Literature

Conferences and Professional Publications

Frank Broomhead, "Collecting Books on Bookbinding and Bookbindings." The Private Library, 3d series, 1: 119- 137, 1978. Includes six sections on the development of binding styles in different countries.

"Enzymes--Binding Energy, Catalysis and Inhibition," by Michael I. Page (Dept. of Chemical Sciences, The Polytechnic, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, England). Chemistry and Industry, Issue #5, p. 144-150, 7 March 1981.

Conservation in Australia. Edited by S. Walston. Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material, Canberra, 1977. Proceedings of its 1976 Canberra Conference. 146 pages. $10.70. Order from ICCM, P0 Box 1638, Canberra City, ACT 2601, Australia. Includes 28 papers on a wide range of general topics and topics specific to museums. R.G. Neale's "The Role of Preservation in the National Archives" quite frankly describes the size of the preservation problem in their national archives, which seems to be worse off than ours.

"Preservation of Library Materials: First Sources," Preservation Leaflet No. 1, 3rd ed. Library of Congress, Preservation Office, Washington, DC 20540; March 1982. 51 references, including Cunha, Diehl, Hunter, Kodak, Marwick, and Technology and Conservation--but not the Abbey Newsletter or Paper Conservation News.

The Binders' Guild Newsletter contains an account of a visit by Editor Jim Dorsey to a French fine bookbinder, illustrated with original color photographs and containing a description of a chemise. This issue also contains excerpts from the Commerce Business Daily, in which the government is wont to advertise when they have binding or conservation work to let out on contract. The jobs are in the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Preservation of Photographs. Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY, 1982. Publication No. F-30. 61 pp. $5.50. Available from Kodak or from stores which specialize in camera equipment.

John Dean, "Johns Hopkins: Action in Preservation." CAN, No. 9, pp. 1, 4-7, April 1982. Describes a carefully planned and comprehensive preservation program with major accomplishments.

Fritz Eberhardt, "Preserving the Materials of a Heritage." AB Bookman's Weekly, Oct. 11, 1982. Based on a presentation made at a seminar on The History of Printing in Pennsylvania held last fall in Chambersburg, Pa. There is a footnote that says, "In 1954, there were more books on bookbinding written by non-bookbinders than there were bookbinders in the U.S."

Martin J. Pitt, "A Vapour Hazard Index for Volatile Chemicals," Chemistry and Industry, 16 October 1982, pp. 804-806. Calculates the effect of vapor pressure on hazards of different solvents.

The Chemistry of Paper, a 30-minute color 3/4" videocassette produced by the Society of Mississippi Archivists, includes a lecture by Dr. C. Eugene Cain on the chemical properties of paper, the processes involved in paper making, the various types of paper degradation, and the enemies (environmental factors) of paper. Obtainable on seven-day loan from Linda Overman, Chair, Conservation Committee, Society of Mississippi Archivists, P0 Box 1151, Jackson, MS 39205. Rental is $3.00 for members and $10.50 to non-members.

"National Archives Reviewing Microfilming Program." News release dated 3-23-81, citing the problems associated with microfilm and the search for an alternative.

Library Journal, May 15, 1981, p. 1013. Press notice reflecting the press release.

"NARS to conduct New Survey of Microfilm Holdings." Publishers Weekly, Sept. 4, 1981, p. 40, 44. Recounts concern stirred among librarians and film suppliers by the press release, and describes the in-house survey on which it was based; NARS officials reassure public, while emphasizing that problems remain.

"National Archives Recants Microform Warning." LJ/SLJ Hotline, Sept. 7, 1981. "Following discussions with microform industry leaders, the National Archives has essentially taken back what amounted to a warning that microfilm may not be a secure medium for the preservation of printed material."

"NARS Contracts for New Microfilm Damage Study." Library Journal, Sept. 15, 1981, pp. 1670, 1672, 1674. An expansion of the Hotline article.

John C. Williams, "A Review of Paper Quality and Paper Chemistry." In Conservation of Library Materials, Gerald Lundeen, ed., a special issue of Library Trends (30:2, Fall 1981), pp. 203-224. A clear, complete, balanced, well-documented review of this rapidly-changing field. Includes arguments--in terms understandable by paper manufacturers--for manufacture and use of permanent/durable papers; reviews the types of deacidification.

Darling, Banks, Buchanan, Avedon and Swan have good and useful articles in this issue as well. The conservation of sound recordings is not well covered. Machine- readable records, manuscripts and maps are not covered at all. The scope of Werner Rebsamen's article, "Binding," is too wide. It includes too much that is irrelevant, while it fails to address many of the questions and concerns of librarians on this subject.

"Thymol and Ortho-Phenyl Phenol: Safe Handling Practices." The Center for Occupational Hazards (COH) has just completed this four-page data sheet on two fungicides commonly used in book and paper conservation. It is being sent free to all museums and historical societies in New York State.

The data sheet was written by Deborah Nagin, M.P.H., and Michael McCann, Ph.D., C.I.H. with the assistance of a grant from the Museum Aid Program of the New York State Council on the Arts. Further copies can be obtained from COH for 75� at 5 Beekman Street, New York, NY 10038 (212/ 227-6220).

Requests to reprint the data sheet for educational purposes should be addressed to Monona Rossol, Director of COH's Art Hazards Information Center.

Catalogue Nine of Wilsey Rare Books, 80 Watchung Avenue, Upper Montclair, NJ 07043, lists 25 books on binding and bindings, from $30 to $500.

An extensive collection of slides on bookbinding, printing and calligraphy are available for loan, and information is available on exhibitions in the United Kingdom, from the Crafts Council, 12 Waterloo Place, Lower Regent St., London SW1Y 4AU, England.

The Illinois Cooperative Conservation Program, funded by Library Services and Construction Act funds, provides its publications and services free to Illinois Libraries. Very likely the publications would be sent to Others outside Illinois on request. These include:

1. A series of leaflets, on disaster prevention, tightening the hinges of a hardback book, and disaster preparedness, three so far: "Conservation Correspondence."
2. Two posters, one showing the wrong way to hold a book while photocopying, and the result of excess pressure, and the other, entitled "Save a Book" illustrating six things not to do to books, like stick pencils in them.
3. Six non-book conservation kits, available on loan, for: phonorecords, magnetic tape, microforms, maps, photographs, and films. Inquire about availability.
4. Disaster portfolio, available on loan. Inquire.

The people on the program staff full time are Carolyn Clark Morrow, Hollis Denn Onken and Anthony J. Amodeo. The address is ICCP, Morris Library, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Carbondale, IL 62901. There is a charge, by the way, for the posters.

"Methods of Dry Cleaning Paper," Leaflet No. 2 of the Conservation Committee of the Society of Mississippi Archivists. Issued as an insert in the November issue of The Primary Source, Newsletter of the Society of Mississippi Archivists, P0 Box 1151, Jackson, MS 39205. Includes an abstract of the paper on this topic read by NYU student Ellen Pearlstein at the 1981 AIC meeting.

A revised edition of Introducing Bookbinding, by Ivor Robinson, will be published by Oxford Polytechnic Press in a new format in 1983. For information, or to place an order, contact The Publisher, Oxford Polytechnic Press, Oxford Polytechnic, Headington, Oxford 0X3 0BP, England.

Condyne/The Oceans Group (75 Main St., Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522) is advertising a video program of Enemies of Books: A Preservation Primer, available on 3/4" U-Matic,1/2" VHS or 1/2" Betamax at a cost of $95.00. The 16-minute cassette shows, according to the publisher, how to avoid becoming an inadvertent accessory to the destruction of books by focusing on the factors that shorten shelf life. A preview tape may be obtained through a $25-$l8 deposit, depending on format. (From The APHA Letter, No. 49.)

Susan E. Schur, "Conservation Profile: The Preservation Office of the Library of Congress." Technology and Conservation, 7: 26-33, 46, 49, Summer 1982.

The New Library Scene, 1:1 (September/October) and 1:2 (November/December) 1982 have appeared, with only one or two articles per issue but the same, or about the same, number of features and ads. Carolyn M. Johnson, Judith Fortson-Jones and Sam Ellenport are the authors of the articles.