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| Preservation and conservation procedures are still being finalized and are subject to change. |
The MIT Libraries’ Wunsch Conservation Lab provides comprehensive care for materials held by the Department of Distinctive Collections. The staff is equipped to carry out a variety of conservation duties in accordance with the code of ethics and guidelines for practice set forth by the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.
THE BELOW IS STILL IN DISCUSSION - MAY LINK DIRECTLY TO PRESERVATION DOCUMENTATIONConservation does not make decisions around the state of an artifact or its housing by themselves. It is always 100% a conversation and decision made with the custorial custodial liaison (member of the processing team). All processor who work with conservation need to understand this.
Intro to Wunsch Lab
When to flag and bring to conservation
If you can’t folder something - doesn’t fit in standard box size - goes to conservation. Flag it when processing and bring it over. Better to bring over multiple items / concerns rather than one at a time. Bring it to Wunsch Lab during the Thursday morning open hours (9:30am - noon) or make an appointment.
If it stinks - make an appointment and sign up to use the hood - processors do this in Wunsch - not Wunsch staff - if stink persists make appointment for it to go
High profile projects should go to conservation regardless
Custom housing and interior retrofitting - by appointment - need to come with 2 questions - 1: Do you have space / where will it go? (this means final resting spot - what is space on shelf?) 2: What are limitations (max height, width, depth)? - these questions can be conversation/consult - ideally be done in final resting place of the item
criteria for sending materials for preservation/conservation treatment
Flag for conservation
Mold - stop what doing when you notice something (can check all boxes, but stop processing), place flag in folder with questionable material if only one or a few instances, make appointment with conservation to look at material can place they can put it under the hood and put carbon pieces with it
Common Supplies
TBD.
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| Wunsch - how they label things, common supplies across all of IASC (bigger discussion) |
Workflow
Pre-Custodial
Before transfer of materials, photos of the material in situ and notes describing their condition should be created. Notes created by the curator or collections staff should indicate any concerns about where the materials came from (e.g., basement, garage, leaky attic, specific building on campus). Wunsch staff can be called upon to assess collections before they are moved to DDC or immediately after if there any concern. Appraisal decisions may be influenced by the presence of moldy, odorous, and/or water damaged material.
During Accessioning or Processing
Make note of items that may need conservation treatment (large, fragile, odorous) in a work plan or in ArchivesSpace (use processing notes). Flag the item and box using strips of acid free paper so it can be located later. Paper strips for flagging materials are provided by conservation staff.
Consulting with Conservation
When processing collections, it is better to bring multiple items and/or concerns to conservation for a consult rather than each item as it is found. An appointment can be made by emailing conservation staff. Wunsch Lab also has a drop-in consultation time on Thursday mornings.
Tracking Materials
Chain of custody, as well as a list of actions to be taken are documented in a sign-in book in Wunsch Lab. Additional information forthcoming.
When to Bring Materials to the Conservation Lab
Materials should be brought to conservation staff when they...
- ...cannot be foldered or fit in standard size boxes. Custom housing and interior retrofitting can be done by appointment. Staff will want to know the space in which the materials will be ultimately housed, and any limitations to container dimensions (maximum, height, width, depth).
...smell bad. Materials that smell bad may be moldy and should be processed under the fume hood.
...have visible mold or mildew. Conservation will want to view the materials under the fume hood and place carbon pieces with it.
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See: "Molds in Indoor Workplaces" for more information on identifying mold exposure. |
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Common supplies
Wunsch - how they label things, common supplies across all of IASC (bigger discussion)
Workflow:
Pre-custodial:
Want to make notes and photos of materials in situ before moved. Should have notes in control file about what conditions were like during initial assessment and packing. Wunsch Lab could consult on acquisitions. General practice has been to not take material that is especially dirty, musty, smelly, or wet (part of initial appraisal).
Post-custodial:
Flagging records / boxes that come out of collections.Daily practice-daily processing-business as usual Weekly practice(what is the intake volume per week, typically) (new to conservation) If you can’t folder it, sleeve it, sub folder it, or box, you flag it. If it stinks, you make an appointment, and you sign up to use the fume hood and the nilflisk? If you can’t get rid of the stink and a problem to serve, make an appointment to come to conservation.
If you are processing and you don’t want to slow down your flow, you flag (we give you an infinite supply of acid free flags) . E.g. You have 18 doc boxes on a cart, 50 folders in a box, and only one needs conservation, flag it, send Phase out out paige, they are too heavy lift, pest can live in corrugation. Quarterly planned project - are equivalent to background tasking of us
Make appointment immediately with conservation Rush Projects (e.g., discoveries, lobby 10 posters, Science March) -make an appointment immediately High profile archive, make an appointment with conservation or know that we have the thursday morning slot is always free for any walk-in Oversized/odd shaped Digital projects |