Tag Archives: preservation lab

A Virtual Preservation Lab Tour

Click on the link below for a virtual tour of our newly updated space:

Preservation Lab Virtual Tour Jan 2019

In October, the Preservation Lab welcomed special collections digital imaging to our workflow (for UC Libraries’ materials).  This new function necessitated a small lab renovation:

During (top three images) and after (bottom two images):

 

The results are wonderful and we are so happy to have a new staff member!

Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer (PLCH) – Special Collections Conservator, Lab Manager

Connections. Collaboration. Community. Oh My!

Each year, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) holds an annual conference bringing together colleagues from over 120 countries to experience international librarianship.  Past conferences have been held in Istanbul, Singapore, Berlin, and Bangkok.  In August of 2016, IFLA hosted their annual conference in Columbus, Ohio titled, Connections.  Collaboration.  Community.
On August 19th, as part of the University of Cincinnati Libraries tour, the Preservation Lab was honored to welcome our international librarian colleagues for a visit to our lab where we discussed our role in collaborative preservation within Ohio – and locally as a conservation lab serving two institutions.
During our 40-minute tour, we highlighted treatments for special collections and discussed the importance of treatment documentation.  Ashleigh invited guests to see in-process treatments and demonstrated filling paper losses using leaf casting techniques on a suction platen.  Jessica walked visitors through the lab’s treatment documentation process in the conservation lab’s digital photography studio.  Teaming up on preservation were Holly and Hyacinth who showcased preventative storage enclosures and exhibition mounts.  They worked in conjunction with Veronica who carefully hot-stamped bookmarks to make keep-sake souvenirs for guests to take home from the lab.

IFLA 2016

Conservation Technician, Jessica Ebert discusses conservation photographic documentation during an IFLA Langsam Library Tour.


IFLA 2016

IFLA tour guest communicates with Alex Temple, lab volunteer, with translation assistance from library staff member Yu Mao


We’re absolutely honored to have participated on this year’s American IFLA post-conference activities and were delighted to present about the work our collaborative lab conducts to preserve both academic and public library materials.
Next year, IFLA’s annual meeting will be held in Wroclaw, Poland.  Click here to learn more about this international professional library association.
If you’re interested in hearing more about the Cincinnati IFLA tours, check out the UC Libraries blog and Ohio Library Council’s website.

Preservation Week 2015!

Demonstration CollageWe love preservation. Of course we do. And as people who love preservation, we naturally love Preservation Week! Truly, we do. We love it so much that we take to the streets and invite people over to share it with us. We were so excited that we decided to start early this year, with live technical demonstrations in the mornings leading up to the big day. We wanted people to see what we were up to, ask lots of questions, and learn more about what we do.
We showed off the past year’s work, including some excellent pieces done by our pre-program volunteer, Catarina Figueirinhas. Everyone’s favorite, the hot stamper, made a return appearance. We topped off the festivities with a raffle for a book, handmade by one of our students, and of course, cookies (we don’t have open houses for the sweets, but they are a nice bonus!).  We had such a great time with all of our friends and colleagues, and as always, we look forward to doing it again next year.
Open House Collage
Hyacinth Tucker (UCL) — Binding Processor

Conservation – a Complex Profession

“WhAsleighat is it that you do, exactly?” is a question conservators are often asked when met for the first time.
As an emerging conservator, sometimes it’s difficult to quickly describe the daily work I perform. When many people hear the word conservation, they immediately think of protecting wildlife.
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We aren't fooling – it is Spring Cleaning Time!

Are you the type of person who when Spring rolls around you get this sudden urge to organize and clean? No? Well, I am. Though I will admit it only comes in short bursts. Maybe there is just something about the change of seasons that makes me want to sort through things; this Spring I decided to tackle our stockpile of matboard. Does my sudden urge to clean and organize really have anything to do with the vernal eqinox? No, probably not. It is more likely due to the fact that we recently order a bunch of new Rising board and it has been sitting around for a couple weeks with no place to go. Enter, Jessica and her fit of cleaning.
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How to set up a Digital Photography Documentation Studio



First of all, you might be wondering. Why do conservation labs conduct photography?
A picture is worth a thousand words:
Photographs are the most descriptive way for conservators to accurately document physical changes made to an object during treatment.
In conservation, producing photographic documentation is a conservation professional’s ethical obligation. In conjunction with written documentation, the photographs help to more accurately and efficiently document the examination, scientific investigation, and treatment of special collection materials.
Afterwards, the photography becomes an important part of the treatment record for a rare object and it is permanently archived with the treatment report. This information is saved with the object in hopes of aiding future scholars and conservators in understanding an object’s aesthetic, conceptual, or physical historical characteristics.  For more information on conservation treatment documentation, visit the Preservation Lab’s digital collection located here: http://digital.libraries.uc.edu/collections/preservation/.
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A conservator in Cincinnati

Moving from sunny California to the “most northern southern city, and the most eastern Midwest city,” A.K.A. Cincinnati, I’ve found that I love living in a climate with the change of seasons. In particular, one of my favorite sightings on the University of Cincinnati campus made me feel as though I was living in an page of an Andy Goldsworthy book! Just before this yellow ginkgo tree began to lose its leaves, the ground received a light autumn dusting of snow that whimsically highlighted the presence of the tree’s newly fallen leaves.
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