Preservation Working Group Meeting: May 11, 2012

CARLI Office, Champaign

Members attending: Julie Mosbo, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Chair; David Bell, Eastern Illinois University; Rob DeLand, VanderCook College of Music; Ross Griffiths, Illinois State University; Bonnie Parr, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum; Cason Snow, Northern Illinois University; Katie Risseeuw, Northwestern University

Staff attending: Elizabeth Clarage

Decisions

• Bonnie Parr will record the meeting minutes.
• Minutes of the April 12, 2012 meeting will be posted to the wiki for approval.
• Ross Griffiths was chosen as the PWG Chair for the next term, starting in July 2012.
• The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m.

Announcements

• The Collections Care II/Enclosures workshop held on April 23 went well, despite a very full program. Elizabeth reported on early results from the evaluations (more were expected to be submitted). There was mixed response about the usefulness of the program but overall, participants thought the exposure to the topics was helpful.
• Digital Preservation sub-group activities: The sub-group is looking for information sources relevant to digital preservation. Julie mentioned that the Digital Preservation forum on April 10 went well, with 70-80 attendees. Elizabeth mentioned the Digital Preservation webinar about preserving email was held on May 1.
• Elizabeth noted the Collections Working Group and the Public Services Working Group are jointly presenting a program about faculty education and outreach, scheduled for July 12.
• Julie and Rob, whose terms are ending this year, were thanked for their service and contributions to the Preservation Working Group.

Tasks assigned

• Webliography: Added links were noted, including a link to the app for the Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel, the ARL Fair Use link under “Legal Issues”, and new blogs. Committee members are encouraged to continue updating and adding links to the Preservation Webliography. Changes can be either emailed to Elizabeth or put in the “Possible Links” section on the wiki. Elizabeth will resend to committee members the direct link to the wiki.
• Newsletter articles: May assigned to Katie – environmental monitoring program. June assigned to Rob – lighting issues. July assigned to David – staff/student worker training. August assigned to Cason – pH pens. September assigned to Ross – possibly back-to-school issues in libraries. Potential topics for future articles include an index of previous articles, continuity of library operations/access when a disaster strikes and during the salvage/clean-up, and digital preservation education resources.
• Upcoming workshops:
  • Mold remediation - suggested topics for a mold remediation workshop include how to identify mold, how mold affects collection materials and buildings, how to remove mold from collection materials, how to control mold in buildings, educating staff on mold issues, health issues, and case studies on dealing with mold outbreaks. There was discussion about inviting a specialist to present a topic as part of the program – suggestions included expertise in mold, environmental and workplace safety, and “sick” building issues. There was discussion also on what type of workshop is best to present the material (webinar, in-person, train-the-trainer), location (Chicago area or downstate), and when to hold the workshop (April if Chicago area, late March if further downstate). By the next meeting, Elizabeth needs the names of at least three potential speakers and suggestions for venues for the workshop (preferably free), in order to get the paperwork submitted to CARLI six months in advance of a possible Spring 2013 date.
  • Collections Care I workshop – discussion about holding it in the Chicago area and inviting experts from that area to be presenters. Possible topics to cover include preservation on a budget, vendors, criteria for items needing treatment, how to set up a work station, hands-on instruction in basic treatments for library materials (erasing underlined text, mending with Filmoplast, sewing into a pamphlet binder, tightening hinges/ fixing corners, and tip-ins), and a question-and-answer session. Discussion also covered type of workshop to present – how much time allowed for lecture (10-20 minutes for introductory material) and how much for hands-on instruction. Tasks to do are to decide on a location in the Chicago area (various community colleges were mentioned, as well as Columbia College and the Illinois Institute for Technology) and to find guest presenters.
  • Burn Simulation: It was decided not to sponsor a burn simulation workshop this year because ICPN is planning to do one in the fall. Julie will contact Jennifer Hain Teper about the date. If the PWG wants to do one next summer, it must get it scheduled with the Illinois Fire Services Institute by this September. There was discussion about holding the workshop every other year.
• Preservation blog: There was discussion about reviving the preservation blog with a new topic/tip every three months. Ross will do the first topic for August and needs pictures of weird things found in books. Other topics include end of semester (?) (November), disasters (February), and interesting book plates/marks/signatures (May).
• Julie will post the PWG Annual Report the week of May 31 for review by committee members.

Meeting Date

Next Meeting: Date TBA after start of new fiscal year.