A big thank you to everyone who was able to attend our Preservation Week Open House last Thursday!  It was a great success and we all had so much fun sharing what we do with everyone.  If you were not able to attend, we wanted to share the awesome comic that our very own Chris Voynovich (conservation technician) created just for the event.

ScrapbookOnePgWonder_CV_withInterior

Attendees were able to create their own one-page wonder featuring this comic and then had a chance to flip through the Madisonville Branch Library’s scrapbook that inspired the comic. Those who attended were also able to explore various artist book structures by viewing and handling (and in some cases, just admiring from a far) collection items from the DAAP Library’s artist book collection.  The evolution of the book was a central theme with attendees learning about pre-codex structures (like cuneiform tablets and scrolls), early codex structures (with a foray into medieval bindings and parchment), and modern structures like the ever complex scrapbook.  Attendees were able to stamp their own book mark, featuring a quote by P.J. O’Rourke, and learn about RTI, how the lab has improved their capture process, and view the results from a recent RTI project featuring cuneiform tablets.  And of course, attendees were able to grab a Busken cookie featuring our Preservation Lab logo.  It was a great event!

Make sure to mark your calendar for 2019 Preservation Week (April 21–27) so you can come down, visit the lab, and see the cool stuff we’re working on.  I’m also working on a little video of the event, so stayed tuned and check out our MediaSpace channel for updates in the near future.

Jessica Ebert (UCL) – Conservation Technician & Lead Photographic Documentation Tech