Thursday, March 4, 2010 The long awaited day arrived at last. We moved out of our “dirty room” at Oakdale Hall, took down our sign, and turned in our keys! Over 18 months ago in the midst of finding space for faculty and students, University of Iowa officials took time to find us a roomContinue reading “Moving On!”
Category Archives: Oakdale campus
Inventorying Flood-Affected Collections
Friday, June 26, 2009 As conservation work moves along for flood-affected artifacts from the African American Museum of Iowa, we momentarily shifted away from treatment of metals to pick up our inventory of small objects comprised of a variety of media. Two primary functions of the inventory are to verify the holdings under our care againstContinue reading “Inventorying Flood-Affected Collections”
Celebration
Thursday, September 4, 2008 Finished with the initial cleaning of all–yes all– the records. We had abused the Oakdale paper facility for the summer, and Tim let us use the space for a party. Nancy picked up sandwiches, Gary and Joyce brought drinks and the table decoration, and Caitlin, Kat and I cleaned up theContinue reading “Celebration”
45s Are Fun!
Thursday, August 21, 2008 After working on the LPs and 78s, the 45s are a breeze. First, there are only three boxes–about 300 to clean. Second, they are small and cute and easy to handle. They are not brittle, like the 78s. They have few labels running, unlike all the Supraphon from the LPs. TheContinue reading “45s Are Fun!”
Cleaning 78s
Thursday, July 31 Cleaning the 78’s from the Czech Slovak record collection has been our longest project so far. Just the cursory cleaning we did out at the Oakdale paper facility took two months. We used two water baths, one with photo flo, a mild soap; and one with clean water to rinse. We thenContinue reading “Cleaning 78s”
The Challenge of Unboxing 78s
Tuesday, July 29, 2008 We were amazed to discover that 78s expand when wet. Getting them out of their archival box was no small task. The photos explain the process.
Cleaning CDs and DVDs
Friday, July 25, 2008 The DVDs and CDs from the African-American Museum are still caked with dirt. Most had been in plastic cases, and so Bill and I pitched the covers and dry wiped these. There was a stack, however, that were only in paper sleeves, and so in worse condition. Nervous about putting theContinue reading “Cleaning CDs and DVDs”
How to Restore LPs, DVDs, CDs Video Debuts
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 The Gazette was really fast in getting this video posted. It looks pretty good. Bill Voss and Elizabeth Stone did a great job demonstrating how to clean the discs. http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080723/NEWS/695592191/1002/NEWS We continue to make progress on flood recovery efforts. Bryan Stusse has about 1/2 of the Czech LPs inventory completed. Kristin hasContinue reading “How to Restore LPs, DVDs, CDs Video Debuts”
Hanging in There
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Caitlin has gone home to visit Michigan. Which means Bill has come to help me out. Although he makes fun of the lunches I bring, and doesn’t laugh at my jokes, it is good to have two people doing this. The day goes faster and more smoothly. Plus, Bill does appreciateContinue reading “Hanging in There”
False Alarm
Thursday, July 17, 2008 The Cedar Rapids Gazette announced the posting of Susan Hansen’s “How to Repair Flood Damaged Books” at http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080717/NEWS/325405342 She did a great job! The name is a little misleading as the video is about cleaning and drying out books not repairing. Oh, well. Beth and I went over to the OakdaleContinue reading “False Alarm”