o B 0 0 Update 15 Oar , - ,A\ 1<, d K ./~\0 I- SLLXcL Book Preservation ...continuedfrom page 1 able to address these problems with com- prehensive preservation programs. The University of Michigan Library is one of the leaders in the preservation of library materials. Since 1981, skilled staff in the Preservation Division have worked to protect, repair and preserve the collections, so that they will be available to future generations of students and other researchers. The Preservation staff now numbers thirty, and includes librarians, conservators, book binders, technical assistants, microfilmers and student assistants. The staff is organized into four units: the Brittle Books Re- placement Office and the Microfilming Unit attack the problems caused by acidic paper, while staff in Book Repair Conservation and Bindery Preparation deal with actual and potential problems caused by use. Most of the work at present is with printed materials (books, magazines and newspaper); however, Preservation is also concered with the longevity and care of non-print resources (films, tapes, photographs, and electronic resources), PROTECTION Many preservation activities are de- signed to protect the collection. Envi- ronmental monitoring measures temperature, humidity, light and air pollution, which can prolong the life of library materials if controlled properly. Binding books protects them with sturdy coverings. Fragile items or those in several pieces can be housed in protec- tive enclosures. Staff education pro- grams train library staff to shelve books carefully, make simple repairs and spot problems which need expert attention. Displays, bookmarks, and plastic book bags are part of our ongoing user education efforts to sensitize library users to the vulnerability of library materials and to promote the careful handling of books both inside and outside the library. Stacks cleaning projects remove dust and debris which abrade books and attract insect pests. Disaster plans enable the staff to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies which threaten the collections. REPAIR & CONSERVATION Other activities focus on repairing damaged books, whether that damage was a result of normal use, carelessness, willful destruction, or disaster. Books with strong, flexible (i.e. not brittle) paper can be rebound or repaired in a variety of ways. Rehinding replaces wora or damaged book covers with new ones made either by UM bookbinders or at a commercial library bindery. Repairing paper tears, broken sewing, texts detached from their covers, and worn covers makes books usable again. Wet, moldy or insect-infested books can usually be reclaimed by one of several disaster and salvage recovery tech- niques. Some especially important or valuable items undergo specialized con- servation treatments to clean, stabilize and protect them from future damage. REPLACEMENT & REFORMATTING Many books, however, are already too brittle and crumbling to repair. When possible, these books are replaced by a reprint on permanent durable paper. Occasionally, a preservation photocopy of the original is made. Yet other brittle volumes are microfilmed, and an archival copy of the film stored in a secure, environmentally controlled vault. The originals of most of the brittle volumes filmed are transferred to the Buhr remote shelving facility. COOPERATION The UM Library also cooperates with other research libraries in preservation related endeavors. Our participation in cooperative microfilming projects pre- serves thousands of brittle volumes annually in our strongest subject collec- tions. Along with other libraries we encourage publishers to use permanent durable paper which will remain strong and supple for hundreds of years. We look forward to the development of a mass deacidification process to neutral- ize the paper in books published from 1850 to the present, before they become brittle. New technologies, like electronic scanning and digitization of text, should offer viable alternatives to microfilming in the future. YOU CAN HELP Unfortunately, all of these preservation activities will not guarantee that every book (or periodical or film or audiotape) you need will be in perfect condition. Because there are so many items which need treatment, use drives most of our preservation activities. That is, we repair (or rebind or replace or microfilm or Continued on page 3 The University Library was a pioneer in the tradition of protecting rare and valu- able.books. The segregation of these books at UM began in the early 1900s, when the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections started building col- lections of international distinction. It now houses a variety of materials, some of purely intrinsic value, others which support research in the University, ranging from rare printed books of great intrinsic value to the working manuscripts of modem authors. The Department is a microcosm of the Library asa whole. It collects materials on virtually every subject taught in the University,'hwithe emphasis primarily on source materials - manuscripts, first editions, eyewitness accounts, key texts in the history of civilization, and contempo- rary pamphlets and other ephemera. One of the Department's most notable holdings is the Labadie Collection. Estab- lished in 1911 and originally centered on anarchist materials, it now embraces social protest literature, world-wide in scope, from the political left and right. Its special strengths are in civil liberties, socialism, communism, colonialism, imperialism, American labor history through the 1930s, the I.W.W., the Spanish Civil War, sexual freedom, women's liberation, and student protest movements. Other notable collections include the Shakespeare Collection, the Hubbard Collection of Imaginary Voyages, the Worcester Philippine Collection, the Myers Collection on German history of the Weimar and Nazi periods, and archi- val collections in librarianship and the history of information science. The distinguished papyri collection of the Greco-Roman period contains more than 7,000 pieces. There are also strong holdings in early science and mathematics, English History, English and American drama, French and Dutch political pamphlets, Elsevier imprints, fine and private-press books, and the works of Carlyle, Dickens, Dryden, Frost, Swinburne, Trollope, and Mark Twain, to name only a few. The Department occupies the seventh floor of the Hatcher Graduate Library. An exhibit area immediately adjacent to the elevator lobby offers a changing display of Handled With Care! Rare and Special Materials at U-M materials, made up mainly from the Department's holdings. These exhibits are open to all, as are the collections them- selves, in general. Individual items must be consulted in the nearby reading room, which is staffed during all of the Depart- ment's open hours, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Saturdays during the regular school year. Visitors are advised to call ahead during the spring and summer terms and during holiday and in- tersession periods (764-9377). Catalogs of Departmental holdings, including manuscripts and other non-book materials, are located in the reading room. There is also access to an online biblio- graphic database of serials and pamphlets in the Labadie Collection. An attendant can assist in using these guides, including the online bibliographic data base on serials and pamphlets in the Labadie Collection, to help identify sources for research, to advise in requests for photo- copying and filming, and to give general research assistance and answer questions about the collections. Classes ...continuedfrom page 14 form. Divided into seven indexes, the OED CD-ROM provides a complexity of access otherwise impossible with the print edition of the OED. Examples of searches made possible by the OED CD-ROM include finding what English words derive from the Latin portare, what American- isms are illustrated with quotations from the (American) New Century Dictionary, or what medical terms date from the first 20 years of the 17th century. The seminar will cover basic system features and commands. Location: Room 205c, Graduate Library. Date and Time: Wed., Oct. 11, 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Instructor: John Price-Wilkin. Registration: Required, limited to 10 participants, call 764-1148, or send MTS message to graduatejlibrary _reference. Regents' Proceedings Database The Regents' Proceedings Index Data- base (RPI) contains the index to all volumes of the Proetedings of the Board of Regents from 1817 to present. Training sessions are offered by the Office of the Secretary of the University, which maintains RPI, and covers basic SPIRES commands to access the RPI on MTS. Dates and Times: Contact Nancy Asin at 764-3883 or send MTS message. MIRLYN -- The Basics MIRLYN is the University Library's online catalog. (see page 16) Users can search the database to determine which library owns a title. It is possible to search MIRLYN from any terminal or microcom- puter which connects to UMnet as well as from MIRLYN terminals in the libraries. Class participants will learn what is in the database and how to search MIRLYN effectively. Sessions include: 1). Hatcher Graduate Library. Location: Room 205c. Dates and Times: Wed., Sept. 20,4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Thurs., Sept. 21, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Registration: Required, call GL Refer- ence at 764-1148, or send MTS message to graduate_ibrary reference. 2). Taubman Medical Library. Location: Learning Resource Center, Room 3950. Dates and Times: Weekly in September, Biweekly in October, once a month in November and December, call 763-2037 for exact dates and times. Registration: Required, send MTS message to mediballibrary or call 763- 2037. 3). Public Health Library Location: School of Public Health, Building II, Room M-1123. Dates and Times: Weekly in September, Biweekly in October, and once a month in November and December. Call 764-5473 for dates and times. Registration: Required, send MTS message to public.healthjlibrary @UB or call 764-5473. MIRLYN training is also offered at the Undergraduate and branch and divisional libraries. Contact the libraries directly or look for MIRLYN flyers (available in all libraries), which provide specifics for these and other library classes.