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By: Patricia O’Callaghan, Librarian
The staff of the Carmelitana Collection at Whitefriars Hall in Washington, DC, has been devoting increasing attention to the preservation and conservation of the books there. In general, the Collection is in good condition, as the text blocks, or the interiors of many of the books, containing their intellectual content, are healthy. At the same time, they are identifying books which require attention to ensure their survival into the future. When working with these they do the minimum restoration required in order to preserve the historic nature of the books.
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Librarians Zofia Dunian (left) and Patricia O’Callaghan constantly monitor the condition of each item in the Collection
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The staff is cleaning older books, including those from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. The linen paper in many of these is of high quality, and by removing dust from each of the pages, and cleaning leather and velum covers, the books are taking on a rejuvenated look. The staff is reinforcing corners that are weak so that books stand straight and their spines are protected. When the spines of books have deteriorated they remove the covers, sew gatherings that have become detached, and replace the original binding or, if necessary, add a new one. They are changing endpapers made with acidic papers which damage the interior of books and are mending holes and tears with Japanese rice paper.
Many Nineteenth and Twentieth Century books are printed on acidic paper. Where the texts are disintegrating, the staff is able to construct a preservation copy by having the entire work copied and binding it.
Supplies are used that make all restorations reversible. For example, any tape that is used to affix labels can be removed easily without damaging the books. The preservation products are made of acid-free ingredients including wheat-based glue and sewing thread.
The staff is ensuring that the books in the library are spaced well on the shelves in order to ensure good air circulation. The holdings are monitored closely so that if any outbreak of mold is detected it can be dealt with immediately by cleaning the books, placing them in sunlight, or isolating them. The temperature is kept at a suitable level and fluctuations in degrees are minimized.
The work being done is also resulting in a preservation needs assessment, which helps to analyze the precise nature of problems in the Collection and what can be done to ensure the books, and the heritage of the Carmelite Orders, last for many hundreds of years to come.
Zofia Dunian, who heads the book preservation department at Catholic University, joined the staff of the Carmelitana Collection earlier this year. She was first introduced to the Carmelitana Collection when we would call on her as a consultant when we had some questions on how to proceed with various restorations. She was taken with the Collection and began to stop in from time to time to see how we were proceeding, eventually joining the staff herself. With her expertise in preservation and conservation techniques she is an invaluable asset to the Library.
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