Conservation & Collections Care News

Cooked Books

Thursday, July 17, 2008 (continued)

This time everything went off as planned and we were in the building shortly after 7PM! The first thing we noticed was how incredibly hot and dry it was – 98.2 degrees with R/H 30%! The air tubes are shut down but they have achieved good air flow with fans. Kristin and I saw no signs of mold. The book moisture content is good, running at 4.4-6.9. I am glad I decided two of us should go. It took one of us holding a flash light (no electricity) while the other took the readings. Most of the Art Library collections is on compact shelving. We kept getting squished as other staff tried to get into other aisles. Ouch!

A side note: At time of construction both Rijn Templeton, Art Librarian, and I asked for mechanical shelving as we didn’t want to be electrical and computer dependent for access. Now with no electricity, I’m very glad the mobile shelving is mechanically operated!

We got into Music, too, but we had to stand outside in the rain and travel to three different entrances before they found a place where we could enter – which took us on a circuitous route from the south side of Clapp all the way around the north side of Hancher then along the river and through the mud to an entrance on the east side. The first two entrances were blocked due to asbestos abatement. Somehow that detailed had not been relayed to the Safety Officers. We were ready to go at 7:30. Many of us were very wet by the time we got in at 8:45.

The Music Library is very hot and dry, too — Rare bookroom: 90.5; R/H 36%; book moisture content 5.7-6.6; Stacks Temp 92.6 degrees; R/H 26%; book moisture content 4.6-5.8. The air tubes are providing good air circulation. Ruthann checked for roof leaks and was much relieved to find none, stating that ”Good news is that the ceiling was not leaking! We’ll take small victories where we can find them.” I had forgotten about our roof leak problems. They were able to rescue a couple CPUs and the digitizing station. By the time we got into Music, Kristin and I were completely exhausted and left before the full ½ hour allocation.

I saw no evidence of mold and very little evidence of too much moisture (crinkling of paper). They’ve done a good job of keeping excess moisture out of the libraries. (Both libraries are on the second floor and were sitting over standing water on the first floor.) I’m really concerned about the high temperatures at both libraries. It’s not good for computers, books, or wood. The books most at risk with this high of temperature are the rare books in Music. Nancy Baker will see if any adjustments can be made.

We drove home through rain and horizontal lightening. My dog, Scamper, was very happy to see me. I gave him some lap time while sipping a glass of red wine and working on a sudoku puzzle.

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 Oakdale storage room to grab a few duplicate LPs and sampling of 78s. I noted that Kristin and Bryan have made excellent progress in sorting through all the boxes. We could not find any more LPs. We must have cleaned the duplicates already which is probably a good thing. I wasn’t sure how we could safely store them without cleaning them anyway. Before we could grab the 78s, the fire alarm went off and we had to exit the building. Although we were sure it was a false alarm, we were unnerved at the idea that what was saved from the flood waters might go up in smoke. After 20 minutes of hanging out, we were informed that there was no fire after all and we could go back into the building. Whew!

Back at my office, I met with LeAnn from Johnson County Historical Society about their books and documents that were salvaged. The flood waters didn’t actually get to their building; the underground water did. Only the bottom shelf of items in the basement was impacted. With Gary Frost’s assistance, they packed out around 70-100 books and a few documents and sent them off to be freeze-dried. Once the books and documents are returned, we’ll be working with them to assess and restore the items.

The Iowa Women’s Archives (Main Library) reported 66.2 degrees and 61% RH. We agreed to run fans during the day and monitor situation. The preservation staff is settling in. Still missing bits and pieces of stuff including our large copier. Gary Grout believes he has located shelving they can install early next week. Some of my staff is starting to show signs of being frayed around the edges.

This afternoon I went to have my knee examined. I’ve been a little worried about it. The pain increased after Friday the 13th evacuation activities and never settled down. As a dancer I rely on that knee. (Well, for other things, too, but dancing is most important!) I was relieved to find out that it’s only a little arthritis and slight weakening that can be addressed with physical therapy. ’Course this means that I now have to add physical therapy sessions to my already overscheduled life.

I returned late to my office to a message that there might be a mold outbreak at Hardin Library and to please call. I had a minor panic attack. How could I deal with this? I returned the call and discovered it was only three books and based on the description probably not mold. I sent out an email to that effect to Susan advising her to take appropriate “mold protection” precautions but that it probably wasn’t mold.

By 5:15 I desperately needed a break. Randy and I headed out to George’s for a cheese burger and beer. Much refreshed, I headed out to the Art Library for the much awaited first inspection by preservation staff.

Book Repair Home Again

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

The LP project is close to done. Should finish up tomorrow. Then our volunteer can take a much needed break! I really don’t know how we could have even attempted this project without the use of the Paper Facility. The paper drying rack is perfect. They can do a box at a time – around 60 LPs and covers. The “clip” is really a marble. It works great, adjusting to thickness. Our next test will be the 78s.

We continue to get the department in the basement back together. Book repair got to go “home” today. There’s no shelving but the tables, equipment, supply cabinets and supplies are back in place. I saw lots of happy faces around the work tables. I’ll miss them as they were temporarily outside my office for a week.

We’ve misplaced our Sharp 360 copier. It’s rather big (2’ x 3’ x 3.5’). I’m not sure how we could lose something that size but it’s nowhere to be found. My staff really does need a copier. Not sure how we’ll solve this particular problem. I put out an APB. Hopefully, someone will find it.

I got quite depressed today about my allergies. My sinuses are causing me “discomfort.” Then I got to thinking that given my high sensitivity to mold, I’m lucky I’m not in the hospital given all the exposure to mold I’ve had. I missed two weeks of shots which meant I had to back down on my shots which means I’m not at my usual therapeutic level and I’m sorta’ holding my own. So count my blessings!

The UI Collections Consortium met for its regular monthly brown bag lunch. Topic, of course, was flood impact to collections. So far we seem to have come out of this ok. The UI Museum of Art had evacuated its priority 1 and 2 collection items and shelved all other items higher up. Only 20 items actually had contact with water. David McCartney, UI archivist, had touched base with most collections around campus and so far so good. There are still a couple buildings with no access yet.

We got word that inspecting the Art and Music Libraries is on again for tomorrow evening – our ballroom lesson night. Aargh. More re-scheduling. A ballroom lesson is NOT to be missed!

I Debut on Video

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The CR Gazette front page GazetteOnline tag line encourages readers to Learn How to Save Flood Soaked Documents by watching the video. Something to look forward to in my “spare time.” I did a brief check on the preservation area. The cabinet smells great. The book dumbwaiter is much improved but I’m still getting a little allergic reaction. I guess the HEPA air cleaner will be the solution for some time and we’ll need to just let time take care of the problem.

We went out to Oakdale. Air quality much improved. I suggested trying some additional fans in area of work. We watched the video. Not too bad but they did spell my name wrong. Aaargh. It’s Kraft with a “K”! http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080715/NEWS/883807058/1002/NEWS

Kristin and SLIS student volunteer, Bryan Stusse, worked at the Oakdale storage area. They found more items in bubble wrap and one piece of pottery packed underneath heavy items. It’s cracked. When packing things out during an emergency, it’s really hard to do everything right.

I met with a reporter from the Quad City Times who is trying to do an article on how to save your stuff. It’s a little late for people to learn about how to save their stuff. But it’s never too late to get the word out!

Locked Out!

Monday, July 14, 2008

I packed my shoes, flashlight, and face mask in happy anticipation that we would finally be able to get into the Art and Music libraries. Once at the library I spent a little bit of time with staff. We continue to slowly get the preservation basement area back into some semblance of order. The little dumbwaiter area had been cleaned out but both Deb and I reacted when we got close to the area. We set up a HEPA air cleaner and Deb experienced immediate relief. Then we started to work in the book repair area, opened a cabinet and about passed out from the fumes. OK, so another area missed and one needing a re-do. To be expected. We discovered a plywood cabinet that needed to be hauled away and discarded. We’re making progress. That’s what counts.

Then off to Oakdale to check on that site. With Caitlin on vacation, Bill is filling in for the week. The carbon filters are definitely helping. The area smells much better. Still would like to get more air circulating. I notice that the air is set to auto and switch it to continuous. The items themselves smell so this might be the best we can do. I checked the storage area and all seems to be ok. No strong smells. But then maybe I’m getting used to it — if that is possible!

I dealt with mostly flood stuff all day; only about an hour on nonflood stuff. We’ve been given the word that staff reviews must be turned in if they were due at the end of June. We had one done, signed but not turned in. Turned it in and discovered that I failed to address a major initiative as a goal and have to revise.

We met friends at George’s to while away the time until I can get into the Art Library at 7PM. While at George’s my daughter called to tell me that our wood conservator is trying to get a hold of me. I called him while waiting to get into the Art Library. He’s exploring some product for sterilization of porous objects. At 7PM, we learn that someone dropped the ball and did not let public safety know that we were to be let into the Art and Music Libraries. We’re locked out. Told in no uncertain terms that we will not be let in. So go home. Public Services is short handed yet they have enough staff to send over two patrol cars to make sure we go home.

No Flood Related Phone Calls Today!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

I spent the day catching completely up on laundry and going through my bills. Luckily, I found only two that I was behind on. Not bad after ignoring most mail including bills for a whole month.

Another lovely evening on the deck, eating Thai wraps with Randy and then playing with the dog.

Dumbwaiter and Phone Bill

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Our morning newspaper reminded us that the flood happened a month ago today. It seems like yesterday and also months ago.

My binding supervisor called letting me know that she has been getting sick everyday she comes to work but thinks she has it figured out. Right near her desk is a little dumbwaiter that was used a long time ago to bring books up and down. This little area was never cleaned out. Probably has a ton of mold and other ucky stuff in it. I called our facilities manager, Gary Grout. He got right on it. The area was cleaned out by BMS CAT by early afternoon. Gary told me that during the early days of cleaning out the UI Main Library, everyone said we need to remember this little room. Then everyone forgot about it later. Now I don’t feel quite so bad for forgetting about the bubble wrapped items. We all said we need to remember to do this and then we all forgot. It’s really hard to keep all the details up front and moving forward.

After the phone call, I started back to work on my email. (The never ending email.) I found an urgent email from my cell phone company, stating that I had a $410 bill!!! Ouch! I wasted no time in calling Verizon to see about changing my plan since I see no end to cell phone calls. As soon as I mentioned “flood,” they started working with me to reduce my bill. My “overage” got whittled down to $30. Whew, what a relief.

We’re slowly getting back on track with our home life. Did lots of laundry and some cleaning.

African American Museum of Iowa Update

Friday, July 11, 2008

I worked at home to get a little quality time and be a little more focused. Started with breakfast on the deck, caught sight of a humming bird checking out the red salvia, and then segued into working on my email on the deck. Very relaxing.

I met with the African American Museum staff late morning. They are doing all the right things for the dry collections that they are storing at the Masonic Library. They are running a fan and have popped lids off boxes to make sure all is really dry. They are very stressed about the estimates that are rolling in. $118,000 so far in stabilizing the building – tearing out dry wall, swabbing the floors out, packing stuff into the refrigerated truck, sterilizing and drying out the building. This is before they even think about rebuilding. Document restoration will cost around $29,000 (70 cubic ft.). The 200 textiles/15 works of art on paper, and 1,000 photographs to thaw/assess/store will cost around $24,000-$34,000 – before any restoration starts. Costs for wooden objects and other artifacts not yet in. They are being very aggressive with grant applications and have begun to tap several resources. It’ll take at least 6 applications to net $75,000. We plan on doing the conservation work for the documents but need to find funds for equipment. Grants garnered by African American Museum of Iowa will fund the labor. We will work together to keep costs down, the African American staff will assess, prioritize, and rebox. We’ll do the conservation work.

When I returned home, I learned that someone ordered the large DH-Tech dehumidification units along the west side of the UI Main Library shut down. Humidity levels started to creep up immediately. Luckily staff caught the increase in humidity and our facilities manager was able to get the order reversed and have the dehumidification units turned back on. The UI Main Library building is likely days/weeks away from handling the air issues on its own because we’re short one air handler and no steam capability.

Flattening LP Covers

Thursday, July 10, 2008

These LP covers were saturated with flood water. Many of them were printed on coated paper which means we couldn’t clean them until they were dry because the water would wash away the image. We used drying racks and a stack dryer which is pictured below. They were hung up until they were almost completely dry and were then placed in the dryer to be flattened with weight. Each layer in the stack dryer consists of four record covers sandwiched between two thick cotton blotter sheets and two pieces of cardboard. This insures the moisture is wicked away into the padding materials instead of staying damp or transferring moisture to the other covers.

Bubble Wrap and Mold

Thursday, July 10, 2008

I spent the first part of my morning answering email, checking on staff, noting progress in the preservation area in the basement. Then I packed a ton of stuff – rags, buckets, tubs, face masks, plastic, tape, garbage bags, scissors, lab jacket, anything I could think of that might be assistance out at Oakdale. Basically I raided our disaster and disaster workshop supplies. Headed out to Oakdale around 10AM. Once there discovered that I had forgotten the roll of newsprint I had set out. Forgetfulness is increasing and just confirms that I need to work at home tomorrow and try to clear my head.

Before going off to the Oakdale storage site, I checked in with Tim Barrett. We’re still trying to solve the smell problem. We’re all in agreement that we should add a carbon filter to the airconditioner unit and increase air circulation using his venting that he already has. Filter was ordered for delivery the next day.

Once at the Oakdale storage site, I suited up in one of the lovely Tyvek suits plus face mask and gloves and went to work assisting Kristin, Beth, and Caitlin. The room doesn’t smell thank goodness. However, as we opened items up, we did release some lovely odors. This is the first time we’ve had time to actually sort through the stuff. We discovered that most of the items wrapped in bubble wrap were not really dry as most people thought but had enough dampness to foster mold. Yuck! Salvaging all over again. In hind sight the items wrapped in bubble wrapped should have been wrapped in paper first and then in bubble wrap for travel and then unwrapped as soon as the items arrived at storage. A no-brainer really but during a disaster brains are stretched to the limit. And the disaster is not over.

We’re dealing with flood related stuff every day, constantly. Plus we’re now trying to pick up where we left off. It’s like we now have two full time jobs – flood recovery and regular. Just have to keep reminding ourselves to leave any feelings of guilt on overlooked items at the door.

Beth, Caitlin, and I left Kristin vacuuming mold off a basket, as we cleared out several bags of garbage and headed back to the Paper Facility to prepare for a videotaping by the Cedar Rapids Gazette on how to save your stuff that was damaged in the flood. A little late for this type of message since most items are probably already discarded but it’s always good to get that education out there.

Shortly before reporter and videographer are due to arrive I receive a phone call from the videographer. The reporter got called to another story so he’s coming by himself; he’ll be late and no, the reporter did not share her notes with him and no we’re not going to do what I had arranged with the reporter. Yikes! I’m tired of being flexible.

We did the videotaping on books and documents instead of LPs and books because we can’t mix the item type. Maybe we’ll do LPs and CDs next week? Argh. When the video is posted on the CR Gazette site, I’ll post to this blog and try not to cringe at how messy we look. After the taping, I stopped by the preservation department. Discovered that the binding/marking supervisor became a grandmother again early morning and that great progress has been made in getting the room back in shape.

Finished my day with a visit to my chiropractor and a lovely wine and pork chop meal with my family.