Volume 19, Number 4
Sep 1995

Editor's Page

Why Some Parts are Missing from this Issue

Editors of other newsletters will understand when I say that some projects seem to be unfinishable, and that everything else gets deferred (including the issue they are supposed to be working on) until the necessary compromises with reality are made.

In this case, the interminable project was the second edition of North American Permanent Papers. We had made an extra effort in the beginning, this time around, to contact every mill that could possibly be making permanent papers according to the 1992 ANSI/NISO standard, and found so many more mills that the lists of papers were significantly longer this time. We couldn't believe there were that many permanent papers on the market, so at the last minute we checked with as many companies as we could to make sure they understood all four specifications in the standard (pH, carbonate, lignin, tear). We did weed out some papers, but that still left 423. This edition is six pages longer than the last one.

We put the lists on MS Word 6.0, which meant learning how to use Word 6.0. Then I felt compelled to rewrite the background chapters on permanence, testing and standards to bring them up to the same quality level as the lists. Finally the booklet went to the printers, and it should be ready in a few days.

This second edition costs $19.50 postpaid. Orders can be placed by calling the Abbey Publications office at 512/929-3992 (fax 3995).

So that is the explanation for why there is no list of donors on this page, and why the literature section is so short in this issue.

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    $20
interns:

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).