BPG Column from the May 1998 AIC Newsletter

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The 1998 annual meeting is fast approaching! The BPG program organized by Eleanore Stewart and Nancy Heugh provides a balanced palette, offering sessions on a variety of topics ranging from treating individual objects to treating entire collections in the context of disaster response and recovery. There will be a TIPS session at the end of the disaster session Saturday morning; BPG members are encouraged to bring slides or discussion topics relating to their experience or concerns regarding disaster response and treatment. Depending on the schedule, there may also be a general TIPS session on Friday afternoon, so come prepared with slides, ideas, and information to share. Disaster-related talks from the speciality groups will be issued as a separate publication by AIC, following editorial guidelines of the JAIC. Eleanore Stewart will provide additional information to BPG speakers; the AIC coordinator for this project is Donna Strahan, Walters Art Gallery.

On Saturday afternoon, the Library Collections Conservation Discussion Group program will focus on the care and connoisseurship of paperback books (see the March newsletter for additional details). The Archives Discussion Group will meet over the lunch break on Thursday, June 4. Anyone wishing to share information on treatment approaches and materials used in surface cleaning is welcome to participate; contact Hilary Kaplan at (404)656-3554 for details. Also, please plan to attend the BPG business meeting on Friday morning, June 5, for updates on the Publications Committee, the status of the Annual, and discussion of future plans for the Paper Conservation Catalog. The Nominating Committee, consisting of Walter Henry, Rosemary Fallon, Laura Downey, and Bill Minter, have completed their work and assembled an outstanding slate of candidates; election results will be reported at the business meeting.

BPG archives? How many past board and committee members have files of papers relating to the work and accomplishments of the BPG? If anyone is interested in participating in an effort to identify and assemble – and perhaps even offer a home to – BPG historical files, please contact a member of the board.

Comments are due by June 15 to the Ethics and Standards Committee via Paul Himmelstein on the draft Commentaries to the Guidelines for Practice, sections 4 and 16–19. All BPG members are encouraged to participate in this important effort, thereby ensuring that our special concerns are addressed in the final version. Equally important are the upcoming deadlines for applications for Professional Associate and Fellow: July 10 and October 9, 1998. If you've been putting this off, now is the time to act!