50th Anniversary of Preservation Research and Testing Division (PRTD)
February 18, 2020
Video
About the Program:
In February 1970 the Library announced the establishment of a Preservation Research laboratory to undertake basic research in the preservation of library materials. A grant from the Council on Library Resources (now Council on Library and Information Resources - CLIR) formed the basis of the scientific equipment for the new laboratory. This laboratory became the Preservation Research and Testing Division (PRTD) and we are delighted to announce the 50th anniversary of our research facilities. The LC press release 70-10 referred to pioneering research from the Barrow labs. The Barrow collection is now part of PRTDs scientific reference samples (CLASS) and has greatly advanced the correlation of destructive and non-destructive test methods.
This presentation looked back on the early beginning of the preservation research labs, ongoing developments towards non-invasive and portable techniques, and the integration of new innovations and techniques from other scientific disciplines. As non-invasive capabilities for examination and retrieving hidden text expanded, there has been a new exploration of collections through scholarly questions. Further initiatives include assessing degradation to best identify at-risk collection materials, and impact of environment and treatments to best preserve our collections.
Speakers
Dr. Fenella France, Chief, Preservation Research and Testing Division,
Kathlin Smith, CLIR,
and opening remarks by Jacob Nadal, Director, Preservation Directorate
