Literature

Friends of the Dard Hunter Paper Museum Newsletter, v.5 #2 and v.6 #1 (June 1986 and June 1987), contain some good material on the origin of paper, by Harold Sault (two articles on research in papermaking history) and Jixing Pan ("On the Origin of Papermaking in the Light of Scientific Research on Recent Archaeological Discoveries"). No one who reads these articles will ever be able to say with a clear conscience that paper was invented by Ts'ai Lun in 105 A.D. The authors' addresses are given, so that people can correspond with them directly. To receive the Newsletter of the Friends group, write Editor, Newsletter, Friends of the Dard Hunter Paper Museum, c/o Institute of Paper Chemistry, P0 Box 1039, Appleton, WI 54912.

La Journal Association des Relieurs du Quebec, v.5 #2 (Nov. 1987.

Technology of the Medieval Book, by Terry Mrõz. A report of the Santa, Idaho workshop, well illustrated with drawings to show procedures and constructions.

Professional School for Book Restauration in Ascona-The Counterpart of the School for Artistic Bookbinding, by Eriks Seldner. A short report, by a participant, on this five-year-old school, which gives intensive training for working professionals. Some of the courses are offered in English or French.

Interview with Don Etherington, by Monique Lallier. His training, from the age of 13 on, and early career.

Paper Conservator, v.9 (1985). Received January 1988. This is a special issue entitled "Hyogu: The Japanese Tradition in Picture Conservation" and edited by Paul Wills and Nicholas Pickwoad. 63 pp. Contributors: Wendy Bennett, Merryl Huxtable, Katsuhiko Masuda, Takemitsu Oba, Andrew Thompson, Pauline Webber, Paul Wills and John Winter. Andrew Thompson's paper is "Japanese Brushes for Conservation"; comprehensive, well-illustrated. Katsuhiko Masuda gives a good overview of Japanese paper, with history, species used, papermaking procedures used, and a map. There are instructions for making a drying board, a bibliography on conservation of Eastern art, and other good articles.

"Non-Aqueous Adhesives: Preparation, Use and Removal," by Rebecca Billings Pavitt. Paper Conservation News No. 41: 3-5, March 1987. A long technical note describing preliminary experiments at the Art Conservation Department of SUNY Buffalo with acrylic, polyvinyl acetate, ethylene-vinyl acetate and hydroxypropylcellulose adhesives. Their aging characteristics are also described. "The Center on the Materials of the Artist and Conservator will be conducting a study of hydroxypropylcellulose in the near future, but it has been suggested that Klucel will begin to degrade after 50 years."

"Séchage par microondes pour la restauration de documents de papier en feuille ou en cahier," by Astrid-Christiane Brandt and Andre-Jean Berteaud. Studies in Conservation 32(1): 14-24, Feb. 1987. A microwave drier especially designed for paper restoration has been constructed and studied, for use either with single sheets or with packets of paper. It performs satisfactorily and safely, and is being developed by Microondes Energie Systèmes (15 rue des Solets, SILIC 432, 94583 Rungis Cedex, France).

"Wood Coatings for Display and Storage Cases," by Catherine E. Miles. Studies in Conservation 31(3): 114-124, Aug. 1986. An important and careful study. "The safest choice of display case materials appears to be a well-seasoned softwood coated with a latex product, or a factory-coated wood board (such as the Melamine/chipboard) with minimal exposure of endgrain. Shellac and other air-drying lacquers are an acceptable choice of clear coating but will not provide effective wood vapor barriers when used alone. Highly acidic woods such as oak should be avoided as no coating will render them completely safe." Many other precautions are mentioned; some coatings were sources of emissions themselves.

The Paper Conservator Volumes 3 and 4 are hack in print and available for �9.00 each. The preprints of the Oxford Conference is available for �25--both from the Secretary of the Institute of Paper Conservation, Leigh Lodge, Leigh, Worcester WR6 5LB, England.

A long letter to the Editor of Fine Print from Simon Barcham Green describing the final projects of Hayle Mill (including production of a run of paper watermarked "Finale") appears on p. 183 and 217 of the October issue. Claire Van Vliet is trying to talk him into writing a book on his experiences at Hayle Mill, and he wonders whether he is up to it. He has no plans for the future at the present time, partly because he is busy closing down the mill, and partly because there is no pressure to make any, yet.

Tamara J. Lavrencic, "Duplicate Plans, Their Manufacture and Treatment," ICCM Bulletin 13(3/4), Dec. 1987, p. 139-147. Covers blueprints, tracings and photocopies of all sorts; concludes that a) traditional conservation techniques are often difficult or impossible, b) identification of the material is essential to avoid loss of image, and a modern alternative is to copy them. Methods of copying that seem to be useful are a) photocopying onto archival paper or polyester film b) silver gelatin photography onto polyester film or print papers. Duplicate plans should be treated as "originals."

Ian Cook, "Program Management at the State Conservation Centre," ICCM Bulletin 13(3/4), Dec. 1987, p. 123-138. The author is the director of the State Conservation Centre of South Australia, which does work on objects, paper, textiles and paintings. Describes organization, activities, costs, productivity and other aspects of administration of this conservation center.

Don Guyot, "Some Recent Books on Marbling," The Deckled Edge VII #4, Winter 1987, p. 3-5. "Value for value, page for page, the best English language text currently available on marbling paper is the little booklet by Diane and Paul Maurer, An Introduction to Carrageenan and Watercolor Marbling, self-published in 1984 from Center Hall, PA." It only has 22 pages. He also recommends La Papier Marbre, by Marie-Ange Doizy and Stéphan Ipert, Paris: Editions Technorama, 1985. It has 251 pages and costs $25. The main source of information about marbling, however, is the new journal Ink & Gall (P0 Box 1469, Taos, NM 87571). It is quarterly and costs $20 a year.

SPEC Kit 137, Preservation Guidelines in ARL Libraries, is a revision of the first edition of 1981, and is concerned with establishing priorities among materials, identifying endangered materials, preservation of content by microfilming or other processes, and the prospect of technological breakthroughs in deacidification. Order from ARL Office of Management Studies, 1527 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202/232-8656). $20 ($10 for ARL members).

Hugh Wilman, "Copying Without Damage: The British Library Strategy," Archives, v.18 #78, p. 85-88, 1987. Describes methods used: 1) an overhead photocopier, 2) an image Digitiser for making electronic images of books, and 3) a special photographic method of copying from fragile and tightly bound books, called Electroluminescent Copying. Equipment for the last method, called "The Bookmark System," is available from John Blishen and Company Ltd., 75 Kilburn Lane, London W10 4AW (tel. 01-969 0071). It involves a flat plate that is slipped between the pages of the book, and a processor for the prints made, among other things.

Mark S. Roosa, "Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division," National Preservation News, #8, Oct. 1987, p. 14-16. Describes the Library of Congress's preservation measures for sound recordings, which involve cleaning, copying, conditioning, packaging, storage and assessment. National Preservation News is available free of charge to interested institutions; write Library of Congress, National Preservation Program Office, LM G07 Washington, DC 20540 (202/287-1840).

Linda James, "Standing the Test of Time: Quality Assurance for State and Local Government Records Microfilming." Sue E. Holbert, ad. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society, 1986. Available from the Association for Information and Image Management, 1100 Wayne Ave., Suite 1100, Silver Spring MD 20910. "While it was originally designed to identify a model program for emulation by the other states, the study instead shows that 'states are failing to assure the adequacy of microfilm that is destined to serve as the security or replacement copy of valuable state and local records... The implications of the findings are enormous."'

There is a definitive 26-page article on time capsules in the 1987 supplement to the Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, reportedly.

Three pages of the June ICCM National Newsletter are devoted to conservators in private practice. In "Special Feature-the Final Frontier" seven individual conservators and two conservators in the archives of commercial institutions describe and evaluate their work experience.

Conservation in Crisis (Papers published from the first National Preservation Office seminar, July 1986). �11 for overseas orders, payable to "The British Library." In US and Canada, write to Longwood Publishing Group, Inc., 27 South Main St., Wolfeboro, New Hampshire 03894. Covers education, technology, disaster planning, conservation of the newer media, acid-free paper and other topics.

Library Issues: Briefings for Faculty and Administrators is a four-pager for busy people, which has covered preservation-related topics six times in the last four years:

Trials & Tribulations of a Preservation Program
Disaster Planning
Including the Library in Fundraising and Grant Proposals
Security in Libraries: User Groups and Physical Access
Order in the Library: Part II
Security in Libraries, Part III: Disaster Prevention

The authors are Norman Stevens (author of "The Man Who Saved Books," AN, April 1985), Evan Farber and Susan K. Martin.

Les documents graphiques et photographiques: Analyse et conservation. (Work of the Centre de Recherches sur la Conservation des Documents Graphiques, 1984-85) Paris: Archives Nationales, 1986. 244 pp. 140 F from La Documentation Francaise; 124, rue Henri-Barbusse; 93308 Aubervilleurs Cedex; France. In Canada write Diffulivre Inc., 2973, rue Sartelon, Ville Saint-Laurent, Quebec H4R 1E6. There is no American distributor. Lines of research work reported here are: leafcasting, lamination with nonwoven polyamides, the effect of pollution on leather and parchment, changes over time in neat's foot oil dressing in leather, cleaning of parchment ultrasonically with an alcoholic solution, instability of certain orange pigments, and restoration of glass plate negatives.

Science for Conservators, a series of three textbooks originally produced by the Crafts Council, has been brought back in print by the Crafts Council's successor, the Conservation Unit (7 St. James's Square, London SW1Y 4JU) for �7.75 per volume or �21.50 the set, postage paid. Book 1 is "An Introduction to Materials"; Book 2, "Cleaning"; and Book 3, "Adhesives and Coatings." Order from the Museum Documentation Association, Bldg. 0, 347 Cherry Hinton Rd., Cambridge CB1 4DH England. Add �1.00 for overseas surface mail and �2.00 for currency exchange if not paying in sterling. Air mail is extra; inquire.

The Binders' Guild Newsletter for October has a good clear explanation of what the size and ply numbers for cord or thread mean, and how they are determined. Annie Russell sent it in response to a query. Briefly, the first number (e.g. the 10 in 10/2) indicates the size; the higher the number the smaller the diameter. The second tells how many plies are twisted together.

Daniel J. Boorstin, "The Historian: 'A Wrestler with the Angel'," New York Times Book Review, Sept. 20, 1987. The author shows how our view of the past tends to become distorted by the ways in which certain records survive and others do not. He gives ten laws that confound the work of historians:

• The Law of the Survival of the Unread
• Survival of the Durable, and That Which is Not Removed or Displaced
• Survival of the Collected and the Protected: What goes in Government Files
• Survival of Objects That are not Used or That Have a High Intrinsic Value
• Survival of the Academically Classifiable and the Dignified
• Survival of Printed and Other Materials Surrounding Controversies
• Survival of the Self-Serving: The Psychopathology of Diarists and Letter Writers
• Survival of the Victorious Point of View: The Success Bias
• Survival of the Epiphenomenal
• Knowledge Survives and Accumulates, but Ignorance Disappears.

This article is adapted from an essay in Hidden History: Exploring our Secret Past, by Daniel J. Boorstin, published in 1987 by Harper & Row.

Gay Walker, "Preservation Planning and the Conspectus at Yale University," CAN #31, Oct. 1987, p. 8-9. Describes a large self-study by a task force of seven, which was dome independently of the ARL/OMS Preservation Planning Program. The planning document uses the Conspectus (part of the National Collections Inventory Project) to tell the value or importance of various collections; the need for preservation was also taken into account.

Einband-Material, Fritz & Thomas C. Cubasch, Eds. Wilh. Raunegger 1859-1984 [Is this the author?]. ISBN 3-85450-000-0. 72 pages. DM 52.00 plus postage, from Verlag der Apfel, Gumpendorfer Strasse 12, A-1060 Vienna, Austria. About the evolution of publishers' cloth for bindings. [The notice of this publication, received in August, is signed by Wilh. Raunegger of Verlag der Apfel.]

Dagmar Klärner, Gabi Kleindorfer and Dag-Ernst Petersen. "Die Ausbildung zum Buchrestaurator an der Herzog-August-Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel," Maltechnik Restauro v.93 #4, Oct. 1987, p. 37-41. Describes the experience of two young women restorers, already working professionally, who undertook an 18-month internship with Dag-Ernst Peterson. Well-illustrated, showing processes and completed work in book conservation.

Bernd Becker and Helmut Moroff, "Über das Waschen von Papier," Maltechnik Restauro v.93 #4, Oct. 1987, p. 42, 44, 46, 48. Describes the authors' method of washing, deacidifying and sizing paper, with details of the supporting screen and choice of surfactant.

The papers from the 1986 Vienna conference of IFLA have been published in English by K. G. Saur, of New York, London and Munich, in two volumes for $50. Eight of the 43 or so papers have appeared in Restaurator v.8 (2/3), 1987.

John Y. Cole, ed. Books in Our Future: Perspectives and Proposals. This is an extensive supplement to Daniel J. Boorstin's earlier report to Congress entitled simply Books in Our Future, and includes that report. It has six sections, two of which are "Technology and the Future of the Book" and "Books Present and Future." $16 from Supt. of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 (quote stock number 030-000-00188); or purchase in person at the Information and Sales Shop at the Library of Congress.

The price of the Centroid Color Charts (material # 2106) has gone up from $32 to $38. They were remeasured in 1984 to see how much they had faded in the last 20 years, and for the few that faded, the amount of color change is indicated. Not every shade and hue is represented (theoretically, this would he impossible, anyhow); the charts include 251 color chips, a sampling. They can be ordered from the National Bureau of Standards by calling 301/975-5668 or 301/975-6776.

Terry Mrõz, "The Phased Box at the CCA: A Revised Model," CAN #32, Jan. 1988, p. 6-7. Shows how to make phase boxes without projecting buttons on the side, and how to make a square box for a wedge-shaped book.

Deborah R. Miller, "The Challenge of Binding Music," CAN #32, Jan. 1988, p. 8-9. Musical scores vary in size from several inches along each side to several feet, and parts need to be kept together on the shelf without binding them together, because each musician has to be able to use his own part independently. This article describes how they handle these challenges at Yale.

Sax' s reference books on dangerous chemicals can now be had on three levels: cheap and handy, moderately complete and moderately expensive, and very complete (3,136 pages) and very expensive ($239.95). All are available from Van Nostrand Reinhold, Mail Order Dept., P0 Box 668, Florence, KY 41042-9979. The titles are, respectively,

Rapid Guide to Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace, by N. Irving Sax and Richard J. Lewis, Sr. 256 pp., $21.95. 1986.
Hazardous Chemicals Desk Reference, by N. Irving Sax and Richard J. Lewis, Sr. Covers 4,700 compounds & chemicals. 1,096 pp., $69.95. 1987.
Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials, 6th ed., by N. Irving Sax. 1984.

Disaster Plan for Case Western Reserve University Libraries. $15 (payable to C.W.R.U.) from Dept. of Conservation, CWRU Libraries, 11161 East Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44106. 44 pp. For more information call Frank Fabry, Conservator (216/368-3465).

Preservation Microfilming: A Guide for Librarians and Archivists, the result of a joint project of ARL and NEDCC, appeared in late 1987 and will be distributed by the American Library Association. Funding was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the NHPRC. Andrew W. Raymond was the project coordinator and Nancy E. Gwinn was editor. It has been very well received, and represents the state of the art of preservation microfilming in its 212 pages, which are reported to incorporate all relevant standards. $40 paperback. Order from Publishing Services Order Department, American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. ISBN 0-8389-0481-5; LCCN 87-10020.

Recommendations for the Preservation of Photographic Slides," by Duane W. Fenstermann. CAN No. 31, Oct. 1987, p. 7.

An Ounce of Prevention: A Handbook on Disaster Contingency Planning for Archives, Libraries and Record Centres now costs $19.95 plus $5.00 postage and handling on US and foreign orders. The notice in the October CAN does not say whether these are Canadian or US dollars. At the exchange rate on November 20, that would total only $18.96 if it is in Canadian dollars. Order from TAAG, P0 Box 97, Station F, Toronto, Ont. M4Y 2L4, Canada.

Ervin Jungreis, Spot Test Analysis: Clinical, Environmental, Forensic, and Geochemical Applications. John Wiley & Sons, One Wiley Dr., Somerset, NJ 08873. 1985. 352 pp. $65.00 plus tax, postage & handling. Available on 15-day trial basis.

Preservation and Conservation of Sci-Tech Materials. A special issue of Science and Technology Libraries (7/3). Contains articles on architectural drawings, archival materials, electronic information formats, manuscripts, maps, microformats, motion pictures, photographs, slides and sound recordings, by Mary Genett, Nancy Schrock and four other authors with unfamiliar names. Order from Haworth Press, 12 W. 32 St., New York, NY 10001 (212/279-1200). The quality of the information is variable. The chapter on microformats, for example, is uninformed. The contribution of this effort will be that it reaches out to a new audience--not that it reports or summarizes the best knowledge on the subjects covered.

SPEC Kit #137: Preservation Guidelines in ARL Libraries. $20 to non-ARL members, payable to "ARL Office of Management Studies." Send check to SPEC, Office of Management Studies, 1527 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20036. This is an update of the 1981 version. It contains guidelines for establishing priorities, identifying endangered materials, and selecting materials for treatment.

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has a Committee on Paper and Paper Products (D-6), which in turn has a Subcommittee D06.20 on Permanent Records Papers, headed William K. Wilson. The December ASTM Standardization News, on p. 22-23, described the two drafts the Subcommittee is preparing. The draft Guide for the Permanence of Offset and Book Papers covers both uncoated and coated offset and book papers, and defines three levels of permanence by pH. Maximum permanence, Type I, is 7.5 to 9.0; medium permanence, Type III, is minimum 5.5 pH; Type II is in between. (Note: this is not a standard, but a guide.) The other draft is for a Specification for Permanence of Artist Papers which will provide information on fiber and filler and various physical requirements, as well as pH and aging. It too will have three permanence levels, but with lower pH levels for each: 7.5 to 9.5+; minimum 6.5; and minimum 5.5. Copies of both the book and art papers documents are available, and comments are solicited. For more information on the book paper guide, contact William K. Wilson, National Archives, 7th and Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Rm. B-1, Washington, DC 20408 (202/523-3996 or 703/356-4981). Information on the artist papers specification may be obtained from Dennis Jacobson, Hammermill Papers Group, PD Box 10050, Erie, PA 16533 (814/456-8811)

Siegfried Rempel. The Care of Photographs. 1988. 192 pp. $16.95 from Nick Lyons Books, 31 W. 21 ST., New York, NY 10010 (212/620-9580). ISBN 0-941130-48-7.

Loma Linda University has recently completed a 92-page Disaster Action Plan manual. Based on current research and experience gained from the Los Angeles Public Library fire, the manual is divided into six tabbed sections, spiral bound and printed on 32 lb. ledger paper. $12 (payable to Disaster Action Plan) from Randall Butler, Heritage Room, Lone Linda University, Lena Linda, CA 92350.

Keeping Archives is a 350-page manual on the basics of archives administration, which is said to include preservation as a consideration in each of its 11 chapters; Chapter 8 is specifically on Conservation. Contributions from a dozen authors were coordinated by editor-in-chief Ann Pederson. Price is the same in Australian or U.S. dollars, $29. Write to Keeping Archives, Australian Society of Archivists, P0 Box 83, O'Connor A.C.T. 2601, Australia. Make checks payable to Australian Society of Archivists, Inc.

Harvard University, which has 100 libraries, has published (strictly for in-house use) a booklet entitled "Guidelines for Exhibitions," with a strong preservation component. Individual units add their own instructions as appendices. It has 27 pages, which include a useful list of media outlets for publicizing exhibitions, and instructions for writing a press release.

"Spill Control Part I - Flammable Liquids," by Michael McCann. Art Hazards News 10(6): 1, 3, 1987.

"The Invasion of the Giant Spore," Leaflet #5 of the SOLINET Preservation Program, is 19 pages long and very readable. It covers recent research, causes and treatments, and gives a five-step program that emphasizes prevention, as an alternative to chemical treatment. There is a three-page bibliography. Sandra Nyberg is the author. Free to members; others include SASE with 56� postage with request.

The Illinois Cooperative Conservation Project (ICCP) is still distributing its book repair manual, posters, video and slide program, and audiovisual loans are still being made, even out of state, even though the program is in the process of reorganization under the state library. Write Cheryl Pence, Preservation Consultant, Preservation Office, Room 288, Illinois State Library, Centennial Building, Springfield, IL 62756.

Videotapes from the Guild of Book Workers Standards Seminars may be purchased for $28 each, postpaid, by both members and nonmembers. Only members may rent them. The rental fee is $8 each, if a separate check for $20 is sent as a deposit, to be voided or returned when the tapes are received back. Checks should be made out to Thompson Conservation Laboratory, 1417 N. W. Everett, Portland, OR 97209, which has been designated as the sole agent for the Guild for both sales and loans of the tapes. Tapes available are:

Don Etherington - Paring of Leather Covers and Board Preparation
Michael Wilcox & Don Glaister - Gold Tooling Using Gold Leaf Hugo Peller - Edge Gilding & Gauffering (plus his slide show)
Heinke Pensky-Adam - Covering Techniques Using Vellum Over Stiff Boards
Gerard Charriere & Michael Wilcox - Gold Tooling
Silvia Rennie - Half Vellum over Stiff Boards
Gary Frost - Paper Cover, Case Construction, Conservation Rebinding
David Brock - Tool Sharpening
Jerilyn Davis - Rebacking Cloth Bindings
Hedi Kyle - Expandable Piano Hinge Album
William Anthony - Covering Fine Bindings in Full Leather
William Anthony - Pastedown Endpapers & Pasted-in Leather Hinges
Paula Gourley - Turkish Paper Marbling

The four presentations from the 1987 Austin Seminar are still being edited, and may be combined onto one or two tapes. They are:

Jenny Hille - Headbands
Bruce Levy - Rebacking of Leather Bindings
Richard-Gabriel Rummonds and Craig Jensen - Collaboration of Printers and Binders on Edition Binding
Barbara Meier-James - Paper Mending

The tapes can be provided in either Beta or VHS format. All but the last six listed presentations are reviewed in the July 1987 Fine Print by Joanne Sonnichsen.

The H. W. Wilson Co. (950 University Ave., Bronx, NY 10452) is selling videotapes now as well as reference works and online services. One of them is "Basic Book Repair with Jane Greenfield," released Fall 1987. Approx. 30 mm., color/VHS/Hi-Fi with Viewer's Guide. $89 U.S. and Canada. To order by telephone, call 1-800-367-6770; in MY state call 1-800-462-6060; in Canada call collect 212-588-8400.

"Preservation & Conservation: Basic Preservation Techniques for Libraries and Archives" is an instructional video and manual, which expertly packs a great deal of conservation-oriented book repair into about 70 minutes. It is systematically laid out, and designed to be viewed in parts, in connection with the 60-page manual. Both video and manual are meant to back up the grant-funded, five-day workshops in treatment techniques that were described in this newsletter in August 1986 (p. 54) and April 1987 (p. 42). This looks like the best instructional video on this subject so far. The manual and video cover the following topics:

Introduction (principles of conservation for single item and collection treatment; intrinsic value); Solving Common Preservation Problems (surveying, cleaning, mending, housing, cradles, paperback reinforcement, pan binding); and In-House Book Repair (preparation and back cleaning, internal hinges, spine lining, cover repair, and cover-to-text attachment). The cost is $30 for the video (VHS or Beta) and manual; 3/4" U-Matic (2 tapes) costs $60. Make check payable to Milton S. Eisenhower Library and send to Collections Maintenance Dept., Milton S. Eisenhower Library, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218.

There is a new database called Suspect that lets you look up all regulations applying to a given chemical simply by entering the name of the chemical or its CAS Registry number. It is also possible to get a list of all chemicals covered by a given regulation. Among the source lists in 33 U.S. statutes and regulatory or advisory programs are those of the Clean Air Act, NIOSH, Superfund, OSHA and National Toxicology Program. Information is available from Chemical Information Systems, 7215 York Rd., Baltimore, MD 21212 (301/321-8440).

"Book Repair for Circulating Collections," an 18-minute videotape by Istor Productions, demonstrates several procedures that cam be used on books from circulating collections: repair of cut tears with archival pressure-sensitive tape or PVA, repair of torn tears with paste, dry cleaning with hand-held or electric erasers, end reinforcement of loose hinges. The videos are $50 for ½" format and $65 for 3/4" format, from The Caber Press, 7549 N. Fenwick, Portland, OR 97217.

Philip Ward. The Nature of Conservation: A Race Against Time. 1986. $8.00 + $2.00 postage and handling. Order from Book Distribution, J. Paul Getty Museum, P.O. Box 2112, Santa Monica, CA 90406.

Philip Abelson devoted his editorial in the Oct. 30 Science to "Brittle Books and Journals." He gives the basic facts about deterioration of library collections due to acidic paper, describes the diethyl zinc process (without saying who is using it), the necessity of having a nationwide bibliographic data file to keep track of microfilmed books, and the task of selecting what to preserve. He is concerned that the field of science and technology has not yet been surveyed to determine what to keep, and suggests that the librarians will need some help in this, perhaps through LC or the Commission on Preservation and Access. He appears to believe that this concern for preserving books will be only temporary, until the day when "much of the scientific literature will be available in machine-readable and searchable form."

"Medieval Bookbinding," by Bill London. Popular Woodworking, Dec./Jan. 1988, p. 30-31. Am illustrated story on Jim Croft's binding techniques, with emphasis on the making of the wooden boards.

"Turning Over a New Leaf with Carbide's Parylene." Journal of Commerce, March 6, 1987. A story about the Parylene process for strengthening embrittled paper, which is still expensive because Parylene is not mass-produced.

"Crumbling Documents Worry Archivists." New York Times, Feb. 19, 1987. Quotes Franke Burke, Howard Lowell, and the state archivist of Arizona, David Hoober, on fading photographs, the need for proper storage, and the general need for large investments of money and time to preserve the records in archives and prevent a "memory gap" or "archival Alzheimer s.