http://www.loc.gov/preserv News from the Preservation Directorate on new breakthroughs and technology, upcoming lectures, training, internships and emergency alerts and tips on caring for collections. Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:24:57 GMT ListGarden Program 1.3.1 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2010/02/new-optical-lab-brings-loc-into-21st-century/ The first of the recently renovated and re-opened science laboratories of the Preservation Research and Testing Division has been featured in a post on the Library of Congress blog. Follow the link above to read about the newly designed Optical Properties Lab, which contains a hyperspectral imaging system, an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM), equipment for optical disc quality testing and a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) system, among other things. The new lab enhances the Library’s capability to use nondestructive analytical techniques to track changes in optical and some chemical properties of traditional, audio/video and digital materials, including the Library's top treasures, helping conservators, curators and librarians extend the life of legacy and modern media collections. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/rt/projects/class.html Experts in the Preservation Directorate of the Library of Congress have designed a state-of-the-art Center for the Library's Analytical Scientific Samples (CLASS) to facilitate the study of the Library's rare and unique reference sample collections by national and international scholars. The center will house collections such as the TAPPI Fiber Collection, Forbes Pigment Collection, and Barrow Books Collection. Learn more by following the link above. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/rt/projects/index.html Visit the Preservation Research Project Updates page for the latest information about projects underway in the Preservation Research and Testing Division of the Library of Congress. The page was recently expanded and updated to reflect the most recent developments. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/emergprep/earthquake.html In response to the recent earthquake and recurring aftershocks in Haiti, the Library of Congress is highlighting the Earthquake Recovery page at the link above. This is one of several emergency preparedness pages available year-round at the Preservation Directorate website. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/emergprep/earthquake.html In response to the recent earthquake in Haiti, the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate is highlighting the Earthquake Recovery page at the link above. This is one of several emergency preparedness pages available year-round at the Preservation Directorate website. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/servpubs.html Applications are now being accepted for a variety of internships in the Preservation Directorate. Follow the link above for detailed descriptions of available internships, qualifications, and application instructions. Applications will be accepted through February 1st. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/interns/rainwater.html Ever wondered what the conservation intern experience is like at the Library of Congress? A detailed account of the treatments performed by Emily Rainwater, the 2009 Harper-Inglis Fellow, is now available on the Preservation Directorate at the link above. More information about Preservation Directorate internships is available at http://www.loc.gov/preserv/servpubs.html. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/foundtn-grants.html "Foundation Grants for Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums, 2010 Edition" is a collaborative project of the Library of Congress and the Foundation Center. This new edition lists 2,270 grants of $5,000 or more awarded by 505 foundations, from 2005 through the publication date of this guide. It covers grants to public, academic, research, school, and special libraries, and to archives and museums for activities related to conservation and preservation. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/confevents/preswk/news/stake.cfm On November 6th, the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate hosted a meeting of key institutions, associations, and organizations to share ideas and inspiration for the nation’s first collections-focused Preservation Week. Scheduled for May 9–15, 2010, Preservation Week is a joint initiative of the Library of Congress, the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) of the American Library Association, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The goal of the meeting was to facilitate better communication and coordination among key organizations about their individual preservation outreach efforts and to garner their support for the new Preservation Week initiative. Read more about the meeting at the link above, or visit http://www.ala.org/preservationweek for information about Preservation Week. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/visiting.html The Library of Congress Preservation Directorate is pleased to welcome visiting scientist Jordan Brough to the Preservation Research and Testing Division. Mr. Brough is completing a Masters of Forensic Science at George Washington University and is currently employed as a contractor with the United States Secret Service in the Forensic Automation Branch. His research at the Library will be focused on the examination of Library collection documents, assessing the capacity of various imaging systems to determine the long-term changes in historic inks and the benefits of a range of preservation treatments. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/servpubs.html The Library of Congress Preservation Directorate is pleased to welcome two new conservation fellows for the 2009-2010 academic year. <br> <br>Eliza Spaulding is a paper conservation student from New York University. As the Library’s Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer Conservation Fellow, she will be involved in the examination, documentation, and conservation of works on paper from the Library of Congress Special Collections. <br> <br>Nita Maria Greene is a paper conservation student from Newcastle University. As the Library’s Insurance of North America Fund Fellow, she will be involved in the examination, documentation and conservation treatment of works from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. <br> <br>Please follow the link above to learn more about the Preservation Directorate's current and past conservation fellows. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/emergprep/hurricane.html In response to Tropical Storm Ida, the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate is highlighting the Hurricane Response and Recovery page at the link above. This is one of several emergency preparedness pages available year-round at the Preservation Directorate website. http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/87/8744cover4.html Lynn Brostoff, PhD, a chemist in the Preservation Research and Testing Division of the Library of Congress, has been featured in the latest issue of Chemical &amp; Engineering News. The cover story in the November 2, 2009 issue of this American Chemical Society publication focuses on the diverse job opportunities for chemists in the federal government. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/tops/hemmenway_khan/index.html A video webcast is now available for the Topics in Preservation Series lecture “Treating the Second Anglo Afghan War Album: Negotiations Between Book and Photograph Conservation” featuring Library of Congress Senior Conservators Dana Hemmenway and Yasmeen Khan. The conservators discussed the treatment strategies involved in the conservation of both the binding and the photographic images, the role of digital facsimiles, the context in which the images were produced, details of the album’s assembly and the relationship of the album to other albums that document the same events. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/tops/schedule.html The Library of Congress Preservation Directorate is pleased to announce an upcoming lecture in the Topics in Preservation Series: <br> <br>Terahertz Spectroscopy and Imaging Techniques for Conservation Science: Innovative non-invasive observation methods <br> <br>November 18, 2009 <br>2:00 to 3:00 PM <br>Pickford Theater <br>3th floor James Madison Building <br> <br>Dr. Kaori Fukunaga, Research Manager in the Applied Electromagnetic Research Center of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Tokyo, Japan, will be discussing the use of terahertz (THz) spectroscopy and imaging as emerging techniques in the field of optics research and the transfer of these techniques to the preservation of cultural heritage. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/rt/projects/imaging_audio.html In celebration of UNESCO's World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate is featuring information about an innovative project using imaging technology to recover 'lost' sound from grooved analog recordings. Learn more about the IRENE project at the link above, or watch a lecture webcast at http://www.loc.gov/preserv/tops/haber07/index.html http://www.loc.gov/preserv/emergprep/insurancevaluation.html The Library of Congress Preservation Directorate has updated the General Collections Valuation data available on our Emergency Preparedness: Insurance/Risk Management webpage. Average replacement values per volume, organized by subject in both LC classification and Dewey classification, are now available through Fiscal Year 2008-2009. Data from previous years continues to be available at the same URL. <br> <br>This data is provided as a tool for calculating accurate estimates of the value of general collections. Such calculations are an essential part of emergency preparedness and insurance policy negotiations. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/emergprep/earthquake.html In response to recent earthquakes in Indonesia, Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga, the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate is highlighting the Earthquake Recovery page at the link above. This is one of several emergency preparedness pages available year-round at the Preservation Directorate website. http://www.ifla.org/files/pac/ipn/48-august-2009.pdf “Recycled Paper Research at the Library of Congress”, an article written by Fenella G. France, PhD, and Matthew Kullman, two scientists in the Preservation Directorate’s Preservation Research and Testing Division, has been published in the latest issue of the IFLA Core Activity on Preservation and Conservation’s International Preservation News. The article focuses on assessment of the permanence of recycled papers, a current research focus at the Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/emergprep/flood.html In response to recent flooding in several southern states, the Library of Congress is highlighting the Preservation Directorate's page on flood response and recovery. This is just one of several emergency preparedness pages available year-round at the Preservation Directorate website. There is currently a temporary link from the Library's main page to raise awareness and provide direct access to this timely information. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/summerint.html The Binding and Collections Care Division of the Preservation Directorate is pleased to welcome 2009 Summer Intern Kimberly Montenyohl from Syracuse University's School of Information Studies. Follow the link above to read about Ms. Montenyohl and our previous summer interns. For information about other internship and fellowship opportunities in the Preservation Directorate, please refer to http://www.loc.gov/preserv/servpubs.html http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/stratpolprog/ccare/events/France.pdf Fenella G. France, PhD, a scientist in the Preservation Directorate's Preservation Research and Testing Division, presented a paper on "Best Practice and Standards in Environmental Preservation for Cultural Heritage Institutions: Goals, Knowledge, Gaps" in March 2009 at the Advances in Paper Conservation Research conference. The paper is now available online via the British Library. http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2009/09-139.html On July 7, 2009, the Library of Congress celebrated the completion of Modules 3 and 4 and four cold-storage rooms at the Library’s Ft. Meade high-density storage facility in Maryland. The new units will accommodate approximately 33 million items from the Library’s special collections and offer state-of-the-art environmental controls that will extend the lives of collection items for decades. http://www.lyrasis.org/?sc_itemid={F730DF8A-C017-430E-B16A-6E4BC7525598} Space is still available for this summer's Preservation Institute, co-sponsored by the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate and the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC). The on-site portion of the Institute will be held August 17-21, 2009 at the Library of Congress. Please see the link above for more details and registration information. Federal library employees please see http://www.loc.gov/flicc/education/PresEd/index_presed.html. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/tops/hemmenway_khan/index.html The Library of Congress Preservation Directorate announces the 46th presentation in the Topics in Preservation Series (TOPS): <br> <br>"Treating the Second Anglo Afghan War Album: Negotiations Between Book and Photograph Conservation" <br> <br>Pickford Theater, Madison Building, 3rd floor <br>Library of Congress <br>101 Independence Avenue SE <br>Washington DC 20540 <br> <br>Thursday, June 18, 2009 <br>10:30-11:30 am <br> <br>A live webcast will be available by request. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/tops/schedule.html For any of the following titles, click on Webcast Available! following their description on the website above: <br> <br>The Art of the Steal (Recognizing Forgeries), Mr. Frank W. Abagnale <br> <br>Technology Transfer: Conservation Training using Haptic Virtual Reality Simulation, Dr. Angela Geary <br> <br>From Decayed Parchment to 'Bit Rot' -- Challenges in Digitizing Archimedes, Michael Toth and Doug Emery <br> <br>Recent Research on Daguerreotypes at George Eastman House, Mr. Ralph Wiegandt and Mr. Patrick Ravines <br> <br>The Real Thing: Using Collections for Collaborative Conservation, Mr. Velson Horie <br> <br>CAMEO: A Free Internet Reference on Materials Used in the Production and Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Michele Derrick <br> <br>Recent Trends in Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Chandra Reedy <br> <br>A Public Trust at Risk: Findings of the Heritage Health Index, Kristen Overbeck Laise <br> http://www.loc.gov/preserv/foundtn-grants.html "Foundation Grants for Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums, 2009 Edition" is a collaborative project of the Library of Congress and the Foundation Center. This publication lists 1,944 grants of $5,000 or more awarded by 488 foundations, from 2004 through the publication date of this guide. It covers grants to public, academic, research, school, and special libraries, and to archives and museums for activities related to conservation and preservation.