Literature

Restaurator v.8 #1, 1987, constitutes the proceedings of the December 1986 conference at the National Archives on "Preservation Photocopying in Libraries and Archives." Papers (by Terry Norris, Mark Weber, Howard White, Sylvia Subt, Gay Walker and Henry J. Gwiazda II) are on copiers, archival quality, preservation decision-making and other topics. Perhaps the one of most current interest to readers would be Sylvia Subt's 11-page paper, "Archival Quality of Xerographic Copies," which reports two simple but controlled tests (tape peel and rub) for determining image permanence. This study was done by GPO at the request of the National Archives.

Volume 8 #2/3 contains eight papers on mass conservation that were presented at the April 1986 conference in Vienna on preservation of library materials, concerning deacidification, strengthening and mechanization. Since, as the Foreword says, they were published without being edited, or without all of them being edited by the Library of Congress as agreed, it may be better to read these papers in the full, edited proceedings that were published last September:

Preservation of Library Materials, edited by Merrily Smith, IFLA Publications 40/41. 2 vols. 1987. $50. Distributed in North & South America by K. G. Saur, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010 (212/982-1302).

There were 43 papers from 39 authors from 17 countries.

Volume 8 #4 shows, by its inclusion of a preservation committee's report from Penn State, the growing interest in Europe in the comprehensive, integrated approach to preservation. Am article on insect control by Z. P. Dvoriashina also reflects current trends incorporating the principles of integrated pest management, as opposed to the old emphasis on insecticides.

"Die Restauratorische Nassbehandlung alter Hadernpapiere" (Wet Treatment of Old Rag Paper), by Günter Brannahl and Wilhelm Willemer. Distributed as a separate to IADA members, prefaced by a letter from Mogens Koch, IADA president.

A limited number of copies of the first edition of the Preservation Planning Resources Notebook, published in 1982 by the Office of Management Studies, are available upon request for $l0--a bargain for 650 pages of reprinted articles on various aspects of preservation, including many classics. Send $10 check made out to "ARL Office of Management Studies," to First Edition Offer, c/o ARL Office of Management Studies. The revised edition of the same notebook, 1987, sells for $35.

"The Potential Long-term Effects of Gamma Irradiation on Paper," by Fiona J. Butterfield, Studies in Conservation, 32(4) November 1987, p. 181-191. A welcome study, well-conceived, and addressed to the question whether a level of radiation adequate to control mold is likely to damage the paper. A survey of doses recommended in the literature showed a range from 5.6 to 18 kGy, and 10 kGy was named as the total dose that would kill most fungi; but 8 kGy was shown (by physical and aging tests) to be the level at which deterioration became apparent.

"Why GPO Should use Alkaline Paper," a background paper prepared for the October meeting of the Depository Library Council by Linda Nainis, Charles Kalina, Carolyn Morrow Manns and Jan Merrill-Oldham. 10 pp. Scheduled for publication in the Alkaline Paper Advocate next month, and available from the Abbey editorial office.

"Lead Down the Cedar Path, The Tale of the Pencil," by Zora Sweet Pinney. WAAC Newsletter 10(1), Jan. 1988, p. 9-11.

A history of the pencil, written in the first person.

Fritz James of Library Binding Service (P0 Box 1413, Des Moines, IA 50305) writes that the notes of the LBS conference last August have been sent to each speaker for editing and should be ready to send out by April 1, either separately or together with the tapes of the pre-conference two-hour session, a discussion among the speakers about conservation issues of today. Notes alone will be $5 postpaid; notes and tape, $25 postpaid. The posters of the conference, an abstract book design made with marbled and paste paper, are free while they last. The next seminar is planned for September 1989.

Werner Rebsamen, "Oversew or Adhesive Bind?" New Library Scene, Dec. 1986, p. 12-15. There are many problems with this interesting article. The reasons for choosing or not choosing oversewing for library books are not well put. It is not esthetic considerations, for instance, that make people shy away from oversewing for books of long-term value; it is not the presence of those little holes, but the loss of the spine folds that most people object to. And people do not choose oversewing more often for books on permanent paper; mass deacidification cannot be expected to result in busier oversewing machines. And it is not right to say that PVA is flexible because a mixture of plasticizers has been added to it. A conservation-oriented binder will use only internally-plasticized PVAs, without any plasticizers.

Technical Issues is the name of an irregular set of papers to be issued by MAPS (Mid-Atlantic Preservation Service, a microfilming facility) seeking a dialog on certain technical issues. If you want to be on the special Technical Issues mailing, write to MAPS, Lehigh University Mountaintop Campus, 118 Research Dr., Bldg. J, Rm. 120, Bethlehem, PA 18015 (215/758-5390). The first topic was frequency of density readings.

"Sally Lou Smith's Advanced Forwarding Workshop," a review by Barbara Rosenberg. Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild Newsletter 5(3): 3-5, Autumn 1987. A detailed, coherent report with two drawings.

Pasteprints: A Technical and Art Historical Investigation, by Elizabeth Coonbs, Eugene Farrell, and Richard Field. $15.50 from the Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Quincy & Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138, Attn: Publications.

From the same address, a recent publication on formaldehyde is available for $8.50: Formaldehyde: How Great is the Danger to Museum Collections? by former interns Jane Carpenter and Pamela Hatchfield.

A method of reactivating hot melt glue in perfect-bound library books, which often fall apart before they get to the shelves, or soon thereafter, appears in the *U*N*A*B*A*S*H*E*D Librarian, #59, p. 3-4. It involves the use of a microwave oven, with certain precautions to keep the cover spine from sticking to the glue as it melts and resolidifies, control of blisters under the cover, removal of vulnerable plastic covers, and so on. This may be a faster method than the glue gun, which is used in some libraries. The method has not yet been checked out by conservators, so it is not reprinted here, but copies can be obtained from this office or from the author (Mrs. Judy Klapproth, County Librarian, Humboldt Library, 636 F St., Eureka, CA 95501, 707/445-7513) for $2. (For research on the effect of microwave radiation on paper, see "Sechage par microondes pour Ia Restauration de Documents de Papier en Feuille ou en Cahier," by Astrid-Christiane Brandt and Andre-Jean Berteaud, in Studies in Conservation 32(1), Feb. 1987, p. 14-24.)

Bryan R. Johnson, "Where to Find Handmade Papers." CBBAG Newsletter 5(2): 7-10, Sum. 1987. Reprinted from Small Press Magazine 3(3), Jan/Feb. 1986, and (with additions to the list from Claire van Vliet) in Book Arts Review 5(2), April 1986. 21 mills and nine paper agents are listed. A similar list was published in American Artist Aug. 1977, including suppliers and teachers as well. Geoffrey Wakeman had an article in ABMR (Antiquarian Book Monthly Review) 8 (6), June 1981, "Papermaking by Hand--The Major Mills," in which the literature of hand papermaking is well covered. Mills are mentioned and described but addresses are not given. (Addresses are given in the books covered in the literature survey.) Of course, many mills have gone under since these last two publications appeared.

The Getty Conservation Institute has just printed the ICCROM/GCI index that it announced last spring, and will probably begin sending it out within the next month to the people who have ordered it. ($10 from the Institute, 4503 Glencoe Ave., Marina del Rey, CA 90292) Their reference series Research in Conservation will not be ready to send out for a while yet.

The following five surplus books are available from the Abbey Newsletter office.

Norman Hickin. Bookworms: The Insect Pests of Books. London: Sheppard Press, 198S. 17S pp. Originally �15 (about $23 at the time). $10.00.

Harry Estill Moore. Tornadoes over Texas: A Study of Waco and San Angelo in Disaster. Austin: Univ. of Texas Press, 1958. 334 pp. An ex-library book. Examines human reactions to community disaster. $2.00.

Microsoft File: Organizing your Business on the Apple Macintosh, by Nancy Andrews. Bellevue, Washington: Microsoft Press, 1986. 4S1 pages. Originally $18.95. $5.00.

John Morris. The Library Disaster Preparedness Handbook. Chicago: American Library Association, 1986. 130 pp. Originally $20. $10.00.

Timothy Barrett. Japanese Papermaking: Traditions, Tools, and Techniques. Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1983. 320 pp. Originally $32.50. $15.00.

Ink & Gall, a Marbling Journal, v.1 #2, lists on p. 19 thirty classes and workshops in marbling, or rather, people and organizations offering them. They have zip codes beginning with every digit but 4 and 6.