Awareness on cleaning your collections

How do you approach your collection when it is time for physically clean your books and documents? 

Cleaning a collection prolongs its life and makes it less vulnerable to several factors, including organic and inorganic materials that accumulate over the years.

On the second video and poster from No Boundaries in Preservation we will cover the evaluation of materials under two points of view, the extrinsic values and the intrinsic values. Assessing them will determine the type of treatment, hours to spend on the cleaning process and materials to use. 

Different types of conservation conditions will lead you to different types of cleaning that is why is important to create a plan of cleaning procedures. Fragile items, dust, insects, mold are a some of the subjects we will cover. 

No Boundaries in Preservation is a three languages project - English, Portuguese and Spanish -  and is committed to outreach a large number of communities in the Americas and Western Europe, offering videos and posters with basic technical information in the libraries and archives preservation field. 

Don't forget to join and follow us on social media to get the latest news on this project. 
Facebook: UNCGPreservationServices
Twitter:  @UNCGPRESERV

Funding for No Boundaries in Preservation was generously provided by the University Libraries Innovation Grant Program at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA.

On Exhibit in Jackson Library

We have shared some examples of the variety of problems we encounter here in Preservation Services, as our books are returned to the Access Services desk, or in some cases, hidden in the stacks, we are always prepared for the unexpected.

Bugs like Books.

The Library offers FREE scanning for your digital convenience.  It is so appalling to find books with sections of pages violently torn from its spine.  Simply scan those wanted pages.

 Markers, highlighters, pencil, colored pencil, post-it stickie notes, paper clips, blue ink pens, red ink pens, black ink pens, fountain pens, crayons, pastels, charcoal.

These marking implements cause irreparable damage to books.  Because it is not your personal copy, please don't mark in library materials.

Use your notebook.

 DOGS

REALLY

DON'T

READ.

REALLY.

We have the proof.

Tape of any kind is not kind to books.

It leaves a sticky residue

(just like post-it notes, but worse).

Masking, Strapping, First-Aid, Electrical, Scotch, Duct, Mending,  Paper, 

to name a few of the tapes that have arrived on our books. Sometimes we are unable to undo the damage created by the tape that was meant to fix, yet really did more damage in the end.

Please handle drinks and food with
care if you must eat or drink around library materials.
Accidents can happen so quickly.

A Lovely day at the Bookdrop..

One never knows who might visit the library bookdrop....

...poor little guy.