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P/CIG Spring 2006 Program Agenda
May 5, 2006 Spring Meeting
Almost forty members of the Preservation – Conservation Interest Group meet at the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) in Andover , MA on May 5, 2006. The theme was “Selection and Conservation for Digitization”. Todd Bachmann, Harvard University , gave an overview of three selection methods for digitizing the general collections. His power point slides are here.
Deborah Howe, Dartmouth College , spoke about Dartmouth 's partnership with Readex Corporation to scan the U.S. Congressional Serial Set using the Kirtas machine. Deborah noted that leather consolidation and spine repairs formed the majority of the conservation treatments.
Deborah Wender, NEDCC, addressed single item treatments that NEDCC has given to items either pre or post scanning. One tip she shared is that conservators now use a digital camera to photograph an item prior to treatment. It is not intended as the official treatment record but rather a quick reference for reconstructing the piece. This is generally used when conserving scrapbooks.
After a brief lunch break NEDCC staff members David Joyall and Aimee Primeaux brought the group up to date in the areas of digital photography and digital collection assessment. David noted that the camera industry is moving away from 35mm technology – Nikon will no longer make 35mm cameras and Kodak is stopping production of photographic paper for traditional chemical photography. NEDCC is creating a state of the art digital photography studio.
Aimee gave an overview of an IMLS funded project at NEDCC to develop a methodology for doing collection surveys of digital materials. It is still a work in progress; in early 2006 NEDCC will conduct a digital readiness assessment with selected institutions. The February 15, 2006 issue of RLG DigiNews contains a complete report.
The meeting was brought to a close by the chair, Barb Sagraves, who announced that the location of the Fall meeting is tentatively planned for Brown University in Providence , Rhode Island .