THE ENEMY WITHIN! ACID DETERIORATION OF OUR WRITTEN HERITAGE
> LAUNCH OF THE REPORT AT THE BRITISH LIBRARY: TUESDAY MARCH 6TH 2001
>
> The findings of this recently published report, on the feasibility of
> establishing a mass deacidification facility to serve the UK and Ireland,
> were presented at the British Library Conference Centre to an audience of
60
> invited guests. This meeting celebrated the completion of the Report,
which
> investigates the current position of UK and Irish written heritage
> collections affected by acid deterioration.
>
> The participants came from a range of institutions and organisations
> representing the management of written heritage collections in archives,
> libraries and museums.
>
> The proceedings were opened by Dr. Helen Forde, Head of Preservation at
the
> Public Record Office, chairing the meeting, who stressed the importance of
> the Report and the need for action now to start the treatment of written
> heritage materials affected by acid deterioration.
>
> The first speaker, Yola de Lusenet, who is the Executive Secretary of the
> European Commission on Preservation and access (ECPA), presented a
> fascinating view of current developments in the mass deacidification
process
> and its use in Europe and America. Ms. De Lusenet stressed the importance
of
> the Report, and the involvement of the UK and Ireland. She encouraged the
> audience to support this initiative and confirmed the added support of the
> ECPA.
>
> The second speaker was the Project Consultant, Jonathan Rhys-Lewis, who
> presented a summary of the Report's findings and recommendations. The
> presentation painted a vivid picture of the potential extent of the
problem
> if it is not addressed and the wide range of vital heritage material that
is
> in danger of being lost. He was able to show both the average cost of the
> process per book and to offer some comparisons between the costs of
digital
> reformatting and mass deacidification. However, overall the message of
this
> presentation was that mass deacidification is now a feasible alternative
to
> solving the serious problem of the acid deterioration of paper.
>
> The presentation concluded with the three key recommendations of the
> Report:
>
> - That urgent action is taken on a sufficient scale to safeguard
the
> nation's
> written heritage from the destruction of acid deterioration.
>
> - That, as a matter of urgency, detailed criteria, based on the
> findings of
> this Report, be drawn up for the introduction of a facility to
> serve the UK
> and Ireland, and that invitations to tender be extended to
> commercial
> companies.
>
> - That the Steering Group should move forward to establish a UK and
> Ireland steering group charged with establishing a timetable for
> implementing the Report's recommendations and accessing funding
to
> construct a tender specification for a mass deacidification
> facility to
> serve the UK and Ireland.
>
> The formal presentations were then followed by a discussion panel that
> enabled members of the audience to ask questions of the project management
> Steering Group and the consultant.
>
> The discussion session was open and frank, and questions covered a range
of
> concerns, such as security, the risk to materials, the choices between
mass
> deacidification and microfilming, and the potential for future funding.
This
> session also identified considerable interest from the Heritage Lottery
Fund
> representatives and also those in the museum sector.
>
> Mark Mainwaring, the Project Manager, presented an amusing but realistic
> summary of the day's discussions. He encouraged the audience to support
this
> initiative and was able to present news of the next stage of the project.
>
> The British Library's Co-operation and Partnership Programme have agreed
to
> extend the funding to enable the following developments:
>
> - to extend the membership of the Steering Group to include
archive,
> library and museum representation
>
> - to form a pilot group of South East England and London
institutions
> to
> carry out surveys of their collections to determine the level of
> acid
> deterioration
>
> - to draw up a draft specification for tendering purposes for a
mass
> deacidification facility
>
>
> The launch was by invitation, but anyone who wishes to contribute to the
> project may contact the project consultant for further details. The Report
> is also available via the British Library's Concord website at:
>
> http://www.bl.uk/concord/proj99report1.html
>
>
> Please contact: Jonathan Rhys-Lewis: Project Consultant
> Tel/Fax: +44 (0)1206 515498: E-mail: [log in to unmask]
> Jonathan Rhys-Lewis
> Archive Preservation Consultant
> 161 Maldon Road
> Colchester
> Essex
> CO3 3BL
>
> Tel/Fax: 01206 515498
> Mobile: 0780 833 2539
> E-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
> The management Steering Group for the project were:
>
> - Dr. Helen Forde, Head of Preservation at the Public Record Office
> - Mr. Mark Mainwaring, Project Manager and Director of
Administration
> & Technical Services at the National Library of Wales
> - Mr. Rab Jackson, Head of Preservation at the National Library of
> Scotland
> - Mr. John McIntyre, formerly Head of Preservation at the National
> Library of Scotland and acting as External Verifier>
>
>
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