VOLUME 13

NO.22006

AFTER CROSSING FROM THE

Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico,and South Florida, hurricane

Katrina, made landfall in PlaqueminesParish, as a strong Category 4 hurricane.Four hours later, the hurricane, downgrad-ed to a Category 3, touched land again nearthe Louisiana-Mississippi border. A stormsurge, exceeding 25 feet, was forced ashoreas it met the shallow slope of Mississippi’scontinental shelf and swept inland up to six miles.

Televised images depicted communitiesin ruin, refugees homeless and a stunnedpopulation wading waste-deep in floodwaters in sodden New Orleans. The com-munications concerning the state of her-itage collections was fragmentary in thewake of the storm. With little factual infor-mation, the American Association for Stateand Local History (AASLH) initiated aplan to organize two mobile units to assessconditions in Louisiana’s and Mississippi’scollecting institutions. The Heritage Emer-gency Assistance Recovery Team’s (HEART)

assessment program was funded by the gen-erous support of the Watson-Brown Foun-dation of Thomson of Georgia and theHistory Channel. Each team was led by amuseum professional and staffed with con-servator volunteers from the AmericanInstitute for Conservation (AIC), with fourone-week rotations planned per state.

HEART MS#1The first Mississippi HEART assessmentteam was comprised of Joy Barnett(Administrative Assistant, Texas Associationof Museums), the team dispatcher andmanager; her son Ashley Barnett (Fire andRescue, Burnet, TX), our ever ready driver,

Archival Products

NEWSLessons from Katrina: Recovery of Cultural Collectionsby Gary Frost

Boat in city ruins, Biloxi, Mississippi.

In many situa-tions, we werescouting for col-lections in theruins of entirecities.

general blockade runner and campsite find-er; Gary Frost (Library Conservator, Uni-versity of Iowa); and Randy Silverman(Preservation Librarian, University ofUtah). Our home for a week was a small,rented recreational vehicle (RV) stockedwith food, water and bedding. A car wasalso rented to increase the team’s mobility.The Mississippi gulf coast highways andcity streets were devastated and all signagehad been swept away. Without the skills ofJoy and Ashley the MS#1 assessment proj-ect would have been a disaster as well.

Our team included two conservators,Randy and Gary, whose job was to assessthe collections’ damage and to specify needsfor salvage and recovery. We assessed 13library and archive collecting institutions,(8 survived damaged, 3 survived withmajor damage and loss and 2 no longerexist). We could not find the library’sremains at Pass Christian. At another loca-tion we found the remains of the library,but could find no evidence of surviving col-lections. The Maritime and Seafood Indus-try Museum’s artifact collections at Biloxiwere spread across acres of debris. In manysituations, we were scouting for collectionsin the ruins of entire cities.

The memorable experience was not thatof devastation, but of the Mississippiansresilience and tenacity. Dedicated librarians,archivists and museum workers continued adaily struggle to secure and revive theirinstitutions. The Mississipians at the devas-tated Jefferson Davis Library were living intents and cars and eating army rations.Three weeks after the storm they continuedto live and work without electricity, water,or any municipal utilities and many werefaced with months, even years, of continu-ing salvage work.

It became obvious that our concern withthe survival of cultural collections must beintegrated with much larger regionalneeds— our first realization that this was awide regional disaster covering four states,

an area larger than the United Kingdom.Surviving collections would need preserva-tion in heat and humidity or would needevacuation inland. Emergency fundingwould be needed to sustain institutions inthe face of collapse of the local economies.

The Army provided diesel generatedelectricity to ventilate surviving collections.Commercial salvage operations were atwork evacuating collections to drying facili-ties around the country. Rare and impor-tant materials were relocated to survivinginland institutions and library services weremigrated to inland branches. Our teamappraised the situation at each visited insti-tution and advised on next steps and cor-rective actions. We also submitted fourNational Endowment for the Humanities“Emergency Response” grants ($30,000each) and walked these through by cellphone. These crucial, open budget fundswere made available within five workingdays in an admirable demonstration ofagility in the large NEH agency. (See thefull activity report published by the IFLAInternational Preservation News athttp://www.ifla.org/VI/4/ipn.html, issue#37, December, 2005.)

Four LessonsThe disaster is not over. Recovery fromKatrina and Rita will take decades and the potential for future natural disastercontinues.

Region wide disasters dislocate popula-tions and destroy the local capacity torecover. Institutional disaster plans becomeinoperative and the salvage of cultural col-lections is forestalled. Resources that can bebrought to bear for rescue of cultural collec-tions may be those beyond the region andthese must be mobile and mobilized beforethe disaster strikes.

There are at least four lessons apparentfrom experience of the response to Katrina. 1. Improved Response—quick actionsaves collections. We should continue to

L E S S O N S F R O M K A T R I N A – c o n t i n u e d

2

Destroyed Seafood andMaritime Museum,Biloxi.

AASLH MS#1 RV uniton the Gulf Coast.

Ashley and Randyopening windows.

Joy dispatching the team.

3

update best practices, first responder train-ing and rehearsed menu of field services,especially mold suppression methods. Fieldresponders must be mobilized or pre-select-ed from practitioner volunteers and train-ing program students. They must also bemobile with access to appropriate vehiclessuch as job site trailers and travel homes.

The need for further training was illus-trated by well intended, but problematicactivities of local first responders.Although, industrial materials such asTyvek®, polyethylene and plywood aremore readily accessible following a regionaldisaster, they are problematic as applied tocollection salvage. Drying areas preparedwith plastic sheets and poly bags used asitem protectors, nurture mold growth.Plastic film or Tyvek® archival enclosurescan also nurture mold. Plywood screwedto windows is frequently left in place longafter the hurricane, inhibiting ventilationand illumination (without electrical serv-ice) of interiors. Historical storm shuttersare superior to plywood board-ups sincethey can be quickly opened again.

Another illustration of misdirectedactivity occurs when the “germ theory” isinappropriately applied to mold propaga-tion. There is an inclination to segregate,disregard and discard molded materials inan attempt to keep them from “contami-nating” material without mold. The resultis particularly adverse when materials withmold are quarantined under polyethylene.Ventilation and out-door air exchangeapplied to whole collections, regardless ofambient relative humidity, is betteradvised. 2. Coordinated Dispatching—live adviso-ry directs activities. Disasters should acti-vate directorates or agency emergencygroups for compiled assessment and reportby cell phone communications providingreal time movements and schedules. In-field dispatchers must also move intoaction to guide on-site visits, navigation

and manage distributed rest and work ses-sions. Assessment teams can be followedby on-site teams with job-site capacity.Overall coordination with commercial sal-vage services is needed.

Assessment and follow-up teams shouldnot be composed solely of preservationworkers. Although the objective is collec-tions recovery, the teams must have mem-bers responsible for logistics, communica-tion and navigation. Such divisions alsobetter distribute rest and work periods,increasing the team’s overall endurance.3. Distributed Recovery—most helpmaybe outside the region. The disaster can activate out-of-region treatment proj-ects and provide coordination with localvolunteers at work sites beyond the devas-tated region. Distributed preservationactivities should encourage long-termresponse planning including institution-to-institution connection with open exposi-tion of lessons learned.

Commercial freeze drying and steriliza-tion processes are applied to collections sal-vage. Needed document cleaning andmending processes are not commercializedand are much less available. A solution isdistribution of some document cleaningand mending to preservation departmentsoutside the region.

An out-of-region response example isthe Project CALM (Conservation Assis-tance for Libraries of Mississippi) spon-sored by the University of Iowa Libraries,that assists restoration of historical docu-ments damaged by hurricane Katrina, byvolunteers from the Iowa City and CedarRapids areas. The three-year effort willprovide cost-free conservation treatmentand archival enclosures.4. Accessible Funding—cash first, beforerecovery. The disaster should activateemergency funding programs. Theadmirable example of quick relief fundingby the NEH should be considered byother funding agencies. Application and

L E S S O N S F R O M K A T R I N A – c o n t i n u e d

Jamie Ellis at BiloxiPublic Library.

Storm surge damage,Gulf Port Public Library.

Randy and Gary dryingdocuments.

Resources thatcan be broughtto bear for res-cue of culturalcollections maybe those beyondthe region andthese must bemobile andmobilizedbefore the disas-ter strikes.

corroboration of need can be provided byobjective, visiting assessors. The four NEHEmergency Response grants implementedby the HEART MS#1 team provided ahuge encouragement and crucial early sup-port to the besieged institutions.

The rejuvenation of cultural life isimportant in regions like the Gulf Coastwith their economic dependence ontourism. Salvaging cultural collectionslaunches rejuvenation of cultural life. Thisstep can be taken early at a lower cost thanmunicipal infrastructure and utilitiesreconstruction. Project funding supportingexhibitions interpreting the impact of thedisaster are well directed to the local cul-tural institutions.

In the longer term, cultural institutionsmust position themselves for municipalrecovery investment. Disaster presentsopportunity, but advocates for culturalinstitutions will find themselves betweendevelopers’ intent on the most profitabletourist and hospitality economies and residents longing for restoration withoutchange.

Continuing EffortMomentum for collections recovery waswell appreciated by the 30 funding agen-cies and preservation programs officerswho met at the Library of Congress inApril, where the “Future Directions in SafeGuarding Documents Collections,” wassponsored by the Preservation Directorateof the Library of Congress, the FederalLibrary and Information Center Commit-tee and the American Folklife Center.Randy Silverman composed a workingwhite paper for this symposium; “Towardsa National Disaster Response Protocol,”which will be published in Libraries andthe Cultural Record, University of Texas.

Katrina’s aftermath underscores thenational need for a robust emergencyresponse plan to deal with the salvage ofcultural materials. Reviewing our experi-

4

L E S S O N S F R O M K A T R I N A – c o n t i n u e d

Mold growth.

ences, we envisioned mobile job-site trail-ers outfitted with collection stabilizing gearalready on board. Such units could operatefor days at a given location providing localoutreach and assistance to private andinstitutional collections.

We recognized the need for standingagreements with funding agencies to sup-port emergency recovery efforts. Coopera-tive relations between relevant nationalorganizations (e.g., AASLH, AIC) couldstandardize the training and selection crite-ria for potential volunteers—conservators,museum professionals, life-safety personneland conservation training program stu-dents—to ensure teams are ready with thefirst responders. Relevant national associa-tions (e.g., American Association of Muse-ums, American Library Association andSociety of American Archivists) could sup-port efforts by maintaining lists of mem-bers and non-members within each stateto expedite determining which institutionsneed condition assessment. Several appro-priate contacts per institution should belisted, including home and cell phonenumbers. Such organizations could coordi-nate onsite mobile conservation unit host-ing, providing clearance to use vacantinstitutional parking lots.

With 2005 on record as the most activehurricane season in recorded history,NOAA predicts we are now entering a 20-30 year cycle of increased tropical stormactivity. In combination with other typesof natural and manmade disasters, thiswarning should provide ample incentive tobegin formulating national and interna-tional response plans to harness the goodwill of knowledgeable practitioners toensure irreplaceable cultural collections arenot needlessly lost.Gary Frost is Conservator for the University of Iowa Libraries.He can be contacted at gary-frost@uiowa.edu.

5

How muchtime andexpense shouldwe devote toprotectingmedia thatmight be obso-lete by the endof the decade?

In Medias Res: How to Protect Mediaand Mixed Media in an Age of Transitionby Oliver Cutshaw

THE ARTICLE TITLE COMES FROM

the Latin term meaning to start astory in the midst of things— a

favored tradition for Homeric epics andmore recently for the Star Wars saga. Beingin the midst of things is not always easy,especially for preservation librarians whoare trying to make practical decisions in achanging era while maintaining profession-al standards grounded in historic precedentand best practice. It has, however, alwaysbeen our job to deal with existing tech-nologies and maintain older formats whileanticipating future innovations.

Today’s librarians are confronted by awide array of evolving challenges: onlinecatalogs with rapidly expanding links tocommercial databases, larger digital collec-tions, the increasing use of off-site storagefacilities, and ever changing media formatsand technologies. How much time andexpense should we devote to protectingmedia that might be obsolete by the end ofthe decade? As Thomas Mann described ina recent issue of American Libraries, there isconsiderable debate in our field evenregarding the most fundamental issue: thefuture structure of academic libraries.1 Willthey maintain a somewhat traditionalmodel, open stacks and browsing collec-tions, or become an internet café socialcenter served by off-site storage?

At my desk in the basement of WidenerLibrary at Harvard University, I am not ina position to predict where these massivechanges will take us. While more informa-tion is accessible on the web, our librariescontinue to purchase videos, DVDs, CDs,and books with accompanying mediawhich our users want now. As UweJoachim summarized in his excellent article“The Gnosis of Media:”

This brings us back to the corporeal library and its necessity. Whoever opts for the real life in this world, and not for a utopian transformation of our world into a noncorporeal and electroni-cally shining and translucent cosmic spirit, has to opt for real books and libraries.2Although we are in an age of transition,

we still must find practical ways to preservethe media we have collected and will con-tinue to collect and make it accessible.

Practical Steps for Preservation and AccessA number of articles discuss the wide rangeof concerns that we face on a day-to-daybasis when working with media and mixedmedia:3 How to house? What type of secu-rity strips or targets to use? To label or notto label? Ultimately these decisions aredriven by the nature of an institution’spolicies and practices for housing mediaand mixed media. Answers to the followingquestions should guide your decisions:

• Does your library house CDs with theiraccompanying books and bound peri-odicals?

• Does your library store media andmixed media in the general stacks orare they housed in a media resourcecenter or special collections area?

• Is your media housed at an off-site stor-age facility?

• And lastly, is your circulating media col-lection viewed as an integral part of thecore collection or merely a convenienttool for the patrons to use and then bediscarded when the next format revolu-tion comes along?

HousingA practical concern is how to protect themedia that are part of a library’s circulatingcollection. The housing protocols andchoices outlined below are the ones wemake at Widener Library and may beapplicable to other institutions.

The original condition of media enclo-sures is often poor. A CD or DVD thatcosts the University $30 will be housed ina fragile plastic case that costs only pennies.It is my experience that many of these con-tainers break at the corners and havecracked or damaged hinges. Instead consid-er house or re-housing media inpolypropylene containers. These are tough,dependable and cost efficient.

Mixed media are more complex. Eachlibrary has to find its own solutionsdepending on how and where the media is stored. The first decision is whether themedia is to be separated from the textmaterial and stored in a media center, orwill it be somehow stored together. AtWidener Library, most media is housed atour off-site storage facility, the HarvardDepository, so we want it to remain withits accompanying text. Our goal is to keepthe media component protected, and read-ily usable. One option is to insert safe,

easy-to-use pockets or to house it inpolypropylene containers.

Widener Library is fortunate to have alarge in-house conservation laboratory with facilities to make custom enclosures.The foundation enclosure is a standardphase box adapted to accommodate a widearray of media materials. These differenttypes of media provide opportunities forvarious levels of decision making. KateRich, Senior Conservation Technician atWidener Library, emphasized the following points:

• Decision making is dictated by thepiece. Size, weight, and ease of use willdetermine appropriate housing choices.

• Always use “archival quality” (chemi-cally stable) materials.

• Pockets in publishers materials areoften weak, damaged, or impracticaland will therefore need to be replaced.

• Often when a publisher’s media pockethas to be removed, the book willrequire repair. Great care should beexercised when removing paper pocketsfrom the text in order to minimizedamage to the media and the book.

• With more publishing of mixed mediaand a wide array of mixed media com-binations, it is necessary to come up

I N M E D I A S R E S – c o n t i n u e d

While technolog-ical obsolescenceis the fate of allcontemporaryformats in ourdigital age, con-tent of many ofthe accompanymedia itemshave long-termvalue.

Examples of some safe containers which may be used withor without phase box.

It is important to inspect each publisher’s media pocket tosee if it is readily useable.

6

I N M E D I A S R E S – c o n t i n u e d

7

Introduction ofArchival ProductsNew Account Manager

Iwould liketo intro-

duce myselfas thenewestmember ofthe ArchivalProductsteam. Myname is Molly McIlhon and I amyour new Account Manager, eagerto serve your conservation andpreservation needs. I am new to theindustry and bring over 9 years ofcustomer relations and quality con-trol experience with me. I am excit-ed about my new position and pas-sionate about the quality of ourproducts and service. People usual-ly say that I am a naturally optimisticand energetic person and I hope tocontinue that trend at Archival Prod-ucts. Our customers are very impor-tant to me and I will strive to makeyour job easier in any way I can bylistening and fulfilling your archivalneeds. Whether it’s a family photokit to preserve your family’s heir-looms or pamphlet binders for youruniversity, I am committed to serv-ing you. So, feel free to contact meto introduce yourself or if I can be ofassistance in processing an order. Ilook forward to working with yousoon on your archival needs.

with standard solutions andan inventory of materials toexpedite processing andensure quality.

Sample SolutionsMs. Rich described some optionsthat she routinely employs whileworking on a wide variety of Har-vard College Library materials.

• Sometimes the simplest solu-tion is the best: put a fragilebox of CDs in a phase box of60 pt. blue/gray board, a stable and easy solution in a lab equipped to do boxmaking.

• Four flap enclosures workwell for smaller or thin mixedmedia items. Often thesesmaller items present uniquechallenges and this enclosureis a versatile solution.

• Another useful solution is tobuild a sink mat into thestandard foundation enclo-sure. The sink mat is made ofarchival corrugated cardboardand is used to house theaccompanying video, cassetteor CD. This solution is illus-trated below.

These solutions meet Widener’scriteria for mixed media: (1) thatthe media be kept with thebook; (2) that the book andmedia be easy for the patron touse; and (3) that the housing of

the media be dependable andsturdy to withstand transportingto and from the Depository.

These solutions have beendeveloped in coordination withour Technical Services andAccess Services staff. In allaspects of media preservation,whether it be access, security, orstorage, it is vital to have a goodworking relationship and ongo-ing communication with yourlibrary partners. Procedures andstorage solutions must be appro-priate to the institution and meetthe needs of its patrons. Goodpolicy is not made in isolation.

Security and AccessLet me point out a few thingsthat seem to work well in Har-vard College Library.A. Security strips are built into

the containers or applied tothe containers of all non-mag-netic media. However, if yourmedia or mixed media arehoused in open stacks collec-tions you may wish to use thesecurity strip overlays for yourstand-alone CDs and CDs inpockets that accompany othermaterials.3

B. Specific notes concerningaccompanying media are builtinto the item level records ofour Integrated Library System(ILS). These records alert theCirculation Services staff tothe presence and the nature ofaccompanying media makingit easier to verify that themedia is intact.

C. Cataloging teams add notesto the bibliographic records ofour ILS, indicating the typeof media, its number and

Example of a phase box and sink matwith book and media.

condition. These serve the dual purposeof alerting the patron to the accompa-nying materials and helping the Circu-lation team track media and verify thatreturned items are complete.

D. Our emphasis on durable cases andhousings means that the media oraccompanying media is likely to survivea bit longer.

E. Easy-to-use enclosures are essential foraccess. If the patron cannot readily useand re-house the media they are lesslikely to request it in the future

Care and HandlingAlthough outside the scope of this article,a few practical reminders regarding careand handling are worth mentioning. It isimportant not only to train your preserva-tion staff in good handling and care but tooffer classes and workshops to the otherlibrary staff. Circulation and Technical Ser-vices staff might welcome or at least bene-fit from a few reminders on the structuraland chemical composition of magneticand non-magnetic media and how thatcomposition impacts on the storage anduse of media. Consider offering a classwith practical and simple tips like handlingdiscs by their outer edge or center hole.

LBS/Archival Products1801 Thompson Ave.P.O. Box 1413Des Moines, Iowa 50306-14131-800-526-5640515-262-3191Fax 888-220-2397custserv@archival.com

archival.com

Ultimately theneeds and tastesof our patronsand theadvances oftechnology willremain the cru-cial forces thatboth form andinform ourdecisions.

I N M E D I A S R E S – c o n t i n u e d

ConclusionWhile technological obsolescence is thefate of all contemporary formats in ourdigital age, content of many accompanymedia items have long-term value. We can-not assume that just because ongoing mas-sive digital initiatives are underway thateverything “new” or born digital will bereadily available to future generations.Existing media collections and new acqui-sitions must be processed and stored prop-erly even if we suspect that they will beconsidered antiques in a few decades.

For example, even though a floppy diskmay appear in the back of a recent com-mercially published book, is it always rea-sonable to conclude that the files on thatdisc have been safely preserved by any enti-ty. Whose responsibility is it to preservethem? The author? The publisher? Theacademic community?

The nearly overwhelming tasks of mak-ing our print collections available onlineand reformatting our older materials ontapes and disks is a concern for the wholelibrary profession. Ultimately the needsand tastes of our patrons and the advancesof technology will remain the crucial forcesthat both form and inform our decisions.

As for those in collections care, our taskis a bit simpler. It is our job, in this age oftransition, to make sure that the media andmixed media objects in our care are safelyhoused, properly handled, and readilyaccessible to our patrons.

SOURCES1. Mann, Thomas. “Google Print vs. Onsite Collections.”American Libraries 76 (7) August 2005.

2. Jochum, Uwe, “The Gnosis of Media” Library Quarterly 74(1) 2004.

3. Weimer, Katherine H, et al. “Security and Access to CD-ROMs Accompanying Books.” LRTS 44(4) October 2000.

Oliver Cutshaw is the Binding Librarian for Harvard CollegeLibrary. He can be contacted at cutshaw@fas.harvard.edu.

Photographs in this article are courtesy of Shannon Phillips,Conservation Services Intern.