Gary Frost, who is now at the University of Iowa, wrote recently to say that the IU Library will participate in Image Permanence Institute field trials of the IPI Preservation Environment Monitors (PEM) and Climate Notebook software. All 80 institutions in 43 states who applied have been accepted into the program, which is now a $1.2 million effort supported by NEH and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The program provides 2 PEM dataloggers and software, a one-and-a-half-day training session, tech support and upgrades during the 18-month trial period.
The July Amigos Agenda & OCLC Connection says that the purpose of the project is to test and refine a computerized system for gathering and interpreting data on environmental conditions in collection storage and display areas. Participating institutions will provide useful feedback. The field trial will last up to two years.
More information can be found on the IPI Web site, http://www.rit.edu/ipi/.
Dissertation.com, a company that describes itself as "academic and scholarly publishers of university graduate theses and dissertations," works with Amazon.com, and pays royalties of 20% to 40% for works published by them. The standard Ebook format costs $49 to produce, if it is submitted in the right format to the publisher. Publication as a print-on-demand paperback is optional for the price of $149.00. (Market prices of all the formats are given in a table. They range from $6 for a downloadable document in PDF to $30 for a big thick paperback. Authors get a 40% discount for their own publication.) Cover art for paperbacks can be supplied if not submitted by the author, for $90. Copyright registration kits (optional) are available for $30.
For more information go to http://www.dissertation.com/, or send e-mail to: info@dissertation.com.
University Microfilms International (now known as UMI) has digitized about 110,000 graduate works, from 1998 onward, according to the New York Times, Feb. 18, 1999. Dissertation writers are charged $50 to have their work cataloged. UMI gives 10% royalties for sales of seven or more per year.
The MidAtlantic Environmental Hygiene Resource Center (MEHRC), a nonprofit training center, offers 15 short courses on mold prevention and remediation, energy efficiency, indoor air quality and related subjects. They are one to three days long and attendance fees run between $100 and $900, depending on cosponsors, length of course, and hotel fees in the specific location. They have excellent speakers, who train the people who manage and operate buildings, investigate problem buildings and remediate contaminated buildings.
The courses can be given onsite, and customized to the needs of the institution requesting them. Because the building is the focus of all the courses, many preservation administrators, as well as building people (HVAC operators, etc.) might be interested in the subject matter. There is even a course for building owners and managers, which is so popular that it was given three times between September 26 and October 11, 2000.
Two courses that seem closely related to library and archival preservation concerns are: Controlling Chronic Moisture and Microbial Problems in Buildings and HVAC Systems (two days), and Damage Mitigation and Building Restoration for a Healthy Indoor Environment (two days). This one is strong on post-disaster cleanup.
For a 12-page list of courses and other information, call 215/387-4096, or go to http://www.mehrc.org/.
The Book of Kells has been at Trinity College Dublin since the 17th century, but the people in the town of Kells, County Meath, Ireland, would like to borrow it back so they can exhibit it in its home town. They are willing to spend about a million pounds to convert a local courthouse into an exhibit hall for this purpose.
Trinity College Dublin has lent out parts of the book (which was rebound into four volumes by Roger Powell years ago) for exhibit only four times. Since one volume of the 1,200-year-old book sustained some damage this past spring while it was being transported to Canberra, Australia, there is opposition in Dublin to any future loans, although the damage was very minor. However, five members of the Irish Parliament have met with Trinity College representatives about the possibility of exhibiting it in Kells.
(This information was sent by John Cullen, Librarian at the Institute of Technology, Tallaght, Dublin, and published in American Libraries, August 2000.)
It is called Patrimonio y Desarrollo (Heritage and Development) and it is published by the Centro Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museologia (CENCREM) in Havana. The first issue ("Boletin no. 1/2000") appeared in August 2000, and will appear quarterly.
The first article, "Estudio de Objetos Etnograficos Contaminados" (Study of Contaminated Ethnographic Objects), is written by a biodeterioration specialist. She reports how she identified one or more species of mold (hongos) from 19 objects or collections of objects, and gives 11 recommendations for controlling mold growth, which include periodical inspections, daily cleaning, air circulation and regulation of temperature and humidity.
The address is: Antiguo convento de Santa Clara de Asis, Calle Cuba #610 e/ Sol y Luz, La Habana Vieja, CP 10100, La Habana, Cuba. Fax (53-7) 33 5696, e-mail: cncrm@cencrem.cult.cu.
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