Volume 10, Number 5
Oct 1986

Events in the News

• Last summer Giles Barber organized a seminar on the history of bookbinding for SCONUL (Standing Conference of National and University Libraries, a British organization). Members of the libraries which are members of SCONUL were treated to a full week of papers, tours and discussion, as well as a film and a panel discussion. Speakers were Chris Clarkson, Mirjam Foot, Nicholas Pickwoad, Giles Barber, and a Dr. Alston, Mr. Turner and Mr. Roberts. Half the papers were on structure or conservation.
• The 1986 TAPPI Research and Development Conference, held September 28 to October 1 in Raleigh, had a session on microbiology and microbial technology, chaired by M-m. Chang, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. It included three papers on lignin-degrading enzymes or organisms.
• Five collection care workshops will be given this winter by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) in Philadelphia, all of them relevant to library and archival materials. The schedule is:
  • Examination and Survey Procedures - Nov. 15
  • Storage of Works of Art and Photographs - Dec. 13
  • Storage of Library and Archival Material - Jan. 17
  • Matting and Framing - Feb. 14
  • Exhibition Techniques, Packing and Shipping - Mar. 14
  The workshops are designed for professionals with conservation concerns, and will include general information on collection care, demonstrations, ample hands-on training in a specific skill or skills, and a guided tour of the treatment facility. $25 for staff of member institutions, $50 for non-members, for each workshop. CCAHA, 264 South 23rd St., Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215/545-0613).

  The Second Annual National Archives Preservation Conference, in Washington, DC, will be on December 9, not the 10th as earlier announced. It will be on "Preservation Photocopying in Archives and Libraries" and will cover paper, equipment, toner, the role of copying in the preservation program, copying from different formats, and the stability of copies made by older processes. Send $30 registration payable to "National Archives Trust Fund, Account 00010117." for further information contact Alan Calmes, Preservation Officer (NSZ), National Archives, Washington, DC 20408 (202/523-1546).

• A preservation management institute, two whole weeks long, will be presented next June 5-19 by the Northeast Document Conservation Center, for archivists. It will be supported by the SAA Basic Conservation Program, which is supported by NEH About 15 to 20 archivists with preservation responsibilities will be invited to attend tuition-free. This project, by providing more intensive training for preservation administrators, will help to foster the development of preservation programs as part of the ongoing operations of archival institutions, increase the number of individuals with preservation expertise, and create a cadre of preservation advocates at the regional and national levels. NEDCC, 24 School St., Andover, MA 01810 (617/470-1010).
• Next August the International Symposium on Newspaper Preservation and Access will be held in London. The dates are August 12-15, just before the IFLA meeting August 16-21. It is being organized by the IFLA Working Group on Newspapers. Papers or sessions on August 13 will cover the History and bibliography of the press, Uses of the press, and the General management of a newspaper collection. Workshops on the following day will be on building a collection, bibliography, user views, microfilm programs, indexing and databases, preservation strategies, conservation, and new developments and technology. National and worldwide approaches to preservation will be considered on the last day. The international group of speakers includes Harold Cannon of NEH and William J. Welsh of LC. Cost: about £350. More details from Valerie J. Nurcombe, Information Consultant, 8 Kingfisher Drive, Over, Winsford, Cheshire CW7 1PF, U.K.

  Newspapers are a hot topic in libraries nowadays. Everyone knows how they are falling apart, but not everyone knows that a complete list has never been made of them. The last copy of all issues of certain newspapers could disappear today and no one would know the difference until too late. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, in 1982 the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) initiated the United States Newspaper Program (USNP). It has two stages: 1) locate and list, and 2) microfilm. (Microfilming is the only practical method of preserving newspapers.) Each stage is to be carried out at two levels, nationally and locally. The locating and listing will be done both by the eight libraries that have comprehensive national collections of newspapers, and by each state for the newspapers published within its borders. The resulting catalogs and lists of holdings will be put into a national database maintained by OCLC so that everyone can have access to them. In the microfilming stage, the work will be done by whatever institution has the most complete run, and it is possible that a central repository for all master negatives will be set up.

  The second stage has already begun although the first is not yet complete. All newspapers that can be located will be listed, but only those in bad shape will be filmed. The project is estimated to take 15 years and cost as much as $20 million--which makes it the largest microfilming effort ever attempted in this country. For more facts, read Larry Sullivan's article, "United States Newspaper Program: Progress and Prospects," Microform Review 15 (3): 158-161, Summer 1986.