Preservation/Conservation

The Preservation/Conservation Unit was established within the Department of Special Collections in the UNLV Libraries in October 1999 to retard the physical and chemical processes that result in deterioration of materials housed in the Libraries, to eliminate hazards to those materials, and to repair damages already incurred. Preservation and conservation principles will be integrated into all units in the Libraries in order to prolong the life and usefulness of UNLV Libraries’ materials.

Preservation is an indirect method of treatment in which the environment around an item is changed. This includes stabilizing, maintaining, and monitoring temperature, humidity, light exposure, air pollution, dirt, dust, and mold. Preservation also includes surveying the condition of the building and the collections; the construction of protective enclosures using acid-neutral or buffered materials; proper storage and handling techniques; security, including theft, vandalism, and the use of food, drink, and tobacco in the Libraries; insurance; disaster prevention, preparedness, and recovery; and education, training, and outreach programs for staff, patrons, the University community, and the public.

Conservation is a direct method of treatment in which an item is physically or chemically changed. This includes cleaning, deacidifying, repairing, rebinding, and reformatting. All conservation treatments entail the least intrusive methods possible, and use acid-neutral or buffered materials. Some materials, such as pastes, fungicides, and marbled papers, will be made in-house to ensure their quality. Until such time as an archivally sound method of reformatting has been universally accepted, the Preservation/Conservation Unit will limit reformatting recommendations to microfilming and photocopying onto acid-neutral paper. Due to the amount of materials in the UNLV Libraries’ collections needing treatment, all initial conservation treatments will be limited to the UNLV Libraries’ collections.

Articles:

• Inside UNLV Interview (December 2008)
  
  
• Inside UNLV (January 2005)

Recent Activity in the Laboratory:

• Laboratory Reconfiguration (Summer 2009)
  
  
• Pueblo Grande De Nevada Collection: Glass Plate Negatives (June 2009)
  
  
• "Rembrandt: The Master & His Workshop" (June 2009)
  
  
• Bishop C.A. Timmons Bible (June 2009)
  
  
• SAA "May Day/Save Our Archives" Program (May 2009)
  
  
• Hand-Bound Memorial Book (April 2009)
  
  
• Commerative Hand-Bound Signature Books (March 2009)
  
  
• "Honor with Books" Bookplates (March 2009)
  
  
• Original "Map of J.C. Fremont's 1842 Expedition" for the
  Nevada State Museum (February 2009)
  
  
• City of Henderson, NV Original Corporation Papers (February 2009)
  
  
  
  

Presentations:

• Society of American Archivists Conference (August 2009)
  
  
• Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists (May 2009)
  
  
• Nevada Library Association Southern District Program (April 2009)
  
  

Contact Information:

Michael Frazier
michael.frazier@unlv.edu
Conservator