Conservation in Latin America:
Current Trends in Cultural Context

Part Five: Storage Environments

One of the areas in which information is crucially needed is collections conservation; preventive maintenance can be a low-technology and widely effective way to positively affect the fate of large portions of a collection at one time. One aspect of collections conservation is environmental control, an area almost wholly lacking in most Latin American archives. High temperatures and humidity and the absence of HVAC systems invite large-scale problems. Sadly, most Latin American libraries and archives cannot afford state-of-the-art climate control systems that their collections require. In fact, while some countries, such as Venezuela and Cuba, have managed to secure air-conditioning, conservators in other Latin American countries claim that AC is a "capital- and technology-intensive solution that makes no sense for countries that can't afford it27 " Therefore, simpler, and thus possibly feasible, solutions, such as using a series of fans and dehumidifiers, should be tested and recommended as an alternative to costly climate control systems.

Hazen reports on another area related to storage environments that is not being addressed in Latin America--the ongoing issue of brittle books. Apparently, despite growing awareness in many areas of preservation, "slowing down the breakdown of acidic papers was scarcely mentioned" as a concern among participants at the IFLA conference.28   The lack of attention afforded this issue is even more troubling when one considers that, unlike their United States counterparts, Latin American publishers still regularly print on acidic paper. In fact, a recent study of Latin American books entering Brigham Young University showed that the percentage of books printed on acidic paper ranging from Argentina's low at 62% up to a full 100% for Bolivia, Paraguay and Ecuador.29   In addition, publishers in this part of the world still maintain a "tradition of fine private binding; consequently most books are published in temporary bindings.30 "Libraries, however, may not rebind books meant for it, and the useful life of the volume decreases dramatically for lack of proper protection. The shoddy materials used in book production, such as limp paper covers and adhesive bindings, create even further need for preventive maintenance to deal with this current and future problem.31   Bettina Raphael, an American conservator who consults in Latin America, recently reported on the movement in Latin America to "play a more active role in developing national legislation, policies and specific guidelines for the preservation of cultural documents and artifacts." Concerned parties are exploring both public relations efforts and the creation of national standards.32  

Preventive maintenance solutions will be more accepted by Latin American conservators if local, private industries can benefit as well. A few examples will clarify this important, yet often overlooked, preservation consideration. Venezuela, for example, is experimenting with acid-free storage containers made from locally-manufactured polypropylene to be used in rehousing national archives collections. Another area of great concern is the ever-present problem of insect infestation. Cuban researchers are developing natural pesticides that can be locally produced.33   Remaining "practical and responsible" to the cultural and economic needs of the country can be challenging but is beneficial in the long run.34  

North American and European research institutions are largely responsible for a final facet of Latin American collections conservation, namely reformatting of material. Such efforts have a long track record in Latin America: UNESCO, for one, has supported microfilming projects of important and/or rare materials in Latin Americ a since 1956.35   In addition, the U.S.-based Latin American Microform Project will arrange a concerted effort to preserve Latin American collections in North American libraries. Funding for such a program has come from U.S. agencies such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Department of Education. However, some U.S. librarians are concerned that Latin American librarians display little knowledge of microform and how it is created. Hazen, for one, fears that "to the extent that Latin Americans expect North American RECON [retrospective conversion of library catalog cards] and preservation efforts to save their own bibliographic heritage, they may fail to prevent the destruction of materials that they alone possess.36 "In addition, the newer digital reformatting technologies are not yet widespread in Latin America, but Hazen upholds electronic preservation as a possible manner for providing wide access to materials in the public domain.37  

Copyright 1995 by Whitney Baker
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Please send comments to wbaker@pop.uky.edu.


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