Documentation
Book and Paper Group Wiki > Book Conservation Wiki > Documentation
"A written record should be made any time that cultural property is examined, analyzed, sampled, treated, altered, and/or damaged and when cultural property is temporarily under the care or study of the conservation professional."
"Certain circumstances may affect the extent or form of documentation as described above. Among these are: disaster response; impending destruction; emergency treatment; minor remedial treatment; mass treatment (i.e., identical or similar routine treatment carried out on batches of collection materials); collection assessments and surveys; preventive care/cyclical maintenance.”
-From Commentary 24, Commentaries to the Guidelines for Practice
Original Compilers: Stephanie Gowler and Susan Russick
Wiki Contributors: Stephanie Gowler, Laura McCann, Susan Russick, please add your name here
Copyright 2019. 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. There is an ongoing project to update the BPG Wiki. We welcome contributions and feedback. If you would like to get involved in this effort, please contact the wiki team at [email protected].
Contents
Factors to Consider
Intended Use
- Level of detail
- Survey
- Item level
- Grouping of objects
- Single item
- Batch
- Mass
- Disaster
Intended Audience
- Conservators
- Conservator carrying out treatment
- Future conservators
- Conservation students and teachers
- Non-conservators
- Curators/Custodians
- Scholars
Resources
Format
- Label or stamp
- Annotated graphic
- Checklist Style
- Narrative
Future Access
- Paper based
- Computer assisted – label all metadata
Permanence of Written Record or Report
From Commentary 28
“Handwritten and printed documentation must be produced on and with permanent, stable media, and be legible."
“If documentation is created using electronic media, the conservation professional must recognize that the long-term maintenance of these records requires regular proactive measures. A comprehensive plan for long-term storage of digital records must be established.”
Contents of Report
- All components of documentation should be clearly labeled, including metadata for digital image files.
- Item identification and Administrative information
- Purpose of documentation
- Name of documentor
- Date of documentation
- Object identification
- - Accession number or call number
- - Owner/custodian
- - Maker/origin
- - Subject/title/scientific classification
- - Measurements
- - Marks/labels
- - Date of creation
- Any legal or contractual requirements
- Description Reports – The materials, components and techniques used to create each part of the volume.
- Textblock
- - Support
- - Media
- - Collation
- Endsheets
- Leaf attachment
- Spine shaping
- Spine lining
- Edge treatment
- Boards and their attachment
- Covering materials and decoration
- Original housing
- Condition Reports
- Presence of foreign substances
- Change in appearance
- Structural change
- Testing Results
- Treatment Proposals – A description of proposed treatments.
- Treatment Reports – The actual treatment that occurred, identifying all materials removed from or introduced into the object.
- Housing
Special Considerations
Photographic Documentation
Surveys
Bibliography
AIC Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice
Parts I, VI, and VII.
Appelbaum, Barbara. Conservation Treatment Methodology. London: Elsevier, 2007.
- Offers a systematic approach to decision-making for conservation treatments. Chapters 13 and 14 specifically address treatment documentation.
Commentaries to the Guidelines for Practice
Commentaries 24-28
ConservationSpace
[1]
Conservation Online, Documentation Resource List
Greenfield, Jane. ABC of Bookbinding. New York: Oak Knoll Press, 1998.
- A glossary of book binding terms, including illustrations.
Jim Hinz and Babette Gehnrich, "Documenting Library Conservation Treatments: Using the 583 Action Note Field in the MARC Records," Book and Paper Group Annual 25 (2006): 59–64.
McCann, Laura, "Conservation Documentation in Research Libraries," Library Resources & Technical Services 57, no. 1 (2013).
Written Documentation. Book and Paper Group Wiki.
Visual Examination. Book and Paper Group Wiki.
Roberts, Matt T. and Don Etherington. Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology
Drawings by Margaret R. Brown.
Warda, Jeffrey, ed. The AIC Guide to Digital Photography and Conservation Documentation American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works: Washington, D.C., 2008.
- Includes current best practices information on image capture, naming, and saving.
Glossary of Terms
Ligatus Language of Bookbindings
Paper Conservation Catalog | |
---|---|
Examination and Documentation |
·Glossary of Terms ·Fiber Identification ·Written Documentation ·Visual Examination ·Watermarks ·Spot Tests |
Problems and Issues | |
Materials | |
Conservation Treatment |
·Surface Cleaning ·Hinge, Tape and Adhesive Removal ·Washing ·Sizing & Resizing ·Bleaching ·Alkalization and Neutralization ·Humidification ·Consolidation/Fixing/Facing ·Backing Removal ·Mending ·Filling of Losses ·Drying and Flattening ·Lining ·Inpainting ·Matting and Framing |
Book Conservation Wiki | |
---|---|
Examination and Documentation |
·Documentation |
Structural Elements of the Book |
·Endpapers ·Endbands ·Sewing/Leaf Attachment ·Boards ·Board Attachment ·Book Decoration |
Book Materials | |
Conservation Treatment |
·Washing
·Alkalinization
·Leaf Attachment/Sewing Repair
·Board Reattachment
·Use of Leather in Book Conservation
·Preservation and Conservation of Scrapbooks
·Case Binding Repair for Circulating Collections
·Non-Western Bookbinding Structures and Their Conservation |