Practical Book Repair

Do you have a circulating collection, reference collection or study library in your care? While rare book libraries or museums are committed to the long term preservation and retention of their core collections there are often holdings of smaller collections: books, periodicals and pamphlets that are used for research but not part of the permanent collections. Research collections suffer significant wear and tear from high use and those with preservation responsibility will need the right tools to assess the item’s potential for repair and decide which repairs would be effective. Sometimes a replacement copy will meet the need, but sometimes the book in question is an oversized reference volume that is out of print and yet crucial for current research. What are the options when a book is being retained for its intellectual content instead of artifactual value?

This webinar will cover basic book structure, damage assessment, cost effective decision-making regarding repairs, appropriates supplies and techniques for basic repair of bound volumes, periodicals and pamphlets.

Eliza Gilligan began her career in conservation by volunteering at the Smithsonian Institution in both the costume conservation lab and the book conservation lab. She went on to graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin’s former program in library conservation where she received her MLIS and Certificate of Advanced Study in the Conservation of Library and Archival Materials in 2000. Over the course of her career, Eliza has worked as a book conservator at the Northeast Document Conservation Center, Michigan State University Library, the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, and the University of Virginia Library. She has trained many pre-program interns, graduate conservation students and book repair staff in conservation techniques appropriate to circulating and special collections materials. She has extensive experience with lab and workflow design, training in reading room and digital capture handling, as well as the conservation aspects of exhibit design, particularly book mounts and lighting. Eliza is now in private practice in Macon, GA.
 

Recorded: Thursday, October 3, 2019
Duration: 1 Hour

 
Listen

Practical Book Repair PowerPoint Slides

Practical Book Repair Handout

Selector Review Forms

 

For closed captions, please access this via this link.