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ARST 587 PRESERVATION – Course Syllabus (3)

Program: Master of Archival Studies
Year: Winter session 2009-2010, Term 1
Course Schedule: Mondays, 8.00 am to 10.50 am
Location: I.K. Barber Learning Centre, Rm. 260
Instructor: Rosaleen Hill
Office location: Sessional Office - Mail pick-up only, no campus office hours
Office phone: 604.709.9263 (AABC office)
Office hours: via email; meeting by request
E-mail address: rosaleenhill@gmail.com
Course website address:
http://www.slais.ubc.ca/courses/arst587/09-10-wt1

 

 

Course Goal: The goal of this course is to provide an understanding of the requirements and methods for preserving material in libraries and archives.

Course Objectives:

On completion of this course, students should be able to:

  • Make planning and policy decisions regarding preservation of holdings
  • Identify the structure and major deterioration causes of common materials
  • Describe current practices and techniques used to treat such deterioration
  • Demonstrate familiarity with information resources about preservation

Course Topics :

  • Historical overview of preservation and preservation management
  • Conservation ethics
  • Composition and degradation of common library and archival materials
  • Integrated pest management
  • Reformatting
  • Strategies for environmental control
  • Photograph identification and storage strategies
  • Machine-readable media
  • Emergency preparedness

Prerequisites : Required for the MAS and Joint Degrees. For students in MLIS program prerequisites are 500, 510, 540, 560.

Format of the course : One three-hour class per week, comprising lectures, discussions, demonstrations and hands-on exercises.

Required and Recommended Reading :

There are few required readings. The following list and the Web Resources list on the course web page, give a survey of fairly reliable information on a variety of topics. You should find them useful for researching assignments and supplementing lecture material.

General Reading
Recommended

  • Ritzenthaler, Mary-Lynn, Preserving Archives and Manuscripts, SAA Basic Manual Series, 1993.
    Formerly the course textbook, but as it is becoming outdated it is no longer required. This is still the best overall reference available, as it covers a broad range of topics. Specific inaccuracies include:
    Chapter 5 Very little ozone is produced by modern photocopying machines.
    Fumigation: Ethylene oxide is no longer used for safety reasons. Also, carbon dioxide is toxic and must be used with appropriate precautions. For freezing, 72 hours rather than 48 hours is now recommended. Gamma radiation is not an option.
    Lamination: Cellulose acetate lamination is not an option, parylene is very uncommon and not recommended  
  • Northeast Document Conservation Center Preservation Leaflets www.nedcc.org/resources/leaflets.list.php
  • Banks, Paul N. and Roberta Pilette. (eds.) 2000. Preservation: Planning and Issues. Chicago: American Library Association.

Week 1: Preservation Introduction, Ethics and Assessment
Required  

Recommended

  • Michalski, Stefan. 1992. A Systematic Approach to the Conservation (Care) of Museum Collections. Ottawa: Canadian Conservation Institute.
  • Dalley, Jane. 1995. The Conservation Assessment Guide for Archives. Ottawa: Canadian Council for Archives.
  • Adcock, Edward. 1998. IFLA Principles for the Care and Handling of Library Materials; Paris: IFLA. www.ifla.org/VI/4/news/pchlm.pdf

Week 2 and 3: Paper History, Composition and Deterioration

Recommended

  • Hunter, Dard. 1947. Papermaking The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
  • Swartzburg, Susan. 1995. Preserving Library Materials: A Manual. Metuchen, N.J: Scarecrow Press, N.J. (Ch. 4 Environmental Factors in Preservation).

Exhibits
Recommended

  • Lavédrine, Bertrand. 2003. A Guide to the Preventive Conservation of Photographic Collections. Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute. (Ch. 6 Light and Ch. 7 Mounting and Exhibition [p. 149 – 172]).
  • Mervin Richard, ed. 1991. Art in Transit Handbook, Washington,. Washington D.C: National Gallery of Art.
  • Anon. 2000. Guidance for Exhibiting Archive and Library Materials. National Preservation Office, British Library. www.bl.uk/services/npo/pdf/exhibition.pdf
  • Tétreault, Jean. 1999. Coatings for Display and Storage in Museums, Technical Bulletin No. 21. Ottawa: Canadian Conservation Institute.

Pests
Required

Pests Recommended

  • Florian, Mary-Lou. 1997. Heritage Eaters: Insects and Fungi in Heritage Collections. London:, James and James.
  • Florian, Mary-Lou. 2002. Fungal Facts: Solving Fungal Problems in Heritage Collections. London: Archetype Publications.
  • Guild, Sherry and Maureen McDonald. 2004. Mould Prevention and Collection Recovery: Guidelines for Heritage Collections. Technical Bulletin 26. Ottawa: Canadian Conservation Institute.
    (Abridged version: www.cci-icc.gc.ca/headlines/mould/index_e.aspx
  • Harmon, James D. 1993. Integrated Pest Management in Museum, Library and Archival Facilities, Indianapolis: Harmon Pest Management. (Thorough description of all aspects of a program; does include pesticide fumigation, but not as the primary control method).

Week 4: Holiday

Week 5: Book Structure
Recommended

  • Middleton, B.C., "Book Preservation for the Librarian" in Preservation of Paper and Textiles of Historic and Artistic Value, 1976, Williams (ed.)
  • CCI Notes 11/1 "Protective Storage for Books and Paper Artifacts"
  • Swartzburg, Susan, Conservation in the Library, Greenwood Press, 1983. Chap. 3, "Books and Bindings".


Week 6: Environmental Standards
Required

Recommended

  • Bigelow, Sue. 2004. Cold Storage of Photographs at the City of Vancouver Archives. www.cdncouncilarchives.ca/public_free.html#1
  • Lull, William. 1995. Conservation Environment Guidelines. New York: University of State of New York.
  • Thomson, Garry. 1986. The Museum Environment, 2nd ed. Butterworths.
  • Wagner, Sarah, S. 2007. “Cold Storage Options: Costs and Implementation Issues”. Topics in Photographic Preservation Volume 12, Photograph Materials Group, American Institute for Conservation.

Week 7 and 8: Photographic Media
Required:

  • Ritzenthaler, Mary Lynn and Diane Vogt-O’Conner. 2006. Photographs Archival Care and Management. Chicago: Society of American Archivists. Ch. 7 Preservation (p.207-255) and Ch. 8 Integrating Preservation and Archival Procedures (p. 257-270).

Recommended

  • Baldwin, Gordon, Looking at Photographs: A Guide to Technical Terms, J. Paul Getty Museum, 1991.
  • Lavédrine, Betrand. 2009. Photographs of the Past Process and Preservation. Getty Conservation Institute.
  • Reilly, James. 1986. Care and Identification of 19th Century Photographic Prints, Kodak Publication #G-2S, Eastman Kodak.
  • Reilly, James. 1996. IPI Storage Guide for Acetate Film. Rochester, NY: Image Permanence Institute. www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/shtml_sub/cat_pubs.asp#acetate
  • Reilly, James, M. 1998. Storage Guide for Color Photographic Materials. Rochester, NY: University of the State of New York and the Image Permanence Institute.
  • Weaver, Gawain. 2008. A Guide to Fiber-Base Gelatin Silver Print Condition and Deterioration. George Eastman House Advanced Residency Program in Photograph Conservation. www.arp-geh.org//indexsep.aspx?nodeidp=395
  • Wilhelm, Henry. 1993. The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs. Grinnell, Iowa: Preservation Publishing. (The section on frost-free refrigerators is no longer supported by Wilhelm.) http://www.wilhelm-research.com/

Motion Pictures
Recommended

 

Week 9: Machine Readable Media

Recommended

  • Casey, Mike. 2008. Field. Format Characteristics and Preservation Problems. Field Audio Collection Evaluation Tool (FACET). www.dlib.indiana.edu/projects/sounddirections/facet/index.shtml
  • McWilliams, Jerry. 1979. The Preservation and Restoration of Sound Recordings. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History.
  • Kenney, Anne R., and Rieger, Oya Y., editors and principal authors. 2000. Moving Theory Into Practice : Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives. Research Libraries Group.
  • The NINCH Guide to Good Practice in the Digital Representation and Management of Cultural Heritage Materials. http://www.nyu.edu/its/humanities/ninchguide/
  • Maxine K. Sitts, ed. 2000. Handbook for Digital Projects: A Management Tool for Preservation and Access, first edition. Andover , Massachusetts: Northeast Document Conservation Center. www.nedcc.org/digital/dman.pdf

Week 10: Reformatting
Recommended

  • Elkington, Nancy E. (Editor) 1994. RLG Archives Microfilming Manual. Mountain View, Ca.: Research Libraries Group.
  • Puglia, S et al. 2004. Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Archival Materials for Electronic Access: Creation of Production Master Files – Raster Images. www.archives.gov/preservation/technical/guidelines.html
  • BCRs CDP Imaging Best Practice
    ww.bcr.org/cdp/best/digital-imaging-bp.pdf

Week 11: Emergency Planning
Recommended

  • Lord, Allyn, Steal This Handbook, Southeastern Registrar’s Association, 1994
  • Seibert, Ann. 1996. Emergency Preparedness for Library of Congress Collections. www.loc.gov/preserv/pub/seibert/
  • Wellheiser, Johanna and Jude Scott. 2002. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.
  • Walsh, Betty. 2003. Salvage Operations for Water Damaged Archival Collections: A Second Glance. www.cdncouncilarchives.ca/salvage_en.pdf

Course Assignments, Due dates and Weight in relation to final course mark:

 

Assignment

Due Date

Weight

Term paper (3000 words)

26 October 2009

60%

Case study project: information provided by instructor.

16 November 2009

40%

Course Schedule

Date

Topic

Assignment Due

7 September

Holiday

 

14 September

Preservation Introduction, Ethics and Assessment

 

21 September

Paper: composition, identification and deterioration. Condition report.

 

28 September

Paper Analysis: acidity, deacidification, paper permanence.

 

5 October

Book: structure, identification and deterioration. Leather and parchment.

 

12 October

Holiday

 

19 October

Environment: standards, types of monitoring equipment.

 

26 October

Photographs: composition, identification, storage; handling.

Term Paper

2 November

Photographs: composition, identification, storage; handling cont’d; Motion picture film.

 

9 November

Machine readable records: audio, video, computer.

 

16 November

Reformatting: microfilm, scanning, etc.

Case Study Project

23 November

Emergency Planning

 

30 November

Conservation issues.
City of Vancouver Archives, 1150 Chestnut Street.

 

 

Attendance: The calendar states: “Regular attendance is expected of students in all their classes (including lectures, laboratories, tutorials, seminars, etc.). Students who neglect their academic work and assignments may be excluded from the final examinations. Students who are unavoidably absent because of illness or disability should report to their instructors on return to classes.”

Evaluation: All assignments will be marked using the evaluative criteria given on the SLAIS web site .

Written & Spoken English Requirement: Written and spoken work may receive a lower mark if it is, in the opinion of the instructor, deficient in English.

Disability Accommodation: The University accommodates students with disabilities who have registered with the Disability Resource Centre [ http://www.students.ubc.ca/access/drc.cfm ]. You must register with the Disability Resource Centre to be granted special accommodations for any on-going conditions.

Religious Accommodation: The University accommodates students whose religious obligations conflict with attendance, submitting assignments, or completing scheduled tests and examinations. Please let your instructor know in advance, preferably in the first week of class, if you will require any accommodation on these grounds. Students who plan to be absent for varsity athletics, family obligations, or other similar commitments, cannot assume they will be accommodated, and should discuss their commitments with the instructor before the course drop date. UBC policy on Religious Holidays: http://www.universitycounsel.ubc.ca/policies/policy65.pdf

Academic Dishonesty: Please review the UBC Calendar Academic regulations for the University policy on cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty: http://www.students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,959 . Also visit and review the contents of these two resources: Plagiarism Resource Centre: For Students: http://www.library.ubc.ca/home/plagiarism/welcome.html and Plagiarism Avoided: Taking Responsibility For Your Work: http://www.arts.ubc.ca/Plagiarism_Avoided.373.0.html for useful information on avoiding plagiarism and on correct documentation practice. Students are held responsible for knowing and following all University regulations regarding academic dishonesty. If a student does not know how to properly cite a source or what constitutes proper use of a source it is the student's personal responsibility to obtain the needed information and to apply it within University guidelines and policies. If evidence of academic dishonesty is found in a course assignment, previously submitted work in this course may be reviewed for possible academic dishonesty and grades modified as appropriate. University policy requires that all incidents of academic dishonesty must be forwarded to the Dean’s office for review and possible action.