The conservation unit serves the Libraries’ circulating items of Library West, Marston Science Library, Education Library, Health Science Center Library, Latin American and Caribbean Collections, and Architecture and Fine Arts Library. The primary work for these collections are book repair and pamphlet binding for soft covered, single folio items. Some books are sent out for commercial binding on an annual basis.
Book repair entails many types of work. The majority of repairs are rebinding–putting new covers on–and reattaching original covers to the book pages when the pages of a book need some work. Often only the spine needs to be replaced. Dogs love using the corner of books as chew toys so we perform a good bit of corner repair work as well.
Ultimately our goal is that items will come out of our lab stable enough for library use, transport via backpacks, and home use for a reasonable amount of time.
Contact: Jimmy Barnett