Thank you to all who joined us for the Book and Paper Group Wiki Discussion Session at the Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City last month. We had a lively and productive discussion about creating a new wiki page on Books and Paper in Historic House Settings. Registered attendees of the Annual Meeting who missed the session can view the recording until October 31st.
We discussed the intended audience for the page, the scope of content to include, options for structuring and organizing the page, and the various preservation and treatment challenges presented by historic house collections and settings. Some specific topics discussed include:
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General topics such as agents of deterioration, environmental monitoring, health and safety concerns, and emergency and disaster response
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Visitor impacts on collections (placement of tour paths and stanchions; security and theft)
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Reproductions/facsimiles and their production, presentation, and preservation (including digital assets)
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Documentation (not just for conservators, but all caretaking roles)
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The importance of overall visual continuity and spine appearance for books in historic house libraries
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Mounts and supports for books on display; "invisible" housings like the book shoe
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Problematic interactions of books and furniture
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Wallpaper (care, treatment, reproductions)
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3-dimensional objects made of or containing paper including globes, trunks, boxes, screens
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Including resource lists such as 1) tools a conservator might bring to the historic house jobsite, 2) housing materials supply and supplier lists along (with alternatives for various budgets/geographic locations)
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Linking to the work of relevant groups and projects like C2C Care, AIC Health & Safety Network, AIC Preventive Care Network, Museum Pests, and NPS Conserv O Grams
Our next step is to form a working group to develop content and create a new wiki page for this topic. Michelle C. Smith will be the compiler for this new page, and she is looking for volunteers to join her. If you would like to be a part of this group or contribute in any way, please email us at bookandpapergroup.wiki@gmail.com. Time commitment for participation can be as low or as high as you wish, and all contributions are welcome.
During the session we also shared the improvements made to the BPG Wiki over the last year, including the following pages that have seen significant updates:
We also welcomed Mitchel Gundrum, our new Book Coordinator, as Michelle C. Smith stepped down from her role. We'd like to express heartfelt thanks to all of those who contributed to the wiki this year (including those with projects still in progress), and to all our readers. We look forward to another year of growth and learning.
Sincerely,
Sandrine Blais (BPG Wiki Paper Coordinator)
Mitchel Gundrum (incoming BPG Wiki Book Coordinator)
Michelle C. Smith (outgoing BPG Wiki Book Coordinator)
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Mitchel Gundrum (he/they)
UCLA Library
Book Conservation Coordinator
AIC Book and Paper Group Wiki
bookandpapergroup.wiki@gmail.com------------------------------