Volume 26, Number 3
Nov 2002

NEDCC Responds to Prague Floods

The Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), in Andover Massachusetts (USA), announces that in November, its director of Book Conservation, Deborah Wender, will visit the Municipal Library of Prague to advise on salvage of flood-damaged books. Ms. Wender was invited by the office of the President of the Czech Republic, which received a grant from the U.S. Embassy. The Getty Conservation Institute, in Los Angeles, is also providing support for the project.

The floods of August 2002 have endangered many of the Czech Republic's important cultural collections. The Municipal Library, which houses a prestigious collection of rare books, including the Bible of Prague, a 1488 imprint, suffered extensive damage to its collections. The wet books have been frozen, and Ms. Wender will help the Library's staff organize procedures for drying them safely. During her visit, Ms. Wender will also visit the Klementinum Library and other institutions whose collections were damaged in the recent disaster.

NEDCC, a non-profit regional conservation facility, has engaged in many exchange programs with Eastern and Central European conservators over the last eight years. Through its field service office, it has had extensive experience in providing disaster assistance to institutions in the Northeast. NEDCC provides conservation and reformatting services to libraries and historical organizations as well as consultation and training to improve collections care practices.

For information about NEDCC, check out www.nedcc.org; e-mail <nedcc@nedcc.org>; or call 978/470-1010.