Flipping Through the Pages of Time
Posted by: Meg Gray
Supervisory Librarian Carrie Beyer looks back on a long career at the Library as she retires after over thirty years in the Preservation field. Congratulations, Carrie!
Posted in: Conservation
Category: Conservation
Dressed to Spill: A Personal Protective Equipment Fashion Editorial
Posted by: Meghan Hill
Fashion at the Library is IN. The Threads that Connect Us provides an excellent opportunity to showcase how Washington DC may just be the new fashion capital of the world. Enter the Preservation Directorate at the Library of Congress. The runway never looked so chic (and safe!)
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Management, Collections Storage, Conservation, Fashion at the Library, Fashion at the Library, Heritage Science, Offsite Storage, Preservation, Tools of the Trade
Preserving the Rails-to-Rotunda Story of Charles F. Thomas: treating a hand-colored salted paper photograph
Posted by: Meg Gray
From designing early locomotives to raising the Statue of Freedom on the Capitol Dome, Charles Frederick Thomas played a unique role in D.C. history. Harper-Inglis Fellow in Photograph Conservation, Sophie Hoone, discusses the treatment of a hand-colored photograph of a locomotive from the Charles Frederick Thomas Photographs collection in the Prints and Photographs Division.
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Care, Conservation, Preservation, Tangible Media
Making A Mark: The Library of Congress’ Manuscript Marking Ink
Posted by: Bobbi Hinton
A 2026 Librarian in Residence details the history and current uses of manuscript marking ink at the Library of Congress, highlighting how many niche practices are vital to both preservation and librarianship.
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Care, Collections Management, Conservation, Internships, Pigments, Preservation, Tools of the Trade
It Grows in the Damp: Treating Mold in Collections
Posted by: Meg Gray
At some point, almost every institution has to deal with mold on collection items, whether from a leaking pipe or maybe even donated material. If left untreated, mold can spread to other items and potentially cause health problems. Learn how Conservation staff assess, isolate, and treat collections affected by mold in order to return those items back to circulation.
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Care, Conservation, Preservation
White House Rush: How Books are Repaired for Congress
Posted by: Meg Gray
The General Collections Conservation Section routinely performs urgent treatments on books needed by Congress and interlibrary loan. Sometimes, though, a request comes through that’s special even for them. Staff member Meg Gray offers an inside look at one such request.
Posted in: Collections Care, Conservation, Preservation
Clues from the Past: Closely Examining Historic Documents
Posted by: Chloe Genter
When preparing items for conservation, identifying how an object was created is the first step in understanding its context and manufacture. By looking carefully at certain characteristics, like ink color and line quality, contextualizing the items in front of us is possible. This blog post describes these qualities and situates them within a brief context of writing implement evolution.
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Care, Conservation, Preservation
Rare Books and Rare Opportunities: A Summer Internship in General Collections Care
Posted by: Meg Gray
Luke Ayers reminisces about his summer internship in General Collections Care(GCCS) where he learned techniques on how to care for, preserve, and repair books in both GCCS and the Rare Book Division.
Posted in: Collections Care, Conservation, Internships, Preservation, Rare Books and Special Collections
A New Box Maker for the Conservation Division
Posted by: Meg Gray
This year the Conservation Division welcomed a brand new addition – a digital box cutter! This tool is crucial to creating collection enclosures in a fast and efficient manner. Farewell, old boxmaker, you served well, and welcome to our newest conservation tool.
Posted in: Collections Care, Conservation, Preservation, Tools of the Trade