Special Collections Conservation Page

Making the Best of Google

You seek. But do you find? Join us for a tour of Google, Google Scholar, and Google Books. Learn how they really work and how to make the best use of each for research.

Archives

Home > Departments > Department of Conservation & Preservation > Special Collections Conservation > Special Collections Conservation Page

Printer-friendly Version

Special Collections Conservation

The Special Collection Conservation Unit is staffed by professional book conservators (a
Chief Conservator/Supervisor and two Book Conservators) who are responsible for the care
and conservation treatment of the library's rare materials and for the installation and
de-installation of exhibitions.

Conservation care and treatment includes preventive measures as well as the physical
handling of materials. The unit performs a diverse range of treatments which includes
rebinding, recasing, binding restoration, rebacking, washing and deacidification, resizing,
leaf-casting, mending, guarding, polyester film encapsulation, fabricating enclosures, etc.
It is also responsible for the handling of disaster related matters: recovery, drying wet
materials, mold control, etc.

The types of materials treated and handled by this unit consist of bound and unbound
(manuscripts, maps, posters, broadsides, etc.) materials that are rare and intrinsically
valuable. The range of treatments are diverse, Exhibits activities consist of screening
display objects, selecting and/or creating supports, matting, installation and de-
installation.