Binding the Collected Works of Liszt, Part 2

Reporting from the commercial binding desk, it’s time to follow up on the progress of the Collected Works of Liszt project. Last I reported, I had sent out twenty-nine music scores for rebinding from the Collected Works of Liszt. Some volumes were in worse condition than others but all were considerably dirty and at risk of pages yellowing and becoming brittle. Some volumes had torn or loose pages and others had broken bindings.

All twenty nine Liszt scores were delivered back to Preservation Services right on schedule. I checked them in right away to confirm there weren’t any missing volumes. The Liszt scores were rebound in yellow book cloth (chosen by the staff at Paddock Music Library) and with flat spines to allow for the fullest opening when being used. Finally I attached a barcode sticker to each volume. Barcode stickers correspond to electronic item records in the library database which allows for fast and easy search and tracking of each volume.

At this point the Liszt scores are ready for stage two, mass deacidification. Because I am working with so many volumes at once, they will be shipped out as a group to a vendor, Preservation Technologies. Deacidification is a process that utilizes chemistry to neutralize the pH of book and paper materials to prevent or slow deterioration caused by acidity.

With page repairs, rebinding, and barcoding already complete it was simple to prepare the Liszt scores for this process. I packed the volumes into crates, following instructions provided by the vendor to pack books spine down. I included a packing slip listing each volume, corresponding barcode, total number of volumes, and total number of crates. From this point it won’t be long until they are back on the shelf. Upon return from mass deacidification I’ll give one final check and send them along to Paddock Music Library.

Written by Elizabeth Rideout