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Archive: 2023 (6 Posts)

Commercial Binding Industry: Standard Materials for Custom Binding

Posted by: Amelia Parks

In 2017, Jeanne Drewes, began an independent oral history project as part of the Occupational Folklife Project to document the occupational trade and work-related experiences of professional bookbinders. Now available, the interviews document the histories of individual binderies, trace intertwined firm histories, and encourage interviewees to discuss how the binders’ occupation and the preservation of books have changed over the years.

Modeling New Ways to Approach Preservation Program Administration

Posted by: Amelia Parks

Preservation administration is much like other types of management and administration, except that our bottom line isn’t financial profit. Instead, the goal comes in two parts: maximize the usability of collections in the present tense, and do that in ways that improve their odds of usability in the future. Read on to see how see how the Preservation Directorate is changing approaches to functional organization and budget planning to achieve these goals at the Library of Congress.

Image showing four pictures of cabinets, with books, parchment, paper and CDs

What a CHARMing Collection!

Posted by: Amelia Parks

One unique and CHARMing collection at The Library of Congress is made up of other peoples’ discards, handmade replicas, and miscellany. A non-collection as it were, it is an amalgamation of reference samples and materials used by preservation scientists to expand discovery and research opportunities.

Close-up view of two hands carefully at work on an aged, yellowing manuscript with handwriting

Intern Spotlight: Accessibility and Communication

Posted by: Amelia Parks

The following is a blog post written by Mo Mathers, a remote Fall 2022 Washington Center intern with the Preservation Directorate. Mo is in their final year at San Jose State University pursuing a master’s in library and Information Science with an emphasis on instructional design. The Preservation Directorate is a unique facet of the Library …