Conservation Guidelines

The criteria used to determine whether an item should receive conservation before being digitized is similar to list for Quick Repair found in the Routing Fragile Materials entry. The process of digitization, however, can put different pressure on material, and it is important to take into consideration these other potential problems before sending an item to digitization:

• Tears in leaves that go into text or any tears longer than 1 cm (This is especially true if 1) it obscures the text or 2) the placement of the tear on the page means that the tear could increase due to the movement of the operator performing the digitization or the scanner itself.)
• Loose text leaves; loose sections; broken, failing, or missing sewing
• Detached/dangling spines or broken/loose other bits
• Old mends/repairs that are causing further damage when book is used
• Tip-ins or overlays that obscure the text underneath
• Staples, brads, string (The removal of string must be approved by the Curator.)
• Wrinkled or folded leaves, especially if the text is obscured

If the hinge or joint of a volume is cracked, have item reviewed by the staff at Imaging Services. The reference scanners, in particular, have been known further damage volumes exhibiting this problem. It may have to go to the studio.