PARS Physical Quality and Treatment Discussion Group RBMS Curators and Conservators Discussion Group

ALCTS-PARS Physical Quality and Treatment Discussion Group
RBMS Curators and Conservators Discussion Group
ALA Midwinter, Boston
January 16, 2005
9:30 to 11:00 a.m.
Attendance: 41

At the ALA Mid-Winter meeting in Boston the ALCTS-PARS Physical
Quality and Treatment Discussion Group and the RBMS Curators and
Conservators Discussion Group asked Alan Puglia, Conservator for
Houghton Library Collections in the Weissman Preservation Center,
Harvard University Library, to discuss the creation and management
of their Quick Repair program.

Alan Puglia developed the program to address a variety of
conservation needs in the Houghton Library, including reducing the
number of books that have been set aside in the "book
hospital" for treatment. The Quick Repair program focuses on
special collection items that can be repaired in an hour or less
on-site with limited space and equipment.

Prior to the work day, Mr. Puglia selects appropriate repairs from
items that have outstanding treatment requests.  Developing
selection criteria has been an ongoing process but is the most
important aspect of the Quick Repair program according to Mr.
Puglia. In general, he chooses books with sound structures that do
not have compound problems (e.g. a book that has torn pages and a
loose board and needs dry cleaning). He also relies on curatorial
input to define goals and repair expectations for each collection.

Several conservators from the Weissman Preservation Center
participate in the repair session one day each month. Participating
conservators and technicians bring their own tools and supplies with
them since the conservation lab is not housed within Houghton
Library. The majority of treatments fall under the following
categories: dry cleaning, paper repair and hinge-ins, corner repair,
leather consolidation, inner hinge repair, simple sewing, and board
attachment. Mr. Puglia returns to the library the day after the
repair session to perform quality control on the repairs.

One of the most innovative parts of this program has been the
development of their own solvent-soluble repair tissue. Alan Puglia
and Priscilla Anderson developed this tissue specifically for these
Quick Repair sessions. More information on the tissue can be found
in their publication

    "Solvent-Set Book Repair Tissue"
    American Institute for Conservation Book and Paper Group Annual
    22: 3-8 (2003).

All of the repairs are held to conservation standards including
reversibility, stability, durability, and aesthetic consideration.
Mr. Puglia works closely with the curators of each collection to
ensure their needs and priorities are met, as well as to keep them
informed of the progress the conservators are making on the
collections. In 3-1-2 years they have held 39 Quick Repair Sessions
and repaired 1,015 books.

Much discussion followed the presentation regarding repair
techniques and strategies for presenting this information to our
home institutions. We also discussed how curators, conservators and
preservation librarians may have to shift our approaches and our
expectations when we consider the wide range of treatment
possibilities that are available.

Heather Kaufman, co-chair PQTDG
Beth Doyle, co-chair PQTDG
Jennifer Hain Teper, chair CCDG

Beth Doyle, Collections Conservator
Duke University Libraries
Campus Box 90189
Durham, NC 27708-0189
919-660-5985
919-660-5906 (lab)
Fax: 919-684-2978


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:35
                 Distributed: Friday, January 28, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-35-004
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