BPG Selection for Preservation
Book and Paper Group Wiki > Selection for Preservation
This page attempts to lay out the factors that conservation staff, preservation administrators, collection managers, curators, librarians, archivists, and private owners may consider when choosing books to receive treatment or other preservation actions.
Wiki Contributors: Priscilla Anderson, Brenna Campbell, Andrea Knowlton, please add your name here
Copyright 2021. The Book and Paper Group Wiki is a publication of the Book and Paper Group of the American Institute for Conservation. It is published as a convenience for the members of the Book and Paper Group. Publication does not endorse nor recommend any treatments, methods, or techniques described herein. Please follow these instructions for citing the BPG Wiki, keeping in mind that the Wiki is a work in progress and is frequently updated. The BPG Wiki coordinators can be reached at [email protected].
Contents
Introduction
Preservation
- What it is
- Why it is important
- What actions fall under the heading of "preservation"
- Staff involved in preservation decision making
Selection for Preservation
- Definition/Steps
- Identification
- Assessment
- Selection
- Documentation
- Key questions/considerations
- Value
- Risk
- Institutional Resources/cost
Institutional relevance and support
- Importance of a given collection or project to the institution
- Collection Development policies
- Gaining institutional support
Identifying Items for Preservation
Avenues for identification
- Handling/use
- Users
- - Research
- - Classroom Use
- - Tours
- - Exhibitions
- Staff
- - Accessioning/acquisitions
- - Physical processing
- - Shelf preparation
- - Digitization
- - Surveys
- - Emergency Response
Information
Types of Information
- Information in the physical artifact
- Materials
- Structure
- Chemical/physical properties
- Material evidence
- - Manufacture
- - Provenance
- - Use
- - Care
- - Alteration
- - Repair
- - Aging/deterioration
- Content Information
- Text
- Images
- Data
- Metadata
Criteria for Selection
Value
- Use
- Storage
- Research
- Protected display (exhibit)
- Unprotected display (in-house tours and presentations, classroom use)
- User value
- Current/future value
- Monetary value
- Religious or other spiritual value
- Rarity/accessibility
- Association Value
Risk
- Security risk
- Current physical condition
- Deterioration
- User Safety
- - Mold
Usability
(how well can the item be used in its current condition)
Cost
- Monetary cost
- Time cost
- Exclusion cost (e.g. what else won't get done)
Case Studies
Bibliography
History of This Page
This page was originally created as the "Selection for Preservation" chapter of the Book Conservation Wiki's Preservation section. It was moved into the Book and Paper Group Wiki as part of a reorganization in 2016.
Paper Conservation Wiki | |
---|---|
Examination and Documentation |
·Glossary of Terms ·Fiber Identification ·Written Documentation ·Visual Examination ·Watermarks ·Spot Tests |
Materials | |
Problems and Issues | |
Conservation Treatment |
·Surface Cleaning ·Hinge, Tape, and Adhesive Removal ·Washing ·Sizing and Resizing ·Bleaching ·Alkalization and Neutralization ·Humidification ·Consolidation, Fixing, and Facing ·Backing Removal ·Mending ·Filling of Losses ·Drying and Flattening ·Lining ·Inpainting ·Matting and Framing ·Parchment ·East Asian Scrolls |
Book Conservation Wiki | |
---|---|
Examination and Documentation | |
Structural Elements of the Book |
·Endpapers ·Endbands ·Sewing and Leaf Attachment ·Book Boards ·Board Attachment ·Book Decoration |
Book Materials |
·Animal Skin and Leather ·Parchment Bookbinding ·Cloth Bookbinding ·Paper Bookbinding |
Conservation Treatment |
·Washing of Books
·Alkalinization of Books
·Leaf Attachment and Sewing Repair
·Board Reattachment
·Use of Leather in Book Conservation
·Scrapbooks
·Circulating Collections
·Case Binding
·Non-Western Bookbinding Structures and Their Conservation |