Preservation Services at Dartmouth College: Interventions

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Interventions

I was lucky enough to be invited to the seminar titled Interventions led by Gary Frost at the University of Iowa Library, Conservator Emeritus at the University of Iowa Libraries, with assistance of John Fifield, University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science and the University of Iowa Center for the Book. Our core group consisted of three graduate students from the SUNY- Buffalo conservation program, the conservator and assistant conservator from the library, a book conservator from the New York Historical Museum, a student from the Book Arts program, a volunteer who is a retired director of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and various others who came and went throughout the week. The five types of Interventions are:

(1) Production

(2) Marketing and retailing
(3) Owners and users
(4) Library re-fabrication
(5) Book restorers and book conservators

More detailed information can be found here. http://blog.lib.uiowa.edu/preservation/2015/02/10/book-intervention-types-a-construct-of-five-types/

The day started with presentations both from special guests and the participants themselves. In the afternoon we moved to the back of the room where we were given many types of different books illustrating interventions and were asked to list what we saw and observed. After we each had some time with the books we engaged in a lively conversation and shared our thoughts. I came away with a new way of seeing and thinking about the book as an object and how my role as a conservator plays in the overall experience and life of this object. I am delighted to have met so many wonderful new people and share in this unique experience.


View from the hill looking towards the Library and river.

Beautiful staircase inside the library.

Our seminar room.


One of our speakers with a chart comparing Codex versus Screen.

Artist as owners. A look at an erasure text.

Examining books for different types of interventions.


Beth Doyle gave a talk about mends done by amateurs or attempts to protect books using a collection of school and common place books.

Our group.

Written by Deborah Howe.

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Contributors

Deborah Howe Is the Collections Conservator at Dartmouth College Library. She's been involved in the book community for over 20 years. She is a member of the Guild of Book Workers and teaches classes in the Book Arts program.

Ryland Ianelli Is a cartoonist and Project Specialist in the Dartmouth Preservation Services department. He graduated from Reed College with a BA in Art History in 2008 and, more recently, from the Center for Cartoon Studies with an MFA in Cartooning in 2010. In addition to his work in Preservation and the Digital Production Unit, he is currently drawing and writing for various independently published comics and anthologies.

Barb Sagraves has been head of Preservation Services since its creation in 1995. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan SLIS program, has an MA in Medieval History from Michigan State University, and a BA in History from the University of Oklahoma. In her role as department head, Barb has overall responsibility for the preservation program and policies at Dartmouth College Library and is in charge of the Book Arts Program.

Jenny Mullins has been the Digital Preservation Librarian for Dartmouth College Library since May of 2014. Prior to coming to Dartmouth, she preserved video and audio collections, helped build a digital repository and worked in book and paper conservation labs. Jenny is a member of ALA and co-chair of the Preservation Metadata Interest Group for 2015-17.