University of Iowa Libraries Head of Preservation, Nancy E. Kraft, will be delivering the keynote address at the 10th annual Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium S.O.S. Save Our Stuff! preservation seminars. Kraft will discuss Connecting to Collections, a national preservation initiative and Iowa’s role in this effort. Conference topics include identification of 19th century photo processes andContinue reading “UI Preservation Librarian Keynote Speaker”

A University of Iowa Libraries preservation team will assist conservation of historical libraries of Arequipa, Peru. Arequipa is in the southern region of Peru near the border with Chile.  With a population of one million it is the second largest city. The city is 40 miles from the coast and surrounded by volcanoes and expansiveContinue reading “Gary Frost to direct library conservation project in Peru”

Freezer preservation Donated appliance helps UI save water-damaged goods By Suzanne Barnes The Gazette IOWA CITY — When you reach into your grocer’s freezer for a bag of broccoli, you’re performing the same action UI Libraries Conservator Gary Frost does at the University of Iowa Libraries.  The only difference is you are taking out andContinue reading “Freezer preservation: Donated appliance helps UI save water-damaged goods [The Gazette]”

In 1883, with its first class, the College of Dentistry at the University of Iowa began a tradition of mounting individual portraits of graduates on photo boards. Over time, these boards made their home in the basement of the college’s modern building, where they were silently deteriorating until last year. Today, these images — partContinue reading “UI Libraries Brings Historic Dental College Photos To Life”

August 18, 2006 What is probably the most spectacular book in The University of Iowa Libraries is the exceedingly rare elephant-sized folio of hand-colored anatomical plates known as the Anatomia universa of Paolo Mascagni, an eighteenth-century Italian physician and teacher. So rare is this work that it is little known even to specialists, though itContinue reading “Mascagni Prints Project completed at Hardin Library”

On May 26 the department received a book freeze dryer from the University of Texas at Austin Library School Conservation/Preservation Program for just the price of shipping.   Purchased new it would cost at least $30,000.   It is expected to be a valuable addition to the department.

On October 12th, 2004, Sylvie Merian, Reference Librarian at the Pierpont Morgan Library, provided the UI book studies community with a terrific illustrated lecture on the medieval Armenian manuscript book, entitled What Makes a Medieval Manuscript Medieval? Problems with the Periodization of Armenian Manuscripts. She defined the Armenian manuscript book as a medieval product despiteContinue reading “Visit from Armenian Manuscript & Book Scholar, Sylvie Merian”

Bill Minter has delivered and installed a new Ultrasonic Welder for polyester encapsulation at the University of Iowa Conservation department. His visit was remarkable. He had previously installed one of the earliest welders here in 1984 and he mentioned that it was unusual to be describing features of a new machine in terms of differencesContinue reading “New Minter Sonic Sealer Delivered to Conservation, November 12-13, 2003”