ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


188/C&RL News

Preservation 
N ews

Jane H edb erg

LC releases report on 
B ookkeep er
The Library o f Congress has 
released the report o f  its 
Technical Evaluation Team 
which was charged to evalu­
ate Preservation T ech nolo­
g ie s ’ mass d eacidification  
treatment, Bookkeeper. The 
introduction to the report 
states, “The Technical Evalu­
ation Team . . . unanimously 
concludes that [Bookkeeper] 
demonstrates the potential to 
m eet the requirements for 
mass deacidification as defined in the RFP is­
sued in 1993 by the Library o f Congress . . . 
The Team also recommends that Preservation 
Technologies, Inc. (P T I) o f Glenshaw, PA, be 
supported for further research and development 
by the Library.”

Based on evaluative research done during 
the summer o f 1993, the report details a num­
ber o f positive characteristics o f the process; 
simplicity o f design, modest start-up costs, lim­
ited physical damage to treated items, the p o­
tential for optimization, and no serious health 
hazards or negative environmental impact. The 
problems identified— variable application o f 
alkalinity, slight chalky residue, and incomplete 
success with very acidic materials— may be 
amenable to further research. As a result o f the 
report, the Library has contracted to treat an 
additional 600 test books and has requested 
funds from Congress to begin a limited pro­
duction project to treat 72,000 volumes.

The 73-page report includes a summary o f 
the findings, individual reports on specific as­
pects o f the evaluation, plus appendices. Sally 
Buchanan chaired the team on which W endy 
Bennett, Michael M. Domach, Susan M. Melnick, 
Charlotte Tancin, and Paul Whitmore served. 
Copies are available free o f charge from Ken­
neth E. Harris, Preservation Projects Officer, 
Preservation Directorate, Library o f Congress, 
LM-G21, Washington, DC 20540-4500; phone: 
(202) 707-1054; fax (202) 707-3434; e-mail: 
KHAR@LOC.GOV.

Columbia mounts results o f o vers ize 
m ap project
Columbia University Libraries has completed a 
study o f  digital preservation techniques for

oversized color maps and 
has mounted the resulting 
report, plus the images cre­
ated, on the W orld W ide 
W eb. During the project, 
fiv e  maps from  the N ew  
York State Museum bulle­
tin were scanned from mul­
tiple sources (the originals, 
transparencies, and micro­
fich e) at multiple resolu­
tions and the images gen­
erated were evaluated. The 
report’s conclusions w ill be 
used in the developm ent o f 

preservation plans for United States Geological 
Survey publications. The file is available on the 
W orld W ide W eb at http://www.columbia.edu/ 
imaging/html/largemaps/oversized.html.

NEDCC presents conference on digital 
im agin g and preservation
The Northeast Document Conservation Center 
(NEDCC) will present a one-day conference on 
digitization, microfilming, and preservation at 
the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in 
Boston on April 13, 1995. The conference will 
consider the digital imaging and microform 
projects at Cornell and Yale Universities, as well 
as broader policy issues. Speakers w ill include 
Anne Kenney, associate director, Department 
o f Preservation and Conservation, Cornell Uni­
versity; Paul Conway, head, Preservation De­
partment, Yale University; Richard Ekman, sec­
retary, the Andrew Mellon Foundation; Deanna 
Marcum, president, Council on Library Re­
sources; and G eorge Farr, director, Division o f 
Preservation and Access, National Endowment 
for the Humanities. Registration (including 
lunch) costs $70.00. For more information on 
the NEDCC conference contact: Gay Tracy, 
NEDCC, 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA 
01810.

Jane Hedberg prepares this column f o r  the College 
Libraries Committee, Commission on Preservation 
and Access. Submissions may be made to: Jane 
Hedberg, Wellesley College Library, 106 Central St., 
Wellesley, MA 02181-8275; (617) 283-2103; 

JHEDBERG@LUCY. WELLESLEY.EDU. Submission 
deadline is the 15th o f the month and precedes 
publication by approximately six weeks.

mailto:KHAR@LOC.GOV
http://www.columbia.edu/


March 1995/189