New Joint Preservation Lab Open for Business

Veronica Sorcher preparing materials in the Preservation Lab.

An $81,012 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant awarded to The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County from the State Library of Ohio enabled the creation of a joint Preservation Lab with the University of Cincinnati Libraries for the preservation and protection of rare and heavily used materials.

UC Libraries and the Public Library jointly manage and equip the expanded Preservation Lab housed in UC’s Walter C. Langsam Library. It is staffed with well-trained individuals from both institutions. The joint model allows the organizations to pool their resources to expand their capacity to conserve materials, to provide staff training, and to seek innovative and collaborative solutions to address their preservation needs.

“By partnering to conserve our rare holdings and heavily used collections, both institutions are ensuring future access to our materials in the most cost-effective and innovative way,” said Kimber L. Fender, executive director of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.

In addition to preserving materials from the collections of the Public Library and the UC Libraries, the Preservation Lab staff will also provide consultation and conservation treatments to other organizations that do not have their own preservation lab or equipment. This outreach will support the conservation needs of other cultural heritage institutions in Ohio, thus helping to guarantee that their collections will remain available for the future.

“The Preservation Lab offers a creative and collaborative solution to the conservation challenges faced by the Public Library and the UC Libraries in preserving our valuable print collections,” said Victoria A. Montavon, dean and university librarian, University of Cincinnati Libraries.

The collaboration officially began in October 2011 with the training of Public Library staff in general collection maintenance and repair techniques at Langsam Library. Concurrently, the Public Library conducted a search for a full-time conservator to manage the treatment and repair of unique and rare book holdings in the Preservation Lab and to train staff on advanced repair techniques. Kathy Lechuga, formerly the Assistant Conservator for the Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame, was hired as the conservator effective January 27.

The Preservation Lab became fully operational in January 2012. Thanks to the grant, new equipment ranging from a state-of-the-art disc repair machine to the staple of the conservation world – a board shear – was acquired to outfit the lab. Additionally, extensive renovations done to the space make the Preservation Lab a comfortable environment in which to work. This work included the elimination of little-used storage space to open up the floor plan and the addition of new work benches to accommodate the Public Library staff and new furnishings for the whole department.

For more information about the Preservation Lab, contact Holly Prochaska at (513)556-1389 or by e-mail at holly.prochaska@uc.edu.

Note: the LSTA grant program is funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and administered by the State Library of Ohio.

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