Editorial Notices

Newsletter gets New Subtitle

The Abbey Newsletter has carried the subtitle "Bookbinding and Conservation" since 1980, but it will soon change to "Preservation of Library and Archival Materials" to reflect the Newsletter's present scope and emphasis. We still cover bookbinding, because book repair, library binding and book conservation are an important part of preservation, but book arts as such have been out of scope for ten years or more.

This seemed a good time to make the change, because we are simplifying the design of the Newsletter as we prepare to switch over to PageMaker. The watermarks will reappear as soon as we get a scanner.

Corrections

One story was mistakenly omitted from the Contents box on the front page of the last issue: "LC asks IPI to Advise on Vendor Standards for Digitizing Work," p. 79.

On page 75 in the November issue, the Image Permanence Institute was placed at the University of Rochester. It is actually at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The University of Rochester is one of seven libraries supporting research on pollutants and their effect on photographic materials, and the IPI is the prime contractor. (Thanks to Richard Peek for pointing this out.)

The Web page for the Commission on Preservation and Access was listed wrong in the September issue, on p. 54. It is actually http://clir.stanford.edu/cpa/.

The Center for Safety in the Arts (CSA) has decided to continue to publish its newsletter four times each year. They now have a mail drop at 2124 Broadway, PO Box 310, NYC 10012. They do not have a telephone, but they have a Web site from which people can download information at http://artswire.org:70/1/csa. [From ACTS FACTS, Dec. 1996]

Alkaline Paper Advocate has One More Year to Go

The Abbey Newsletter's sister publication, the Alkaline Paper Advocate, began publication January 1988, not long after U.S. printing and writing paper mills began to convert to alkaline production and using precipitated calcium carbonate filler. The idea was to record this historic transition and to publish information to help consumers find the alkaline and permanent papers that were out there.

That mission has been largely accomplished. Printing and writing papers that are produced for books and documents are now over 80% alkaline. Academic libraries have reported recently that nearly 100% of the new hardcover books they receive are alkaline. That is up from about 25% in the early 1980s.

The paper industry journals now seldom mention alkaline conversions, because most of the production problems have been solved, and research has filled in the gaps in the industry's technical knowledge of the process. So there is very little news to report, except the growing use of calcium carbonate in groundwood papers

Our pH pens and our booklet, North American Permanent Papers, have helped consumers find the products they need, and some states now have laws mandating the use of permanent/alkaline paper for certain purposes.

After December 1997 we will cover any relevant news about permanent papers in the Abbey Newsletter, just as we used to do before January 1988.

Abbey Office Wants Your Old DC Phone Directory

We have a directory for the District of Columbia, but it is nine years old and not nearly as accurate as it was when it was new. All we ever use is the white pages that list the businesses and professional people. Until this year, that section was bound with the residential listings, but now it comes at the front of the yellow pages, which cost about $50 for nonresidents like us. So, when the 1998 directories come, instead of recycling your old one, give the office a call. If you are the first person to offer us your old one, we will pay postage and offer you a spare publication of your choice from our pile of duplicates, to show our appreciation.

Special pH Pen Prices for Teachers and Professional Organizations

We have a surplus of white pH pens that we would like to move. They contain the same chlorophenol red indicator as the purple and grey pens, but they are slimmer and their color is white. They do not carry our logo or any other printing. We can give a substantial discount to teachers of bookbinding or conservation, speakers addressing groups, and professional organizations. Our rationale is that this method of distribution gets more pH pens into the hands of people who can put them to good use. Call Bette at the office, Tuesday through Thursday, (512/929-3992) for details.

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