BPG Column from the September 1997 AIC Newsletter

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Thanks are extended on behalf of the entire Book and Paper Group membership to outgoing chair Walter Henry who presided over an incredibly busy and productive year. He supported many BPG initiatives, coordinated the work of various committees, and represented us exceedingly well to the AIC Board and beyond. It doubtless goes without saying that he has forever changed – for the better! – the nature of communication within the group. Many thanks are also extended to Elizabeth Morse, who – during her tenure as secretary-treasurer – took minutes, kept the books, coordinated mailings, and generally kept us organized. By this time, everyone should have received volume 15 of the Annual, which is beautifully produced and (from comments heard in San Diego) the envy of all of the other AIC specialty groups. Thanks are extended to all of the contributors and especially to Robert Espinosa for his sustained hard work in producing and ever improving this publication. October 1 is the deadline for submissions for the next volume; San Diego speakers and others interested in submitting a paper or a tip should send contributions to Robert Espinosa, HBLL, BYU, Provo UT 84602.

Thanks to the efforts of Betty Fiske, program chair, and Eleanore Stewart, assistant chair, the San Diego BPG meeting was a great success. Sessions relating to the treatment of art on paper, the treatment of books and library materials, and artists' materials were given over 1-1/2 days. In addition, Hilary Kaplan organized an informative slide discussion on approaches to surface cleaning for the Archives Discussion Group, and Kate Murray and Don Swanson developed a half-day program for the Library Collections Conservation Discussion Group that focused on treatment and housing specifications for oversize bound materials and spiral bindings, as well as treatment approaches to spine repairs and board reattachment. A large number of models and samples were available for examination during the LCCDG session. Roy Perkinson gave a stimulating and informative luncheon slide-talk entitled, Drawn to Blue: Investigations of the History of Artists' Blue Papers, that was very well attended. BPG events were capped in San Diego by a wonderful reception at the Mingei Museum of International Folk Art in Balboa Park. Organized by Eleanore Stewart and Janet Ruggles, the reception featured good food, the opportunity to wander through beautiful exhibits of Chinese jade, ancient and contemporary beads, and even a Yurt! (A black silk jacket with a patchwork of Guatemalan textiles on the back was left behind at the reception; contact Elizabeth Morse for information.)

Call for Papers

October 7 is the deadline for abstracts for the next AIC meeting in Arlington, Virginia, which is a brief Metro ride away from downtown Washington, DC. The overall theme for the general sessions is disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, and program organizers hope that specialty groups will expand the theme by presenting information on disaster recovery methods as they apply to the individual specialty object types. Disaster response for book and paper materials is fairly well documented and it is hoped that there will be at least one paper summarizing this for the larger community. For BPG sessions, papers are solicited that either critique past recovery practices or expand current options, although this theme is not exclusive and papers on other topics are solicited as well. Papers are limited to 20 minutes. Please direct abstracts and inquiries to Eleanore Stewart, BPG program chair, Preservation Dept., Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, CA 94305-6004; fax (650)725-1120; or estewart@sulmail.stanford.edu. Abstracts should be of sufficient length and detail to permit evaluation.

Ethics Commentaries

Lyn Koehnline is coordinating the BPG response to sections on Practice (4.B-E) and Examination and Scientific Examination (16-19). Please contact her at (919)966-5736; koehnlin@email.unc.edu to share your ideas and participate in this important collective undertaking.