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Book Conservation and Preservation Resources

ONLINE PRESERVATION TRAINING

NEDCC offers training programs focused on an array of preservation topics. Below is a list of topics related to book preservation. Visit the Current Training Programs page for current descriptions and registration dates.

  • Caring for Scrapbooks Webinar
  • Caring for Vellum Bindings Webinar
  • Digitizing Scrapbooks Webinar
  • Exhibit Cradles for Bound Volumes Webinar
  • Handling Book and Paper-Based Collections: A Primer for Staff, Interns, and Volunteers Webinar
  • In Perpetuity: Tips for Municipal Clerks and Government Agencies Webinar (for purchase)
  • Preventing and Responding to Mold in Book and Paper Collections Webinar
  • Salvaging Damaged Books, Paper, and AV Collections Webinar (for purchase)
  • Surface Cleaning Techniques for Paper-Based Materials: A "Hands-on" Webinar
  • Thinking Outside the Box When Boxing Webinar

PRESERVATION RESOURCES

The Environment

2.5 Protecting Paper and Book Collections During Exhibition HTML PDF

Emergency Management

3.6 Emergency Salvage of Wet Books and Records HTML
3.8 Emergency Salvage of Moldy Books and Paper HTML PDF
3.12 Freezing and Drying Wet Books and Records HTML

Storage and Handling

4.1 Storage and Handling for Books and Artifacts on Paper HTML PDF
4.3 Cleaning Books and Shelves HTML PDF
4.4 Storage Enclosures for Books and Artifacts on Paper HTML

Conservation Procedures

7.6 Conservation Treatment for Bound Materials of Value HTML PDF

Videos ►

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Examples of Book Conservation Projects, NEDCC
As part of #AskAConservator Day, NEDCC's Director of Book Conservation explains what types of projects come through the book conservation lab.

Tools for Book Conservation, NEDCC
As part of #AskAConservator Day, NEDCC's Senior Book Conservator Jessica Henze shares which tools are typically used by book conservators and what their purpose is.

Book Conservation Showcase 2022, NEDCC
NEDCC's Associate Book Conservator Mary French highlights the conservation treatments of three unique books: a Victorian hair album, a medieval manuscript, and a Kashmiri birch bark binding.


Book Conservation: What is it and how to care for your personal collection, Mark Twain Library Media
NEDCC's Director of Book Conservation Bexx Caswell-Olson gives a behind-the-scenes tour of the book conservation lab and conservation projects, as well as tips for taking care of your own collections at home.


Creating Scrapbooks that LastNEDCC
This webinar introduces archival materials and resources that can be used to construct stronger, more durable scrapbooks that can withstand the test of time.


“Hair Today Gone Tomorrow” with Mary French, Old Stone House Museum and Historic Village
NEDCC's Associate Book Conservator Mary French discusses her conservation work on a 19th-century hair album.


Honoring the Past While Preparing for the Future: Conservation of a 15th Century Manuscript on the Life of St. AugustineNEDCC
NEDCC's Associate Book Conservator Mary French discusses her conservation work on a 15th-century manuscript on the life of St. Augustine.

How a One-Of-A-Kind 1850s Record Book is Professionally Conserved | RefurbishedInsider
NEDCC's book conservation staff show how they restore a 170-year-old marriage record book.

How to Vacuum a Dusty Book, NEDCC
Demonstration of vacuuming a dusty book: head, tail, foredge, and gutter.


Long Term Preservation for Early Record Books, NEDCC
This webinar discusses how to identify different types of early records that you may have in your collection and special considerations for their storage and handling.


Vacuuming Moldy Books & Paper, NEDCC
NEDCC's Director of Book Conservation Bexx Caswell-Olson shares tips for safely removing inactive mold from books and paper.


Wilcox Bible Unboxing, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Historic Site
A wonderful demonstration of the quality NEDCC puts into shipping items back to clients.

Treatment Stories

Visit the NEDCC Stories page for all Book Conservation projects.

 

2023

Conservation Treatment of Nat Turner’s Bible
 

2024

Digitization & Rebinding of a 19th-Century Persian Manuscript
 

2023

A Case Study in Producing Bound Facsimiles

2022

A Signature Piece of Florida History: Conserving an Autograph Album of War Correspondents and Artists, Signatures and Sketches

 

 

2021

Honoring the Past While Preparing for the Future: Conservation of a 15th Century Manuscript on the Life of St. Augustine

2020

Conservation of Sarah Davenport's Hair Album - Part 1: History of Victorian Hairwork and Background of the Davenport Album

Conservation of Sarah Davenport's Hair Album - Part 2: Conservation Treatment and Digitization of the Album

Conservation of the South Carolina Constitutions - Part 1: The Preservation Catch-22

2018

Dimes for the Constitution - Oregon Citizens Crowdfund Preservation of the State Constitution

2016

Illumination Beyond Words: Boston Institutions Prepare for a Groundbreaking Exhibition of Illuminated Manuscripts

Shadow Catching: Conservation of Rare Edward S. Curtis Volumes for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science

"Starboard Boat Struck a Whale" - Whaling Logs Conserved and Digitized for the Martha's Vineyard Museum

2015

Keeping it Simple: Conservation Treatment of a Kelmscott Chaucer

Mayflower Passages - Conservation and Digitization of the Bradford Manuscript 1630-1650

2013

Sitting with Woody: Preservation of Guthrie Archives Collections