Literature

Book and Paper Group Annual, vol. 4 (i.e., 5), 1986. Washington, DC: American Institute for Conservation, 1986. 194 p.

The first section has 14 independent papers, seven of which deal with specific kinds of paper objects: drawings, papyrus, a fan, posters and pastels. Charles Mazel and Frank Mowery described a way of using a video digitizer to calculate loss areas for leafcasting; Cathleen Baker described a double-sided light bleaching bank; Karen Garlick and Walter Henry reviewed the history and current practice of sizing (and found little justification for the practice of resizing of old paper); Gary Frost spoke on teaching of book conservation; and Paul Banks reviewed the status of environmental standards for storage of books and paper (which since then have failed to make it through the review process, and may ultimately take the form of guidelines instead). The next two sections reprint the papers from the disaster preparedness session and the panel discussion on the conservator as collection manager. There were seven contributions on disasters (cooperative plans, preparations, a summary of recent advances in methods, and two reports of salvage of materials from a national historic site, concerning photographs and archival material). The panel discussion, entitled "The Conservator as Collection Manager: Implications for the Profession,' made clear to the audience what most of them already knew from experience, that a very large proportion of a conservator's tine has to be spent with administrative matters (visitors, supervision, desk work, committee work, liaison with curators in the local institution, and other interruptions); and that it is hard to do conservation during the time that one is at work, because of the distractions, if one is in a supervisory position. Marjorie Cohn made a distinction between welcome and irrelevant distractions; the irrelevant or undesirable distractions contributed nothing to her continuing education and did not require the participation of a bench conservator--e.g. meetings on humidity control, "where they certainly don't need a conservator to tell them that the line on the hygrothermograph should be flat."

The book is printed on acid-free paper (Warren Patina) that is a little hard to read because of the shiny surface; but the photographs turned out well. It is adhesive bound against the grain and has a plain white soft cover, lettered on the spine.

Gazette du Livre Médiéval. This is an international journal published by Editions CEMI, B.P. 254, F-75227 Paris Cedex 05, France, twice yearly. Subscriptions are 60 FF (80 FF if invoice is required). Checks should be made out to Editions CEMI.

The contents of the Spring 1986 issue (#8) are:

Editorial [about financial matters]
Une nouvelle technique d'analyse des colorants.
Premieres applications a l'etude des tranchefiles de manuscrits medievaux - V. Guichard et B. Guineau
Paleographie et calligraphie: nouvelles de Suisse (B. v. S.) Un progetto di censimento informatizzato delle legature medievali italiane (C. F.)
Echantillons veneneux (0. M. et E. 0.) The Newberry catalogue of incunables (P. Saenger)

[And eight departments, including letters, technical notes, short reviews, publications, seminars, exhibits, research, and news from the libraries and universities.]

De Boekbinder, vol. 5 #4, Nov. 1986, is also entitled the "1986 Yearbook" (in Dutch, of course), presumably because it includes once-a-year things like a list of members of the Flemish Hand Bookbinders' Guild. It is so long (57 pages) that it is issued in four unsewn signatures in a loose wrapper. There is a report on HICOREB, the school run by this professional organization. The first class of 20, who entered in October 1984, are near the end of their training; apparently only 10 of them are left. The curriculum has been revised for the next class, and is reproduced in full. Second- and third-year classes have some instructors with familiar names: C. Clarkson, N. Pickwoad, 0. Wächter, K. Trobas, B. Middleton and A. Johnson. Classes are probably taught in the language of the instructor, as long as it is English, Dutch or German. De Boekbinder is published by K. Storme, Korenlei 21, 9000 Gent, Belgium.

Designer Bookbinders Newsletter No. 58, March 1987, has a list of exhibitions and events in 13 locations, including six countries--but they missed the exhibit of "The Best Contemporary Czechoslovakian Design Bookbinders 1987" in Euclid, Ohio.

The Education Committee has compiled a list of classes given by DB Fellows and Licentiates, which is available from Romilly Saumarez-Smith, 13 Newell St., London E14. Please send SASE.

Library Conservation News, No. 15, April 1987, has an article on flexible light guides using fiber optics to provide light without heat for exhibition cases. This type of lighting has been suggested for all cases in the new British Library building.

Gedeon Borsa, Deputy Librarian at the Hungarian National Library in Budapest, has an article entitled "Preservation of Historic Library Materials in Hungary" on pp. 4-6. By law, owners of historic documents in certain categories must keep them in suitable conditions and make them available for short periods at the request of the National Library; the Library helps owners as far as possible with the conservation of these protected documents.

From the National Preservation Office (British Library, Great Russell St., London WC1B 3DG) one can order a range of free and priced publications, listed on p. 8. These include a series of three posters depicting the act of writing as portrayed in art, and bearing the legend: "Our written heritage is irreplaceable--Save it." £2 each + postage & handling.

Leather Conservation News, v.3 #1, Fall 1986. The lead article is an expansion of the excellent talk Mary-Lou Florian gave in an Objects Group session at last year's AIC meeting: "The Freezing Process - Effects on Insects and Artifact Materials; A Literature Review and Recommended Procedures for Freezing Insect Infested Artifacts for Insect Eradication." The article itself, with its appendix on the pests and their habits, and a 74-item bibliography, is 13 pages long. It summarizes what is known and makes recommendations for rational procedures based on current knowledge, until more research is done.

Two meetings are reported. The Northampton Leather Seminar last August at the Leather Conservation Centre is reported by Nary Garbin; the proceedings will appear as a Leather Conservation Centre publication. The CCI's "Symposium '86," held in Ottawa last September 29-October 4, was for museum conservators, and had four papers on leather, including one by Toby Raphael, calling for more preventive treatment and less intervention with leather artifacts. The CCI premises that the papers will be published.

Le Journal Association des Relieurs du Québec, vol. 4 #2, October 1986, has 47 well-printed half-size pages and includes an interview with Hugo Peller; another installment of its French-English "Lexicon," a unique service; and "Technique of Bradel-Parchemin," by Louise Genest Côté (her notes from a demonstration by Sün Evrard).

The New Bookbinder: Journal of Designer Bookbinders, vol. 6, 1986: Recent exhibitions (Modern British Bookbinding and the Designer Bookbinders Exhibition 1985) are reviewed by Mirjam Foot and Dorothy Harrop; Ivor Robinson interviews Jeff Clements (16 pp.) on his binding of The Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson; Colin Franklin has a little essay on bookbinders and books, called "Bound to Succeed"; Jan Lindsay explains rough edge gilding; W. P. Visscher (of Cowley's) describes manufacture of vellum and parchment past and present; Dorothy Harrop describes a collection of fine bindings; Betty Lou Chaika describes recent trends in American artists' books with visible structures; and Emma Bulley writes about setting up and running a bindery. The final installment of Anthony Cains' Book Conservation Workshop Manual is promised for vol. 7, 1987.

This journal is now being distributed by Carfax Publishing Co., 85 Ash St., Hopkinton, NA 01748, who say that individuals receiving the journal at a private address for their own use may subscribe at a 50% discount (i.e., US$19).

Guild of Book Workers Journal, vol. XXI #2, Spring 1983 (c1986, received Feb. 1987). Thirty-six pages of this issue's 50 pages are on oriental bindings, and American-style variations on then. Two of the four articles on this topic are on the 1982 Oriental Binding Exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden. Well-illustrated.

The dues for U.S. residents are $30 (only $15 for those under 25), which is a bargain considering that this is the organization of central importance for people whose main interest is bookbinding and book arts. The dues period is July 1-June 30. Members receive the Journal, a much more regular Newsletter, and lists of supply sources and study opportunities which are necessary supplements to the announcements of supplies and courses in the Abbey Newsletter. Address: 521 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10175 (no phone).

Bookbinder: Journal of the Society of Bookbinders and Book Restorers, vol. 1, 1987. Editor: William Bull. Editorial board: Michael Duckworth, J. Brian Edwards, and John McIntyre. Annual. Overseas members receive it as part of membership, which is £15 for them; overseas nonmembers may subscribe at £17 ($27). Acid-free paper, 56 pages, generously illustrated. Well designed and printed except for the very narrow inner margins. The format of the bibliographies varies, and is sometimes too sparse to allow the reader to locate the item referenced, e.g., Proctor Textbook of Tanning, Spon, 1885.

Cover: Three of the five volumes of the rebound Domesday Book

Contents:

Foreword - F. W. Ratcliffe
John Leslie Coleman [obituary] - Michael Duckworth
Preserving Books and their History - Mirjam N. Foot
Domesday Rebound 1986 - Donald Gubbins
Alum Tawed Leathers: A Re-appraisal - George Barlee
Rebinding Islamic Manuscripts: A New Direction - William Bull
Wheels and Herringbones: Some Scottish Bindings 1678-1773- John Morris
Parchment, Vellum and William Cowley - Willem P. Visscher

All communications should be directed to the Editor, Notre Chateau, High Road, Laindon, Essex SS15 6BU, England.

"Sixth Seminar on Standards of Excellence in Hand Bookbinding, 1986," in GBW Newsletter #49, Dec. 1986. This is a detailed 3-page report. Elaine Schlefer covers Scott Kellar's presentation on protective enclosures; Joan Flasch covers Paula Gourley' s presentation on marbling with gouache; Henry Pelham Burn covers Bill Anthony's presentation on doublures, end papers and leather hinges; and Don Etherington covers Nichele Rome-Hyacinthe's presentation on fine French binding techniques.

"Considerations in Light Bleaching Art on Paper," by Susan Duhl and Cathleen Baker. Paper Conservation News #40, Dec. 1986, p. 5-6. This is a paper that was given at the IPC conference in Oxford last year. Presumably it will be published with the proceedings of that conference. It must have been put in the newsletter because people couldn't wait. The authors address the chemists' concerns about the damaging effects of light, saying that "controlled exposures to certain wavelengths of light will bleach many stains and discolorations without apparent damage to the cellulose." They draw attention to the fact that light-bleaching has been used for centuries for textiles and paper, and that the alternative is to use chemical bleaches. Methods, effects, advantages and aspects on which further research is needed are given. There are 12 references.

Chandru J. Shahani and William K. Wilson. "Preservation of Libraries and Archives." American Scientist, 75: 240-251 (May-June 1987). An accurate, readable, well-printed summary of the reasons why paper goes brittle, and what is being (arid has been done) about it. Covers the history of papermaking, research on deterioration of paper, deacidification, reinforcing methods, and copying. 36 references.

Ink & Gall, a new quarterly journal, will begin publication this June. Domestic subscriptions are $20 per year, with a prepublication discount of 1O%. To subscribe, send name, address, telephone number and check to Ink & Gall, 1112-A Western Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. For a prospectus sheet, call the editor, Polly Fox (408/429-5190).

"A Re-examination of Vapour Phase Chlorine Dioxide Bleaching of Works of Art on Paper," by Christopher Sergeant and Joseph Halmy. Journal of the IIC-CG, vol. 8 & 9, 1983/84 [received April 19871, p. 3-7. The authors appear to have overlooked a major reference, Alan Donnithorne's "Chlorine Dioxide: Observations on its Use in Paper Bleaching" (The Paper Conservator, vol. 4, 1979, p. 20-29), as well as the shorter article that follows it, Guy Meynell's "Notes on Foxing, Chlorine Dioxide Bleaching and Pigments." There is a 50% overlap of their bibliography with Donnithorne's, and both articles cover issues of safety, pH and effect of the agent on the strength of the papers.

"Sorting a Mountain of Books," by Fred W. Matthews (Library Resources & Technical Services 31(1): 88-94, Jan/Mar. 1987), explains how they got 100,000 books back in order after the Dalhousie University Law Library fire in 1985, with the aid of 12 Tandy 100 portable computers and a mainframe.

Peter Waters, "The Florence Flood of 1966 Revisited." A paper first given at the Society of American Archivists' 50th annual meeting in Chicago, it is being published in five parts in CACG Newsletter (Chicago Area Conservation Group). The first four installments appeared in the October 1986, and January, March and Nay 1987 issues. Each is about two pages long. The approach is a historical one, for the period 1966-1986, covering salvage, treatment, development of a philosophy, and preservation planning. For information on the availability of the newsletter issues containing this material, contact Patricia Palmer, Editor, do SAA, 600 5. Federal, Suite 504, Chicago, IL 60605.

Robert Feller has furnished the reference he omitted accidentally from his paper in the Book and Paper session at AIC:

Gellerstedt, G., Pettersson, I. and Sundin, 5. (1983), "Light-Induced and Heat-Induced Yellowing of Mechanical Pulps," Svensk Papperstidning, 86, No. 15, R157-R163.

Recent Setbacks in Conservation, 2, 1986. $5.00 + $1.00

postage (Canadian money) from Recent Setbacks..., Box 9195, Ottawa, Ont. K1G 3T9, Canada.

"Syon Abbey's Care for Books: Its Sacristan's Account Rolls 1506/7-1535/6," by Mary Carpenter Erler. Scriptorium XXXIX #2, 1985, p. 293-307. Syon Abbey was a Bridgettine community of men and women, on the Thames west of London, which flourished for over 100 years before it was dissolved by Henry VIII. Expenses related to the care of the men's library are here examined. (The catalog of its 1400 or so books also survives, showing that it was one of the largest of its tine.) There was a resident scribe/binder, who was paid by the year as well as by the book. He used skins of various sorts (forel, vellum, sheep, deer, calf, kid); clasps, paper, glue, material for paste, thread, cord, bosses, pigments, pumice, gold, and--surprise! alum and rosin for preparing a writing surface. For ink, regular purchases were made of ground galls, copperas and gum arabic or frankincense. And so on. Sometimes the author has to speculate about whether the materials were bought for the scriptorium or another part of the abbey.

The Rule held the librarian accountable for the welfare of the books. If they were missing when needed, or treated "unhonestly," or stolen or destroyed, the president prescribed a suitable penance.

Mark R. Gilberg has two current publications on softening and unrolling of birch-hark artifacts with organic solvent vapors:

"Plasticization and Forming of Misshapen Birch-Bark Artifacts using Solvent Vapours." Studies in Conservation 31 (4), Nov. 1986, p. 177-184.

"The Conservation of a Birch Bark Scroll: A Case Study." (with John H. A. Grant) Journal of the IIC-CG 8-9, p.23-27, 1983-84.

Methanol and ethanol vapors worked best. It is interesting that these solvents also dissolve lignin, and have been proposed by different people as bases for pulping methods for over 50 years, according to a brief review of solvent pulping processes in the March 1987 Tappi Journal, "Ester Pulping--A Brief Evaluation," by S. Aziz and T. J. McDonough. The author mentions the possible effect of the vapor on something called suberin, but not lignin.

V. Daniels and B. Boyd, "The Yellowing of Thymol in the Display of Prints." Studies in Conservation 31 (4), Nov. 1986, p. 156-158. Prints that had been framed with thymol-impregnated blotting paper behind them a few years previously (to prevent mold) were found to have yellowed where they were not covered by the mat. The Plexiglas over them had also yellowed in the central section. This paper reports the investigation to discover the mechanism, which is taken to be photoxidation. The brown degradation product has the characteristics of a polymer of thymol.

"Conservation by Gamma Radiation: The Museum of Central Bohemia in Roztoky," by J. Urban. Museum 151, 1986, p. 165-167. The author says, "A dose of 500 Gy is small when compared with the low sensitivity of non-biological material to radiation and, if need be, it can be repeated up to 20 tines without causing any damage to the irradiated object." The museum's irradiation facility is in its basement. Installed in 1982, it is probably the only facility of its kind in a cultural institution. Its safety features and ease of operation are described.

Dorothy A. Harrop. "Pioneers of Conservation: Roger Powell and Sydney Cockerell." The Book Collector, 35 (2), Summer 1986, p. 178-190.

Otto Wächter. "Diagnosis and Therapy in Parchment and Miniature Restoration." Originally published in Restaurator, 5 (1-2), 1981-82, pp. 135-150. Translator: Nancy A. Miller. Editor: Jack Thompson. Available July 1987 from Thompson Conservation Laboratory, 7549 N. Fenwick, Portland, OR 97217, for $8.00 + 50� packing & shipping.

Garry Thomson. The Museum Environment. This was announced in an earlier issue as available from IIC for $47.50 to members and $52.50 nonmembers--but Butterworths is charging only $39.95 for it. This second edition is 308 pages; the first edition was 270. Order from Butterworth Publishers, 80 Montvale Ave., Stoneham, NA 02180.

*

A thorough, illustrated, analytical, applied article on the weaver's knot, as presented in various bookbinding manuals, is in the April Binders' Guild Newsletter. It is six pages long and has a 20-item bibliography. Some authors of manuals for the beginner were found to give instructions that were difficult or impossible to follow.

Edward Martinique, Chinese Traditional Bookbinding: A Study of its Evolution and Techniques. CMC Asian Library Series, No. 19 (Taipei: Chinese Materials Center, 1983), xiv, 87 pp. ISBN 0-89644-596-8. Hard cover. $24.70 + 73c postage. Order from Chinese Materials Center, P.O. Box 22048, Taipei 10012, Taiwan, Republic of China.

Cost Comparison of Selected Alternatives for Preserving Historic Pension Files, by Ralph E. Schofer. NBS/NARA, June 1986. NBSIR 86-3335. Although this technical report was briefly reviewed on p. 100 of the last volume, and given a D for its murky English, the importance of the topic deserves fuller consideration. Here is a summary, which draws freely upon the abstract:

This report describes the results of a cost study of three selected alternatives for preserving and retrieving the historic pension files. The three alternatives evaluated comprise three levels of technology: hand retrieval of original paper documents; hand retrieval of microfiche copies of the original documents; and automatic retrieval of microfiche copies.

Results indicate that the microcopy alternatives substantially reduce storage space requirements and the labor cost of providing reference service. Automated retrieval substantially reduces the labor cost of reference. However, because of their low use, the actual savings in reference labor for these historic pension files are limited: the daily capacity of the automated system for file retrieval exceeds current annual demand. The extremely high cost of converting the files to microfiche more than cancels Out the savings in both space and operating costs, even if the original documents are discarded after conversion and involve no additional expense.

Improving the storage environment and continuing reference service with the original documents is an attractive alternative. Each file is requested, on the average, only once every 65 years. At these rates, preservation experts do not expect the documents to deteriorate from reference use.

Raised Bands (Bulletin of the Craft Bookbinders' Guild, Inc. - Australia) has not been issued since August 1984, but has recently cone to life again. The April 19B6 issue (#4) was mailed out in December or so.

Mary-Lou Florian, "Letter to the Editor." JAIC 25(2), Fall 1986 [p. 109]. In this letter Ms. Florian points out that J. H. Haines and S. A. Kohler, in rejecting ortho-phenyl phenol (OPP) as a safer fumigant than thymol because of its inability to kill enough of the fungus colonies in their tests (JAIC 25 #1, AN 10/6 p. 98), had neglected to note that the vapor pressure of OPP is far too low to work in a thymol chamber. In fact, she had called them with this information in 1984. Nagin and McCann, in their data sheet on the use of thymol and OPP, recommended OPP for humidification chambers, impregnating sheets of paper and keeping paste, but not for fumigation.

League of Women Voters. Simplified Parliamentary Procedure. Based on Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised. 10 pp. 30� from League of Women Voters of the United States, 1730 M St. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Pub. No. 138.

Association of Research Libraries. Preservation Planning Program Manual and Resource Notebook. (Pubs Nos. SSO1 and SS02) $15 and $35 respectively from ARL Office of Management Studies. Send order to Office of Management Studies, 1527 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Washington, 1Y 20036. $50 for the set. Outside the US, add $5.00 for postage.

It has been five years since the first edition appeared. The manual has been expanded to include two new chapters: "Staff and User Education," by Jan Merrill-Oldham, and "Interinstitutional Cooperation," by Carolyn Harris. The Resource Notebook, 644 pages long and a little longer than the first one, was edited by Wesley Boomgaarden this time (the original was by Pam Darling). It consists of references to over 200 items which are available in libraries or through bookstores, and reproductions of over 100 items that are both useful and hard to get. The 644 pages are unbound, because the literature of the field is growing so rapidly that many readers may want to interfile newer material as tine goes on. Readings are grouped into the following sections:

Introductory Readings
The Physical Environment
Protection of Library Materials
Surveying Collection Conditions
Preservation Organization & Administration
Disaster Prevention & Preparedness
Preservation Microfilming
Cooperative Preservation Activities
Preservation Supplies
Education and Training for Preservation
Library Materials: Physical Nature & Treatment

The Resource Notebook will be used as a text for the fall class in preservation at Brigham Young University.

Pest Control in Museums. The 1980 edition has been revised and is being distributed by the Conservation Analytical Lab of the Smithsonian Copies can be had free by application on professional letterhead. Write CAL or call Marjorie Cleveland (202/287-3700) at CAL.

A Manual of the Art of Bookbinding, by James B. Nicholson. Reprinted from the 1874 edition, which was a reprint of the 1856 edition, with 18 hand-marbled specimens by Iris Nevins. Eleven of these illustrate patterns described but not illustrated in the original. The manual also contains information on gilding, blind tooling, polishing, fore-edge painting and other topics. Limited edition, 310 pp., $85, discounts f or multiple copy orders, plus shipping charges. For ordering information or to place an order, write I. Nevins, R.R. 3, Box 613, Sussex, NJ 07461 (201/875-4950). The publisher's notice, which was received in January 1987, bore a handwritten note, "Available by Mid-November," but it did not say which November.

Traditional Marbling, softcover edition, available for $14.50 - $1.50 postage from Iris Nevins, address above.

Hedi Kyle's Library Materials Preservation Manual is no longer available from the original publisher, only from The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458 (212/220-8721). It costs $22.50 + postage and handling. 160 pp. Originally published 1983 or so.

James M. Reilly, Care and Identification of 19th-Century Photographic Prints. Kodak Publication No. G-2S. Rochester: Eastman Kodak Co., 1986. 116 pp., 8½" x 11" soft cover. (Address order to Eastman Kodak Co., Dept. L-5, 175 Humboldt St., Rochester, NY 14610.) Book with Identification Guide: $24.95. Additional Identification Guides $5.00 each. This manual, by a contemporary authority, is addressed to the serious curator of photographs, and is clear and dependable. The author notes in the introduction that it does not attempt to provide specific guidelines for "making preservation compromises," partly because everyone has to make their own when necessary, and partly because one should be aware of what one is compromising from (not his words). He emphasizes the need to avoid compromising on relative humidity, because high RH speeds up oxidation, and oxidation is the main mechanism by which silver images deteriorate. Color illustrations and micrographs make it all real and meaningful.

Preparation of this book was supported by the NMA, NHPRC and NEH. The acknowledgements page shows that it was seen as important by all the people who gave professional help. It is a piece of work that will not soon be superseded. It should last for a while, too, because it is on alkaline paper (core as well as coating).

Francis Spreitzer, ed. Microforms in Libraries: A Manual for Evaluation arid Management. By Committees of the Reproduction of Library Materials Section and the Resources Section, Resources and Technical Services Division, American Library Association. Chicago: AlA, 1985. 63 pp. $8.95.

This little manual is neat and handy but does not cover preservation adequately, and does not even refer to a publication that does. (Susan G. Swartzburg's Conservation in the Library, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 1983, includes the preservation information that this manual lacks.) The bibliography, arranged under nine headings, does not have a section for preservation. Inspection for blemishes is not mentioned anywhere. Acid-free boxes are recommended in the section on storage, but the need for buffering (carbonate) is ignored. There is a warning against use of rubber bands to secure the film on the reel, since they "may" emit damaging sulfur compounds. Plastic boxes, if used, should be "inert"; but how is the librarian to know whether the plastic is inert? A list of safe plastics, and a list of sources of damaging gases, should be given. There should be a list of suppliers of archival materials, or at least an address from which such a list can be obtained.

Columbia University Libraries, Preservation Department. The Preservation of Library Materials: A CUL Handbook. 4th ed. This handbook provides guidelines and procedures used at Columbia for preservation activities: preservation microfilming, library binding, conservation treatment, and so on. This edition has page numbers and an index. $15 from Gifts and Exchange Dept., Columbia University Libraries, 104 Butler Library, 535 W. 114th St., New York, NY 10027 (212/280-3532).

"Guidelines for Contracting Microfilming Services," by Sherry Byrne. Microform Review 15 (4), Fall 1986, p. 253-264. Includes a sample contract and 12 references, mostly standards.

Handbook for the Recovery of Water Damaged Business Records, by Julia Niebuhr Eulenberg. 1986. 55 pp. $18 to ARMA members, $23 nonmembers, from ARMA International, 4200 Somerset Dr., Suite 215, Prairie Village, KS 66208 (913/341-3808). ARMA Association of Records Managers and Administrators.

This handbook is evidence that records managers are catching up, or have caught up, with librarians in disaster awareness. It was not cribbed from other people's disaster plans' but shows signs of having been drawn from experience. Jack Thompson and George Cunha are among the people whose help is acknowledged in the Preface.

Like many handbooks, this one has one section on planning, one on recovery, and several appendices at the end. It does not distinguish between procedures for large and for small disasters in its organization. There are separate subsections on recovery of paper records, magnetic media, photographs (including microfilm), and other specialized media. It seems well organized for use. There is a glossary and an index. Its weakest point is Appendix C, a list of sources, which is hopelessly out of date and incomplete. Although it was published only last year, it has Paul Banks at the Newberry, Robert Organ at the Conservation Analytical Lab, Carolyn Horton in New York, NEDCC as the New England Document Conservation Center, and Peter Waters as the Restoration (instead of the Conservation) Officer of LC. Sources are given for only two kinds of supplies, one of them being "nontear plasticized paper sheets for copiers," the use for which is not made clear.

There are a few strange or misguided bits of advice: to dry all records slowly; keep water damaged books immersed in water until they can be dealt with; to inspect for moisture and mold before returning items to storage, but not at intervals after that; not to let paper remain wet too long, because it will return to its original state as a slurry; coated paper can be dried so that it will not stick together if vacuum drying is used; local freeze-drying and vacuum-drying facilities can be used [the author apparently does not realize that the market for these facilities is a national, not a local one]; portable air conditioners and fans will lower the temperature; vacuum drying is usually too expensive except for unique records. Perhaps these can be corrected in the next edition. The main thing is that most of it is right, and it is reaching an audience that can put the information to good use. The records that these records managers are managing are, after all, the archives of tomorrow. Some of them are, anyhow.

The more generally applicable parts of the consultants' recommendations for recovery from the Los Angeles Public Library fire have been typed up for distribution, with the permission of the consultants and library director, to readers requesting them. The sheet of recommendations is entitled "On Drying Half a Million Books." Please send a stamped self-addressed envelope to Abbey Newsletter, 320 E. Center, Provo, UT 84601.

RLG Preservation Manual. Stanford: Research Libraries Group, 1986. 187 pp. This is the 2nd edition, three years after the first. It is produced for the use of RIG member libraries, to whom it is distributed at no charge. The first half contains information and guidelines for doing microfilming according to the BIG standards (which are a combination of existing standards), and the second half is a brief summary of each remaining aspect of preservation, with bibliographies.

Planning for Emergencies: A Guide f or Museums. Prepared by the Committee on Museum Operations of the AAMD. 1987? $25 to AAM members, $35 nonmembers. Order from American Association of Museums, P0 Box 33399, Washington, DC 20033.

John E. Hunter. [Handout, a series of readings to accompany his lecture on emergency management for museums at the Seminar on Emergency Planning for Museums, Galleries, and Archives, at BC Provincial Museum, October 1984; announced in newsletters as available, under two or more titles] This is not available for distribution now, but may be included in the published proceedings later on this year. Contact Mr. Gregory Evans, Training Coordinator, British Columbia Provincial Museum, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, BC, V8V 1X4, Canada.

"Culturgrams" are four-page leaflets issued by the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies at Brigham Young University to aid understanding of, feeling for, and communication with other people. There are 90 in all, one for each country, and they cost 50� each or $20 for the set. The one on China is organized as follows:

Two maps
Customs and Courtesies (greetings, visiting, eating, personal appearance and gestures)
The People (general attitudes, population, language and religion)
Lifestyle (the family, dating and marriage, social and economic levels, business hours, diet, recreation and holidays)
The Nation (land and climate, history and government, economy, education, transportation and communication, and health)

Sources of further information are given, and reactions of readers are invited by the Kennedy Center. Now that it has become common for readers of the Abbey Newsletter to travel to conferences overseas, even to China and Australia, it seems appropriate to make these helpful leaflets known.

Nathan Stolow. Conservation and Exhibitions. Butterworth Publishers, 80 Montvale Ave., Stoneham, NA 02180. 288 pp. $89.95. A definitive work on the care, handling and conservation of works of art and museum objects in transit, on exhibition, on loan and at temporary and mobile exhibitions.

Guild of Book Workers. 80 Years later: 80th Anniversary Exhibition of the Guild of Book Workers. Washington, DC: Guild of Book Workers, 1986. 183 pp. $25 + $2.50 shipping, from P. Spitzmueller, GBW, 409 Constitution Ave., NE, Washington, DC 20002.

Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler and Pamela Spitzmueller compiled and edited this blockbuster, which is twice as long as the 75th anniversary exhibit catalog and devotes four times as much space to each book or other work (a two-page spread). The exhibition, which will be at the MIT Museum through June, consists of fine bindings, calligraphy, decorated paper, artists' books, fine printing, models and limited edition binding, arranged alphabetically by their creator's last name in the catalog. This reviewer found the models by Maria Fredericks, Gary Frost and Pamela Spitzmueller most interesting, but there were many fine works among the 72 exhibited. There are 16 color photographs, interpolated together with the textual information, between the F's and the G's.

The catalog opens with six short essays, each little more than a single page long, just enough for the reader who wants to hear the voices of some of those who did the work.

Elizabeth Greenhill, Bookbinder: A Catalogue Raisonne. K. P. Duval, 1986. 120 pp. with 81 color and 22 black and white illustrations. £60 (+ £7.50 for overseas postage) from K. 0. Duval, Frenich, Foss, Pitlochry, Perthshire PN16 5NG, England. Ms. Greenhill's career has covered nearly 60 years, during which she produced over 100 bindings to her own designs. This catalog represents nearly all of her designed bindings, will illustrations of all that it has been possible to trace. It includes an autobiography. Ms. Greenhill can supply the volume in sheets; write her at 11 Gladhow Gardens, London SW5 0AY, England.

Guild of Book Workers Journal vol. XXI #1, Fall 1982 (received Feb. 1987, 01986) Reviews of five exhibitions, generously illustrated with two black-and-white pictures per page, make up the first 39 pages of this issue.

"Basic Preservation Bibliography," prepared by Susan G. Swartzburg for her preservation students' use and made generally available (price not noted) in typed sheets. Fifty-four references, all in print; for each, the publisher's address (but not the price) is given. Write Susan G. Swartzburg, School of Communication, Information & Library Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.

"Organizations Active in Library and Archives Preservation" (a Preservation Reference Service leaflet, from the National Preservation Program Office, in the "Associations, Agencies, and Resources" Preservation Information Series), Jan. 1987. Nine organizations are listed, with address, name and phone number of a person to contact, and a statement of the preservation goals and activities of the organization: ARL, NEH Off ice of Preservation, ALA/RTSD, U.S. Dept. of Education Division of Library Programs, NAGARA, Commission on Preservation and Access, NCLIS, NHPRC and NPPO. For a free copy, write National Preservation Program Office, Library of Congress LM-G07, Washington, DC 20540 (202/287-1840).

"Graduate Library Education Programs Accredited by the American Library Association under Standards for Accreditation, 1972." Oct. 1986. Single copies free from ALA/COA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611--with SASE. This is the key to the preservation courses announced in v.11 #1 of this Newsletter. Of the 60 accredited library schools in this country, 26 teach one or more courses on preservation--less than half. New York state has eight schools, Illinois four, and four states have three each: California, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. People anxious to get their preservation administration certificate at Columbia would do well to get their library degree first elsewhere, if they do not already have it, because of the cost of the New York program. (This does not apply to the conservator program.)

Schlütersche is a German publisher who specializes in bookbinding books. Their latest catalog includes the following titles:

Gustav Moessner. Die täglichen Buchbinderarbeiten. 1969. 257 pp. 42.00DM
Fritz Wiese. Der Bucheinband. 6th ed. 1983. 408 pp. 58.00DM
Fritz Wiese. Der Bucheinband--Historische und neuartige Einbände. 1981. 128 pp. 49.00DM
Fritz Wiese. Sonderarbeit des Buchbinders. 3d ed., 1984. 192 pp. 48.00DM
Hilde Kuhn. Wörterbuch der Handbuchbinderei und der Restaurierung von Einbänden, Papyri, Handschriften, Graphiken, Autographen, Urkunden und Globen. 3d ed. 1985. In German, English, French, and Italian. 66 pp. 25.00DM.
Helmuth Helwig. Einbandfälschungen. Fake and forged historical bookbindings. 1968. 96 pp. 38.00DM.

Order from Schlütersche Verlagsanstalt und Druckerei, Postfach 54 40, 3000 Hannover 1, West Germany.

Directory of Testing Laboratories, Commercial-Institutional, Compiled by ASTM (ASTM Special Technical Publication 333E; ASTM Publication Code No. 04-333050-32) 1982. $15 from ASTM, 1916 Race St., Philadelphia, PA 19103.

This is an inclusive, rather than a selective list. It includes 1873 labs, listed alphabetically and numbered. They are listed by commodity tested (e.g. paper) and referred to by number; similarly by geographical area. The types of test given are listed under the lab, after the relevant commodity There are 45 commodities listed and 22 "measurement capabilities" or types of test (e.g. "Weathering, exposure--includes corrosion, deterioration").