Special Guests in the Preservation Lab

Measure twice; cut once!

Measure twice; cut once!

Recently the Preservation Lab in Special Collections hosted a class of students from the Society of North Carolina Archivists (SNCA). We are always excited to share our space with folks from outside the Libraries, and this was an especially eager group. Folks who generally spend their time in libraries and institutions doing other kinds of important work for patrons got to spend a morning making stuff--something we all need from time to time!

The “making” was more like “re-making”—learning repair techniques to help bring the books in their various collections back to health. The class was co-taught by Craig Fansler, Preservation Librarian at Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University, and myself, Robin Harper, Preservation Technician here at NC State.

Attendees listen as Craig introduces them to their tools.
Attendees listen as Craig introduces them to their tools.

Some of the techniques we taught included tipping in a loose page, a simple and frequent repair. This involves applying a bead of glue in the joint where a page has come loose. It was followed by showing the students how to use heat set tissue for repairing tears in paper, or to back a fragile page or dust jacket. This is always fun and a little magical. They also got to practice using Japanese tissue (Sekishu) to repair broken joints in a book and to line spines for re-attaching loose boards. Finally, the students learned to replace a broken spine piece, and attach it to the book.

Beginning to work with heat set tissue!
Beginning to work with Japanese tissue!

Following the hands-on session, Craig demonstrated several more repair techniques. Consolidating mass-produced paperbacks and repairing damaged corners on hard-cover books are frequent tasks a bookbinder is called on to undertake. The students took away samples of the various papers used, their own first attempts at repair, and an excitement to apply their new knowledge to their own collections.

Tackling the painstaking task of cleaning an old spine label.
Tackling the painstaking task of cleaning an old spine label.

If you’d like to learn more about what happens in the Preservation Unit of Special Collections, check us out here. If you have any questions or are interested in viewing Special Collections materials, please contact us at library_specialcollections@ncsu.edu or submit a request online. The Special Collections Research Center is open by appointment only. Appointments are available Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm and Saturday, 1pm–5pm. Requests for a Saturday appointment must be received no later than Tuesday of the same week.