Binding the Collected Works of Liszt

It’s been over six months since I joined the team here in Preservation last January and about time I shared some news from the commercial binding desk. On a continual basis serial titles (journals, magazines, and music scores) make their way to my desk to be processed and sent out for binding at Acme Bookbinding in Charlestown, MA. This is an ongoing task because the library is always acquiring new issues of print periodicals. It’s fun to have such a wide variety of material pass through my hands from popular music and art magazines to academic journals in psychology, law, geography, and more.

In addition to the standard flow of serials going out for binding, I’ve been working on a special binding project for Paddock Music Library. It may not be obvious but in terms of preservation, music scores get hit hard by repeated use and often need rebinding. The most recent example of this is Paddock’s set of Franz Liszt’s collected works, which was identified as being in especially poor physical condition. Because of its age, the bindings are falling apart and paper is becoming brittle causing loose and easily torn pages.

Once all the volumes of Liszt’s works arrived in Preservation, the process for rebinding began. I checked each volume in and examined it for page tears and other damage to make note of. I actually discovered there was a missing page in one book and in another a whole section was upside-down. With a complete list of repairs, I headed to the bench with heat-set tissue (the conservator’s iron on patch) and tacking iron in hand. The paper repairs went smoothly and I was on to the next step, entering each volume into the Acme bindery database. For a set like this every volume has a unique title and in this case the title is in German. I entered all the spine information for each book including composer, title, call number, and special instruction (‘upside-down pages to be righted’ for example), and printed a binding slip to be tucked inside the cover.

All twenty-nine volumes, now ready for rebinding, were checked one last time and then packed for shipment. They won’t be gone for long though. In a short two weeks I’ll be unpacking them and prepping the set for part two, deacidification. Stay tuned!

Written by Elizabeth Rideout

Book Arts Program News - Bindery Studio Core Classes

The second big change for the Book Arts Program this fall (see here for the first one) is taking place in the Bindery Studio. Previously, we have offered a rather random assortment of workshops on various book structures. While that was fun, after listening to feedback provided by our students, we thought we'd try out something a little different this year.

In addition to our structure-based workshops such as the long stitch and the piano hinge binding, we're going to start offering "core classes" that teach some of the fundamental techniques used in hand bookbinding and the book arts. These will include skills such as proper equipment use, measuring and cutting paper, sewing and casing-in a standard hardcover book, and making decorative paste paper and bookcloth to use for your bindings. The core classes will be based around different themes each term, such as "basics", "adhesives", "color", and "repair".

This fall the theme is "basics" and we will hold three core classes throughout the term:

• Introduction to Bindery Equipment
• Measuring and Cutting Techniques
• Focus on Folding

Check out our fall bindery workshop schedule for more information about these classes. You can register with our new online registration system either from the bindery schedule page or from our events page on EventBrite. We hope you're excited to learn some of these bookbinding fundamentals, and we look forward to seeing you in the bindery this fall!

Book Arts Program News - Online Registration

We’re gearing up for the fall term at Dartmouth, which means the Book Arts Program will soon be open again. This program is housed in the library and managed by Preservation Services, and it is one of the best hidden gems on campus. There’s a letterpress studio and a bindery studio, each of which offers workshops and open studio time. The best part is, the workshops and studios are free to use by anyone…students, faculty, staff, and we also welcome community members not affiliated with the College.

But as awesome as the Book Arts Program is, we thought it could get even better. So we’re introducing some new developments this fall which we'll be highlighting in the blog over the next few weeks. We'll kick things off today with the introduction of a brand-new online registration system for our workshops.

Registration for bindery workshops, letterpress orientation sessions, and letterpress open studio sessions will now be done through our events page on the EventBrite website. In addition to making our lives a little easier, this system offers a few great new features such as:

• Anyone can follow our RSS event feed to learn about new workshops as soon as they’re posted.
• You can view all of our upcoming events and register for them in one place.
• All of our event pages have social media links, so you can email, tweet, or like our events to share them with your friends!

As with all of the Book Arts Program workshops, although these are open to the general public, priority is given to Dartmouth students. Non-students will be able to register for any of the workshops one week before they take place, assuming there are still seats available.

We think this registration system will be a great improvement for the already-wonderful Book Arts Program, and we hope you do too! If you have any questions about registration, feel free to contact us. Stay tuned for more information about the rest of the upcoming changes to the Program!

Written by Helen Bailey

Nothing Like Production

One of the advantages of treating general collections material is the similarity of treatments that can be performed en mass. This not only expedites and streamlines completion of tasks but enhances the conservator's work experience by offering a chance to practice speed and set time goals for large groups of material.

Here is my colleague Stephanie getting ready to place down inner tissue hinges after completing basic cloth rebacks. As you see she has pre-cut the tissue so now all she has to do is paste them in.

Here are the books having just received tissue inner hinges with the boards open for drying.

And here is a satisfied worker with a stack of finished repairs. Often Stephanie will pick books of one color such as red.

Before...

...and after.

It’s rewarding to see the finished set!

Written by Deborah Howe

Personnel News: Arini Esarey

Preservation Services welcomes Arini Esarey, a recent graduate from North Bennet Street School. She has completed 2 years of bookbinding classes and will serve a 3-month internship to learn more about preservation in the context of libraries and to practice conservation techniques learned at school.

Arini has also worked at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Graduate School of Design Library at Harvard. One of her bindings is included in the One Book One Chicago exhibit, on view at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago through April 2012.

Welcome!

Orozco Film Color Corrected

Last year Dartmouth College Library was awarded a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation to preserve and make accessible an instructional film from 1961, “The Orozco Mural Quetzalcoatl”. The film has a special relationship to Dartmouth in that it tells the myth of Quetzalcoatl as depicted in “The Epic of American Civilization” frescos painted by José Clemente Orozco in Baker Library. The film was written, produced, and directed by Robert Canton, a Dartmouth graduate from the Class of 1958.

Colorlab is conserving the film and I expect the project to be completed by the end of the summer. Once it is back on campus, a public viewing will be offered. Watch public postings around campus for details.

Colorlab shared some before and after stills of the film conservation and I must say the change in image quality is remarkable. I was unable to locate the original negative reel so Colorlab was working off of three print copies that the Library owned. Working from the best copy they digitized the film, which had faded to magenta, and corrected the color as much as possible back to the original. A brochure, “Orozco at Dartmouth," which was made possible by the Manton Foundation, provided the technicians with color photos of the murals that they could use as their guide.

Here are two after and before images of the film.

Written by Barb Sagraves

Flood Damage Recovery Information

Tropical Storm Irene passed through New England on Sunday leaving parts of Vermont flooded and personal collections water-damaged. It is important to attend to paper-based materials quickly to prevent mold growth, however recovery of damaged materials should never be attempted if personal safety cannot be assured.

The following are useful resources for disaster recovery of books and paper-based collections:

• Dartmouth College Library Preservation Services FAQ: How to dry a wet book and what to do about mold.
• Heritage Preservation: How to Save a Wet Book, video instructions for rinsing dirty and muddy books, drying damp & wet books as well as freezing books (a great technique if there are many books and little time to dry them all).
• Northeast Document Conservation Center: Emergency Salvage of Moldy Books and Paper.
• Finally, the Library of Congress offers information about recovering from a disaster.

Manton Digital Production Manager

We have exciting news in Preservation Services! A new position, funded by the Manton Foundation endowment, has been created to manage the Library’s growing digital production capabilities. The Manton Digital Production Manager will report to the head of Preservation Services, and the successful candidate will take charge of the production workflows and processes for our developing digital library program.

To view the position description go to Dartmouth jobs.

Review of applications will begin 15 September 2011, and will continue until the position is filled. Dartmouth College is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to diversity and to serving the needs of a diverse population.