Volume 19, Number 3
Aug 1995

Editor's Page

A Thank-You to Supporters

The editor and trustees of Abbey Publications, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, want to express our appreciation for support received from the people and organizations listed below, as well as from those who gave smaller amounts.

All donations are considered to be intended for Abbey Publications (thus contributing to the Abbey Newsletter, the Alkaline Paper Advocate and other publications and products of this office). In the last 12 months, donations from readers have totaled $6969.

A Trustees' Fund was set up in December 1993 to receive donations from Abbey Publications' trustees. As of August 9, 1995, it had $2250 in it. This brings the total of donations for the last 12 months to $9,219.

Donors are listed below as Benefactors ($1000+), Sponsors ($500+), Patrons ($100+), and Contributors ($25+).

Benefactors

Cross Pointe Paper Corp., Miami Mill

Sponsors

Bridgeport National Bindery
Gaylord Bros.

Patrons

Acme Bookbinding
Bark Frameworks
Joan T. Batchelor
Benchmark
John Boral
Sally A. Buchanan
Campbell-Logan Bindery
Margaret Child
Custom Manufacturing, Inc.
Paula DeStefano
Information Conservation Inc.
Ingrid Rose Co. Ltd.
Elizabeth Morse
National Institute for Conservation
New York Community Trust - James Talcott Fund
Ocker & Trapp Library Bindery
Marc D. Reeves
Restoration Source
Elaine R. Schlefer
Nancy Carlson Schrock
Marshall Swartzburg
Susan G. Swartzburg
William Minter Bookbinding
One anonymous patron

Contributors

John P. Baker
Nelly Balloffet
Jennifer Banks
Tim Barrett
Sidney Berger
Bookmakers International Ltd.
Constance L. Brooks
Michèle Cloonan
Lisa Cziffra
Jane Dalrymple-Hollo
James Dast
Betsy Palmer Eldridge
Evelyn Frangakis
Jean Froissard
Carolyn Jane Gammon
Mary Todd Glaser
Maria Grandinette
Harlan M. Greene
Pat Grey
Heugh-Edmondson Conservation
Fred Jordan
Hilary A. Kaplan
Erich J. Kesse
Mary Wood Lee
Jeanne Lewisohn
Carl Mendoza
Jan Merrill-Oldham, in memory of Carolyn Harris
Robert Milevski
Museum Services
Tawny Ryan Nelb
Terry O. Norris
Sandra Nyberg
Brian E. O'Connell
Abigail Quandt
Jeff Rigby
Ruth-Ann Rohman
Eric C. Shoaf
Norma Spector
James G. Stephens
Taylor Made Co.
Mary Ann Tyrrell
Duane Watson
Wei T'o Associates
Marilyn Weidner
John C. Wright
Marie-Daniele Zartman
Two anonymous contributors

Bad News from Printer & Postal Service May Mean Less News and Slower Delivery

Our printer recently revised the price quotation we were given two years ago and increased prices 50%, saying the quotation we were given originally was far too low. (Although paper prices have reached historic highs, they say paper is a minor factor in their price increase.) This printer has done good work for us, but we are shopping around for another printer. Their price for a 16-page newsletter is not bad, but we pay a penalty for newsletters of any other length. Last year printing and photocopying cost us a bit more than $10,000.

On a recent Friday afternoon, just minutes after I delivered the mailing of the Alkaline Paper Advocate to the Post Office, we discovered that first class surface mail to overseas addresses had been eliminated July 9, and air mail rates had been increased 10%. This was effectively done without giving public notice. We must have made 10 or 15 calls to the Post Office, trying to find out what the rates were now, and what the alternatives were.

Apparently the Postmaster General had not given most of his employees any rate schedules or even verbal instructions on this change. At first they said that there was no way to send anything by surface mail, that everything had to go by air; then we found out (from a photocopy of a recent postal bulletin) that printed matter still went by surface, and that we qualified to use it. A postal worker said that it might take as much as four weeks to reach its destination in some countries. Nevertheless, we will have to use this class of mail for the rest of the year, because the alternative is to send all overseas mail by air mail, which would cost us an extra $1000 to $2000 a year. Last year postage cost us about $12,000. It was our largest expense after payroll.

Both of these developments have made me think more seriously about delivering the newsletters by fax or over the Internet, but no changes are anticipated in the foreseeable future.

Bad News from Printer & Postal Service May Mean Less News and Slower Delivery

Our printer recently revised the price quotation we were given two years ago and increased prices 50%, saying the quotation we were given originally was far too low. (Although paper prices have reached historic highs, they say paper is a minor factor in their price increase.) This printer has done good work for us, but we are shopping around for another printer. Their price for a 16-page newsletter is not bad, but we pay a penalty for newsletters of any other length. Last year printing and photocopying cost us a bit more than $10,000.

On a recent Friday afternoon, just minutes after I delivered the mailing of the Alkaline Paper Advocate to the Post Office, we discovered that first class surface mail to overseas addresses had been eliminated July 9, and air mail rates had been increased 10%. This was effectively done without giving public notice. We must have made 10 or 15 calls to the Post Office, trying to find out what the rates were now, and what the alternatives were.

Apparently the Postmaster General had not given most of his employees any rate schedules or even verbal instructions on this change. At first they said that there was no way to send anything by surface mail, that everything had to go by air; then we found out (from a photocopy of a recent postal bulletin) that printed matter still went by surface, and that we qualified to use it. A postal worker said that it might take as much as four weeks to reach its destination in some countries. Nevertheless, we will have to use this class of mail for the rest of the year, because the alternative is to send all overseas mail by air mail, which would cost us an extra $1000 to $2000 a year. Last year postage cost us about $12,000. It was our largest expense after payroll.

Both of these developments have made me think more seriously about delivering the newsletters by fax or over the Internet, but no changes are anticipated in the foreseeable future.

The Abbey Newsletter: Bookbinding and Conservation is issued eight times a year and has about 1250 subscribers. All subscriptions are for the calendar year. New subscribers automatically receive all issues published in the current year, unless they request otherwise, until October 1; after that, it is assumed that the subscription is for the following year. Checks or international money orders may be made out in U.S. dollars, payable to Abbey Publications; send to 7105 Geneva Dr., Austin, TX 78723, USA. Foreign checks must have the name of a U.S. bank printed on the front. International payments can be made by VISA or Mastercard.

Full-time students & unpaid interns:           $20

Personal subscriptions:                        $40

Institutional subscriptions:                   $49

Paid advertisements, except for job ads, are not accepted. Job advertisements are billed at the rate of $50 for the heading and the first ten lines (55-60 characters per line), plus $2 per line thereafter. Any notice that is appropriate and newsworthy will be printed if there is room for it. Claims for issues never received will be honored within a year of publication. Defective issues will be gladly replaced on request.

The Abbey Newsletter is selectively indexed in Art & Archaeology Technical Abstracts, and the Institute of Paper Science & Technology Abstract Bulletin. All issues but v.1 #2 are in print, and each volume has its own index. It is the policy of Abbey Publications to use permanent paper for both newsletters.

The Editor encourages readers to photocopy freely from the Newsletter; but the Editor's permission must be obtained before making more than 20 copies of lengthy or signed articles. This allows us to make any necessary corrections or updates, and to contact other copyright holders for permission to reprint.

Abbey Publications is a nonprofit corporation set up to encourage preservation of the written record, including the use of lasting materials in the creation of records. Its other publications are the Alkaline Paper Advocate and the annual North American Permanent Papers. The corporation has five trustees (Ellen McCrady, Gary Frost, Roberta Pilette, James Wellvang, and Thomas Clareson), and five officers (Ellen McCrady, president; Susan Swartzburg, first vice president; Roberta Pilette, second vice president; Gary Frost, secretary; and Paul Banks, treasurer).