term display required the Library’s’ conservation staff to create a purpose designed display case that would mitigate these adverse effects. The speakers will talk about the design process, present various features of the new case, and share with the audience some lessons learned now that the case is fully functioning for a little over a year.
Presented by Elmer Eusman, Chief, Conservation Division and Nancy Lev-Alexander, Head, Collection Stabilization Section
Acquiring and Developing an Offsite High Density Collections Storage Facility
Tuesday, April 28th, 11am – 12pm Register here
In addition to operating state-of-the art preservation quality storage facilities at Ft. Meade, the Library operates a rental property which meets its needs for interim storage. This webinar discusses the Library’s experience in acquiring and developing this facility. Cabin Branch (located in Landover, MD) shows a way to control costs without compromising on collections care. The webinar will explain how the Library of Congress designed an interim storage warehouse with collections safety foremost in mind, while keeping cost under control by working with the developer to focus on the features most critical to safeguarding our collections.
Presented by Steve Herman, Chief, Collections Management Division; Rohn Roache, Assistant Chief, Collections Management Division; Nancy Lev-Alexander, Head, Collection Stabilization Section
Assessing the Condition of the United States National Collection
Wednesday, April 29th, 11am – 12pm Register here
A national research initiative funded by the Mellon Foundation “Assessing the Physical Condition of the National Collection” is undertaking the task to objectively assess the condition of books held in collecting institutions of the United States by performing an in-depth scientific analysis on a representative sample.
The research focuses on analyzing the same 500 volumes from five different research libraries in five different climatic zones through the time period 1840-1940. Research to date has shown some extremely interesting trends. This presentation will focus on the analytical techniques used in the program and show what this means to the preservation of print collections throughout the United States.
Presented by Fenella France, Chief, Preservation Research and Testing Division
Environment, Housing & Building Materials Testing to Protect our Collections
Thursday, April 30th, 11am – 12pm Register here
Challenges to preserving the national collection come from both inherent risks in the collections themselves and from materials in the immediate environment. The Library’s quality assurance program is focused on analyzing all materials that come into contact with collections or are part of the surrounding environment. The quality assurance (QA) program involves testing of materials used for housing, storage, and in conservation treatments, as well as evaluation, definition, and dissemination of standards for the use of these materials.
This presentation will give specific examples of QA testing, new developments in quantification and identification of volatile organic compounds, fast and accurate test methodologies, examples of collection inherent material challenges, and assessment of off-gassing from potential building and housing materials to determine safety for special collections.
Presented by Dr. Eric Monroe, Supervisory Physical Scientist
Would You Like to Save Your Game?
Friday, May 1st, 11am – 12pm Register here
Libraries, archives and museums are facing an ever increasing amount of interactive media in their collections, including software applications, time based artworks and video games. These materials provide unique challenges in regards to acquisition, description and preservation, and many institutions are working to develop new approaches to ensuring the long term preservation of and access to born digital cultural artifacts. The Library’s National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) holds over 5,000 videogames amassed through copyright deposit and private donation. This collection contains not only a wide array of formats from 5.25” floppy disks to modern console cartridges, but also packaging, documentation, and adjacent materials such as magazines. The Preservation Reformatting Division and NAVCC work together to describe, reformat, and preserve these complex digital objects and preserve this important part of culture. This webinar will highlight different aspects of the preservation workflow.
Presented by Amanda May, Digital Conservation Specialist; David Gibson, Processing Technician; Laura Davis, Project Specialist
Click here for more information about the webinars.
