CARLI News

Bonnie Parr, Historical Documents Conservator, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

Fire, water, mold – what do you do when faced with collection materials affected by these types of disasters?  The decision to undertake salvage efforts in-house or to use a vendor who provides recovery services depends on the severity of the damage, quantity of materials affected, and resources available.  The following information provides basic considerations and guidelines for recovering burned, wet, or moldy library materials.

The first page of this letter, written by Anna Persson to her sister in 1907, reflects the joy of a recent immigrant to the United States. What was undoubtedly an long an arduous journey is characterized simply as "a lot of fuss," and though Anna later notes that the food was terrible, and says that she already misses and worries about her mother, her tone invariably returns to a chatty optimism.

Meghan Ryan, Archives and Metadata Assistant, National Louis University

When preparing for emergencies for your library, gathering the appropriate supplies and tools are key to mitigating any disaster. Depending on your library’s environment and building structure, you will need specific tools to meet specific needs. The first step in gathering supplies and tools is to assign a member of your emergency response team as a supply coordinator.

It's not only that this partly-burned item was saved, preserved, and digitized that intrigues me, but the envelope is stamped "damaged in handling in the postal service." How often does mail catch fire?