Tagged: preservation

Celebrating Preservation Week 2018

Why is preservation important?

In 2005 the first comprehensive national survey of the condition and preservation needs of the nation’s collections reported that U.S. institutions hold more than 4.8 billion items. Libraries alone hold 3 billion items (63 percent of the whole). Some 630 million items in collecting institutions require immediate attention and care. As natural disasters of recent years have taught us, these resources are in jeopardy should a disaster strike. Personal, family, and community collections are equally at risk (LOC).

Preserving library collections

In Special Collections and University Archives we have many dedicated librarians and archivists who help routinely preserve our collections through housing and arranging archival collections. This includes careful consideration and mitigation of key environmental risk factors such as light, pollutants, heat, and moisture. We are also fortunate to have the technical expertise and assistance of conservation technicians in the Beach Conservation Lab, who provide services in conservation, preservation and housing of paper-based collection materials in SCUA, and to all other units of the Library.

Take a behind the scenes look in the Beach Conservation Lab to see the important work being done to preserve UO’s collections.

An array of completed enclosures and spine repairs.

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Behind the Scenes: Student work on the Wayne Morse film collection

I am a delicate ribbon of film – misuse me and I disappoint thousands; cherish me, and I delight and instruct the world.”

~excerpt from The Film Prayer by Crawley Films Limited

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Do you ever wonder what it might be like to work on one of our amazing collections? The UO Special Collections and University Archives is very lucky to have amazing student workers who have the opportunity to process some very interesting collections.  Over the past year Kit Becker worked diligently on the processing and preservation of the Wayne Morse film collection. Continue reading