Not applicable - Material covered in other categories. Entire restoration to be done by Regional Conservation Center.

The scrapbooks and folders will be assembled promptly for mailing. Where not already done, sheets of typing paper will be put between pages in each volume for protection. All envelopes containing materials will be shipped to the vendor. Time involved: 40 hours.

The plan is to have the entire collection re-evaluated and sorted out, recatalogued and reorganize the material with an open ended completion date-hope-fully it could be done by Spring of 1990. We plan to hire additional personnel in March 1989.

The timetable for the preliminary work is one year for the basic work to be accomplished. Thereafter the project will be on a continuing basis to keep all the donations under the same preservation/conservation method. Volunteers will be utilized to accomplish this tremendous task.

The project will begin as soon as the technical assistant can be hired. The Library will recruit for this position through the SUNY School of Information and Library Services. We anticipate that the position can be filled within four to six weeks after notice of an award from the Discretionary Grant Program. The technician will work 22.5 hours per week for 30 weeks.

The first phase of this project has already been completed internally by this institution. During the summer of 1988, a collections management consultant conducted a survey of the Marvin collection to identify its conservation needs. Subsequently, in the fall of 1988, the Society contacted the necessary professionals needed to properly conserve the collection - paper conservator, photograph conservator, microformatting agency, and a professional photographer. Each examined the collection, and from their professional advice, we selected those to help on the proposed project.

The second phase of the project will be the actual implementation of the conservation treatment with announcement of the awarding of the grants in spring of 1989. Since we have all necessary personnel for this project identified, the Society can begin the project in April 1989. In April, we will send the very fragile paper material to the paper conservator and the photographs to the photographer for development of research print copies. At this time, we will also purchase the necessary archival enclosures for the material and properly house them. The paper conservator also recommends making "use" copies of all material. We intend to do so as part of our institutional contribution to the project, reducing handling of originals by researchers. During this second phase, our collection management consultant will also produce photographs of the 76 artifacts in the Ross Marvin Arctic collection at the Society's expense to that they can be added to the total research package to be sent to the microformatter in the third phase. The photographic work on the artifacts and images and the enclosure and use copies of the archival material will be completed by June 1989. The paper conservator will have completed the treatment on the paper items by the end of August.

When the treated documents and copied photographs are all returned, the third phase of the project will begin in September 1989 with the preservation microfilming of the entire collection of 226 items plus photographs of the 76 artifacts. The microformatting is scheduled to be completed by December 1989. Upon completion, a negative copy of the microform will be deposited with the New York State Library. The collection will be properly stored, finding aids will be prepared by the collection management consultant, and the microfilm edition cataloged for inclusion on OCLC. The Society expects to complete the entire project by February 1990. At all stages, the Curator of Collections will act as Project Director and will coordinate the movement of materials from the collection, making all necessary arrangements. He will seek the advice of the collection management consultant as needed as the project progresses.

The vendor has received high recommendations for their craft with paper resources from Another Library and the Local University Library. The vendor will be contracted to provide three sets of microfilms: one for the Library, a second for the aforementioned Local University Library, and the third for storage and OCLC records at the New York State Library. Meanwhile, the scrapbooks will be given spray deacidification and phase storage boxing. Folders will also be deacidified and given regular storage boxing.

When the microfilm and original materials are received, the reels will be stored either in a vertical storage cabinet or on a separate shelf behind the Reference Desk. The archival storage boxes will be housed on the shelves in the Library's basement storage area. The suggested site for storage boxes is more than adequate to protect such archives; the shelves for example, are covered by a huge black tarp designed to shut out room light.

The final step in the Project is indexing the microfilm reels. Using a reader printer, the sequence of articles will be chronicled. From this will arise a comprehensive subject index whose topics will concern the community and the Library. Each heading would be supplemented by an article's title, date and on what reel it may be found. Upon completion, copies of the overall index will be sent to OCLC and the University Library. Time involved: 80 hours.

Summing up, the Project will take an estimated 4 to 5 months, commencing with approval of state funds.

Examine documents for their archival preservation needs. We will deacidifiy, rehouse documents, catalog. They should then be ready for future microfilming. After processing, the papers will be sorted, indexed in a notebook and put into marked or numbered boxes.

Unless the materials have significant artifactual value (a question not answered here or elsewhere in this application) they should be microfilmed initially. This is by far the most cost effective means of preservation. If they do have some artifactual value and also require physical treatment, both activities might be fundable. In such a case a conservator's treatment proposal should be appended.

All photographs will be duplicated both using a video camera and a SLR camera. Negatives will be stored at the center, but copies of photographs will be donated to local libraries and historical societies complete with the documenting information. Newspaper clippings and other similar materials will be copied and transcribed. Both the copies and the transcriptions will also be made available to local libraries.

The survey form will be designed to help the consultant and library staff identify materials of unique research value based on authorship, format, age, and other characteristics. The on-site visits will also be used to verify that those libraries with unique research materials are aware of the resources for developing disaster plans and aware of NYS Discretionary Grants available to institutions as seed money for preservation projects. The information gathered during this project will be used by the Center and by the participating institutions in setting priorities for preservation efforts and for retrospective conversion of the identified unique collections.

Due to the fading of the inks and the brittleness of the pages, the materials will have conservation/preservation procedures performed before they are microfilmed. The procedure of aqueous deacidification will be performed on materials where nonsoluble inks are present. Spray deacidification will be used on water soluble inks. Broken leather bindings will be replaced with vegetable tanned English calfskin. For more of these techniques refer to the proposal of the XXX Conservation Lab.

The materials to be treated during this project will first be vacuumed using a low suction vacuum and an appropriate filter to remove the surface dirt. This must be done before the inside pages can be treated due to the amount of soiling on the outside of the items. Crevices on the binding will be vacuumed with a mini-vac. Pages will then be cleaned by light brushing. Should excessive soiling remain the pages will be cleaned using a grated Staedtler Mars-plastic eraser.

After cleaning, albums and volumes containing photographs will be interleaved with non-buffered tissue; those not containing photographs will be interleaved with buffered tissue, as required.

Items will then be measured for a commercially produced phase box utilizing the measuring device obtained from the manufacturer. All boxes will be made of lignin-free board. Measurements will be recorded by the technician on the forms supplied by the manufacturer. Detailed specifications on the materials and construction of the phase boxes, and the vendors cost estimate for this particular project are included in the Appendix.

Inventory sheets (sample included in the Appendix) will be completed for each item. For monographs, copies of the appropriate cataloging information will be submitted to the catalog librarian for input into OCLC. A finding aid for the entire collection will be produced by the Archivist.

When our collection management consultant surveyed the Ross Marvin collection recently, she identified three items that represent conservation priorities: Marvin's personal diary, a Greeley holograph letter that spent 21 years in a rubber matchbox on Ellesmere Island under less-than-archival conditions, and one of the ship's logs with a broken binding. These materials will receive conservation treatment from a professional paper conservator. Deacidification and enclosure are the main treatment methods proposed (please see Item #7-9 in the Appendix for the conservator's proposal on each of the three pieces). The remainder of the paper items in the collection will be stored properly in archival enclosures; and the Society at its own expense will make "use" copies of the material, reducing the handling of originals by researchers.

During the survey, our consultant also identified 10 water-damaged photographs which may need special attention. The Society sent these photographs to a photo conservator recommended by the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester. The conservator inspected the photos and stated that there was no conservation treatment that could be performed on them to improve the images or help in preservation. He suggested we make print copies for researchers' use. Thus, the Society will contract with a professional photographer to make 8" x 10" print "use" copies of the 50 original photographs from the collection, including the 10 water-damaged photographs. These copies will then be available for researchers (please see Item #10 in the Appendix for the photographer's proposal). The originals will be permanently stored in archival enclosures, only to be used when necessary.

While the paper materials are being treated and copies made of the original photographs, the Society will also have its collection management consultant produce photographs of the 76 artifacts from the Ross Marvin Collection, at the Society's expense. They then can be added to the total research package to be sent to the microfilmer in the next stage of the project.

When the treated paper items and all the photographs are completed, the Society will then make arrangements to have the whole Marvin collection sent to a preservation microfilmer. That firm will microformat the entire collection of 226 items plus photographs of the 76 artifacts. This firm follows all ANSI/AIIM, technical standards for preservation microformatting (please see the Microform Guidelines Agreement in the Application Form). The firm will produce a master negative 35mm silver halide microfilm and a positive duplicate of two reels 35mm silver halide microfilm (please see Item #11 in Appendix for microfilming agency's proposal). The master negative microfilm will be deposited with the New York State Library and the Society will retain the printing master and the other duplicate.

The object of this project will be to develop preliminary plans and cost estimates for a climate control system that will protect the Society's library collections. The plans and estimates will be used to help complete a long range plan for the library in the fall of 1989. A capital campaign will then be launched in November 1989. By November 1990, installation of the climate control system and associated physical improvements will begin.

A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system (HVAC) that conforms to standard archival practices will be designed. Specifically, the HVAC system will aim to achieve a constant temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit (plus or minus 3 degrees), and relative humidity of 50 percent (plus or minus 3 percent). It will also seek to minimize, to the greatest possible degree, the amount of pollution affecting the collections - no more than 10 micrograms per cubic meter of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, and less than two micrograms of ozone.

Associated issues will also have to be addressed in the course of the project. For example, the library windows are over 100 years old, loose fitting, and admit drafts. They will have to be rehabilitated as the HVAC system is installed. Otherwise, pollutants will continue to enter the library and maintaining proper temperatures and humidity will be difficult, if not impossible. The current electrical service is inadequate to power a substantial HVAC system. Calculations for providing new service will have to be developed.

Retrofitting an old building with an HVAC system is always a complicated task. In this case it will be made even more difficult because the Society's 1880 library is one of only two designated interior landmarks in all of Brooklyn. That means that the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission will have to review and approve any proposed plans for installing an HVAC system. Particular sensitivity will be needed in routing ducts and placing supply and return air vents in the library without disturbing protected moldings, woodwork, and other special features. In addition, the Landmarks Commission will be involved in deciding where condensing units can be placed on the outside of the building since the exterior of the Society's structure is also a designated landmark. All of these procedures will make this study far more costly than a similar study for a newer building without landmark restrictions.

Personnel involved will be students from the University; one or two people will be sent at a time. They will be paid. We will also be consulting with the curator from the Historical Society. She will be coming when we call her, and will not be there all of the time. She will be paid, but because we do not know exactly how many hours she will be putting in we cannot determine her wages at this time. Six people of our Society will be volunteers for the project also. The Society Historian, will be responsible for overall project management, at no expense.

We plan to hire a person who is very knowledgeable in cataloguing and well-versed in local history to oversee the project. Her assistant will be a former employee of the Library who has devoted much of her spare time to updating the collection over the past years with newsworthy items and memorabilia. There will be no vendors involved in the project. The town Historian and Director of the Historical Society are available to us on a consultant basis with no charge.

Staff contributing to this project include the Head Librarian, the Paper Conservator, the Librarian, and the Archivist. The Librarian will be responsible for the overall management of the project. In addition, the Museum proposes to hire a technical assistant who will work part-time for the duration of the project (a complete job description is included in the Appendix.)

The Head Librarian has eleven years experience working with researchers in the library. Her primary professional concerns for the library collection include collection development combined with efficient retrieval of resources. She is also responsible for developing an archival program within the Institution. As project manager the Head Librarian will contribute six weeks to the project.

The Paper Conservator will contribute three weeks to the project in training the technical assistant, consulting during the project, and on project review. She will be responsible for purchasing the phase boxes and reviewing the work of the technical assistant. The conservator is a graduate of the Conservation of Library and Archival Materials Program at Columbia University, New York. The attached resume outlines other relevant work experience.

The Archivist will be responsible for writing the finding aid for the collection and conducting further research into the history of the Company (whose archives are being preserved), and for identifying possible sources for related materials. She will contribute 10 weeks to the project.

General supervision of the project will be the responsibility of XXXX, Curator of Collections at the Historical Society. Mr. XXXX has been curator for 2 1/2 years with previous training and six years experience in museum curatorial responsibilities. As Curator of Collections, he is in charge of the management of the archival, library, and museum collections, and is familiar with the Marvin collection. He has also acted as project director for the IMS Conservation Survey project (1988-89). His time on this project will be paid from the Society's operating budget.

Four vendors will be used in this conservation project. The initial survey was performed by XXXX, an experienced collection management consultant (see attached resume). This consultant will also carry out the archival-enclosure phase of the project, the photographing of the 76 artifacts to be included in the microfilming, and the production of the finding aid. Through NYSCA-funding, Dr. XXXX has worked with our Society for the past year as a collection management consultant. She has advised us in the development and implementation of our collection management computerization and reviewed inputs, and has worked on our deaccessioning program. She is familiar with our collections as she has been contracted for 25 days in 1988.

XXXX, of Art Conservation, Inc. will perform treatments on the diary, letter, and logbook described in the attached treatments proposals. Mr. XXXX is a 1983 graduate of the Cooperstown Graduate Program in the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. He has had several years of training and, since 1983, has operated his own business (see attached resume). Since 1986, Mr. XXXX has treated 10 paper items from our collection. In 1988, he surveyed our whole paper collection for the IMS Conservation Survey Project.

The Society will use professional photographer, XXXX of Corning, NY, to produce print use copies of the 50 original photographs in the collection. Mr. XXXX was photographer at the XXX Museum for several years, and has operated his own photography firm (see attached resume). Since 1985, he has provided photographic services to our Society. On a regular basis, he makes print copies of photographs for researchers' requests. He has also done copy work for several of our exhibits and publications.

Archival Services, Inc. has submitted a competitive bid for the preservation microfilming of the Marvin collection materials. Archival Services has performed similar preservation microfilming projects for various institutions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Watson Library of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Herbert H. Lehman College Library, Bronx, NY, and the Leo Baeck Institute, New York, NY. Resume of key personnel and bid are attached.

Dr. XXXX, the Society's Head Librarian, will have the day-to-day responsibility for overseeing the project. She holds a Ph.D. in American History and an M.A. in Library Science from Columbia University (see attached resume). In addition to her responsibility for managing the overall project she will assemble the materials needed for the required architect's review.

Dr. XXXX will report to XXXX, the Society's Executive Director, who oversees all special projects initiated by the Society. Mr. XXXX has been with the Society five years and has an M.A. in Art History from Columbia University (see attached resume).

The preliminary plans and cost estimates for the climate control system will be produced by the architects, XXXX and Associates. XXXX and Associates specialize in projects involving historic structures. They recently supervised the renovation of the Society's ground floor exhibit galleries, a project that involved the installation of a state-of-the-art HVAC system. Thus, the firm has already had extensive experience working in the Society's building. The firm is also familiar with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and will be able to work with the Commission in designing a suitable plan for installing the HVAC system. XXXX, senior Associate of the firm, will be in charge of the project.

Working under the direction of XXXX and Associates will be XXXX, mechanical/electrical consulting engineers. The firm recently designed the HVAC system for the Society's renovated exhibit gallery. It has also designed HVAC systems for the New York Public Library, Clark University Library, the Orlando (Florida) Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and many other distinguished clients.

Also assisting XXXX and Associates will be XXXX Associates, structural engineers. XXXX will lend advise on how the routing of duct work will affect the building's structural stability, as well as where to place the compressors and condensers. Mr. XXXX has also previously worked on projects within the Society's building.

Vendors letters of agreement, company profiles, and pertinent resumes are included in the appendix.

The whole collection will be stored in acid-free boxes in a light controlled, fire proof, secure room.

Our local history collection will be stored in large bookcases in a one room schoolhouse which has recently been restored. Although the building originally was furnished only with a fireplace, we supply several portable heaters (for those cold days) and a window air conditioner (in the summer) for heating and cooling. While the heaters and air conditioner are mainly for the comfort of our visitors (our very well-attended children's educational programs include "Growing up in the Past--a Day in the 19^th Century Classroom"), they provide protection for the collection as well.

The Library does not have a climate-control environment. Light levels in the general stacks are kept low and ultraviolet filters have been installed on the windows. Since the building was constructed in 1930 there is little possibility of obtaining a high level of mechanical control over temperature and humidity. However, since the walls are relatively thick and quite solid our monitoring equipment indicates that the building tends to retain both heat and cold. Therefore, changes occur slowly, minimizing the possibility of damage, thermostats in the Library are set no higher than 68 degrees during the heating season.

The manuscripts to be preserved during this project are stored in the Library's vault, where light levels are at a minimum, and there is no radiator. Our monitoring has shown that this is the most stable area in the building (a summary of monthly hygrothermograph readings for the past year is included in the Appendix).

When the Marvin collection is returned after microfilming, the materials, housed in their new archival enclosures, will be placed in storage in the Society's climate-controlled curatorial areas. General environmental conditions of these storage areas have been described above. The original framed documents and photographs, artifacts, drawings, lithographs, diaries and logbooks will all be placed in the humidity-and temperature-controlled collection storage. The microfilm of the entire collection, pamphlets, and original unframed documents and photographs and their copies will be housed in the environmentally-controlled library/archives. With our IMS Conservation Survey grant we will be purchasing hygrothermographs in 1989 so we can better monitor environmental conditions in these areas. Also, in his paper collection survey for the IMS grant, the paper conservator pinpointed what control measures are further required in these areas.

The Rare Book Room is temperature and humidity controlled 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Conditions are kept at or near 65 degrees F and 50 percent relative humidity. The book cases themselves, being enclosed, serve as an additional environmental buffer. The room is kept dark except when it is in use, and all of the fluorescent lighting is UV filtered. A regular program of monitoring is carried out in the Room (see appendix for a summary of temperature and humidity readings for the past year).

Emergency procedures for the archives follow security policies. In the event of an emergency, and following action if necessary to remedy the problem, the campus safety department contracts the college administrator who would then contact the project manager. In a less serious situation, the project manager would be able to consult with the appropriate academic office to work out a solution to the problem.

The best we can provide now is to continue to store articles in the fireproof room. We look forward to microfilming preserved documents and placing them in metal storage cabinets. We would also be willing to donate copies of microfilm to the State Computer System. Then we would not have to rely on our own copies. Should they become destroyed for some unknown reason, then there will be other copies.

(NOTE: Apparently the "State Computer System" means OCLC, the bibliographic network to which the New York State Library belongs. This sort of error does not inspire the reviewers' confidence.)

It is our intent to deposit the master negatives of our directories at the New York State Library, as the most feasible and economical means of protection against their destruction by disaster.

Having two copies of the master films stored separately in secure depository locations is the basic preparation made for disaster. A written plan hasn't been made for a project of this nature.

The Town is fortunate that they do not have any problems from flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. Our biggest problem would be fire or a loss of heat for an extended period of time. The building housing the collection is brick and contains smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. A fire extinguisher will be placed in the collections room. The local fire department is located two blocks away and is an excellent department. The department will be briefed on the collection's value and care to be taken in case of fire resulting in water damage. Niagara Mohawk provides electrical service to this area and in the past 25 years I have never seen the electrical service out for more than six or seven hours.

The Library does not have a disaster plan at present. We plan to take advantage of the upcoming Disaster Preparedness Workshop sponsored by the New York State Library to begin developing a plan. In addition, the METRO 3R"s Council is preparing a list of local resources which will be available free to its members (this list is now complete) which will assist us in developing a plan tailored to our institution.

There has been one occasion in the recent past where we encountered a water emergency. In that case, we moved the threatened materials, stopped the water flow, and telephoned a regional conservation center. The staff there was very helpful, giving us specific instructions, which we followed, on what to do with the water-damaged materials. Should we encounter another emergency prior to completing our plan similar actions would be taken.

A written disaster preparedness plan was prepared in 1980 and is now being revised and updated by the Conservation Manager. Disaster supplies are maintained in readiness, and proved useful during a recent water leak in the main stacks. In addition, building maintenance personnel have been made aware of the Library's special needs in the event of a disaster, and regularly check for leakage or dangerous conditions, especially during periods when the library is not open. They are trained in initial disaster response and know where emergency supplies are stored.

In dealing with a recent leak affecting a small number of books, we were able to treat most of the items on site and to minimize any damage. We set up an emergency drying area in the Reference Reading Room, interleaved books or journals printed on coated paper, stored several very wet items in a freezer at the nearby museum, and eventually sent a small number to a commercial salvage firm for freeze-drying. An updated list of local and statewide resource people is available with each copy of the disaster plan, which is prominently displayed at key work stations in the Library.

The Society formulated a comprehensive Disaster Plan in 1984, a copy of which is included in the Appendix. (please see Item #12). The plan is reviewed annually and a "refresher course" is held for key staff on the recovery team.

There is limited access to the town hall and storage room. Permission and access must be obtained by the President of the Society or the Historian. We try to answer all requests if it is possible. We try to research information ourselves and respond with photocopies.

In a small library like ours, security is not a major concern. Research staff have full access to the collection at all times and visitors are well supervised. Our losses are minimal.

An electromagnetic security system was installed in November of 1986. Security has improved significantly since that time: inventory statistics compiled in June of 1987 indicated that losses had decreased by exactly half in the last year.

Additional alarms have been installed on the doors to the Rare Book Room and the

Archives to prevent unauthorized entry. This past September we instituted a "Rare Book Request Form," to keep better track of materials which are requested from the special collections. This system will also provide further statistics on use of the collection. All materials will continue to be used only in the supervised reading room designated for these two collections.

The Rare Book Room is a separate, nonpublic area of the Library, equipped with a burglar alarm and requiring keys (which are kept in the Librarian's office) for entrance. Each of the rare book cases has its own lock as well. During the hours when the Museum is closed, the entire building is constantly patrolled by a guard force. Researchers using rare books generally have the items brought to them to use in the Library's main reading room. Individuals who wish to do extensive research may arrange for use of the Rare Book Room through the Library's reference staff. No costs, briefcases, pens, scissors, etc., are permitted in the Rare Book Room. Researchers and staff must use pencils only. No food, beverages, or smoking are permitted.

The Society's entire facility is protected by a 24-hour fire/intrusion detection system tied directly to the police and fire departments. All collections are stored on the second floor, a significant precaution in flood-prone Elmira. Several actions have been taken to make our library/archives more secure. In 1986, the Society reorganized the library/archives to segregate researchers from the collection. Research use of all material is supervised, and all patrons are required to sign our register. Also, the New York State vandalism law on library materials is prominently posted in our research room.

Last modified on January 20, 2000/djr
For questions or comments contact Barbara Lilley
URL: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/cp/workplan.htm