Conservation & Collections Care News

Flood Alert Continues

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Flood Alert Update from MidAmerican Energy Company “Due to safety precautions, MidAmerican Energy has begun shutting off all gas meters for residential and non-cooking business customers from Czech Village to the Time Check areas in the Cedar River basin. All cooking customers (i.e. restaurants, etc) in those areas will have gas meters shut off between 5:00 – 8:00 PM tonight. MidAmerican Energy will reassess the situation tomorrow morning and may expand this area to include all business and residential customers in the downtown area from 4th Street East to 4th Street West.”

We begin meeting every morning at 9AM to keep each other posted and make decisions. The wallet sized emergency phone numbers were distributed. We welcomed the staff from Art and Music libraries. Staff continued to help with sandbagging.

Flood Alert!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Linn County and the City of Cedar Rapids have jointly issued a flood alert for properties located along the Cedar River. According to the county, the river will experience a record flood crest on Wednesday afternoon or evening at about 21.5 feet. Previous crests in 1929 at 20 feet, in 1961 at 19.6 feet, and 1993 at 19.3 feet may be eclipsed by this flood. The city of Cedar Rapids, Linn County, and the Linn County Emergency Management Agency are working together to address the seriousness of this threat. Please take all necessary precautions.

The University put out a call for assistance with sandbagging efforts. Several UI Libraries staff assist. An announcement is sent out “The University of Iowa has suspended normal activities on the arts campus due to anticipated flooding. University officials are making plans to temporarily relocate offices in all buildings along the west bank of the Iowa River including Hancher Auditorium, Voxman Music Building and Clapp Recital Hall, the Theatre Building, the Museum of Art, the Art Building and Art Building West.”

Shopping for Rain Boots

Saturday, June 7, 2008

My younger daughter, Jennifer, and I went shopping for rain boots in Iowa City since we can’t find any in Cedar Rapids. We searched everywhere for some really cool looking, fashion-statement boots. Finding none, we went to the every reliable Paul’s and got some sensible sturdy boots for me that actually fit! My size 3’s are adult in height, providing lots of protection. Jennifer decided to wait.

SOS! Save Our Stuff Conference

Friday, June 6, 2008

The Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium held their annual SOS! Save Our Stuff conference at the State Historical Building in Des Moines. One of the sessions was on disaster response and recovery. On my drive to Des Moines, I see my first ever blue heron along I80 in a new “lake.” There is water everywhere. During the conference SHB staff dealt with water in the storage area.

Forecast of Rain

Thursday, June 5, 2008

I sent out a reminder to library staff stating “With forecast of continuing rain over the next few days, roofs that are reaching their “end of life”, and reports of flooding, I thought I should remind everyone that the list of people to call in case you need assistance with damaged collections is posted at http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/preservation/Emergencies.html” and began collecting phone numbers for a phone tree, wallet sized.

Parchment Maker Jesse Meyer visits Conservation Lab

On June 2nd, Jesse Meyer, the only maker of parchment in North America, came to the Conservation lab of University of Iowa Main Library to show his leathers and vellum parchments.

Jesse Meyer is the youngest member of a family that has been tanning leather for over 450 years in Germany and the United States (since 1846). For more information on the Meyer Family Tannery, Pergamena Handmade Parchment and the process of making parchment see https://pergamena.net/.

Behind the Scenes Tour

Friday, May 30, 2008

The University of Iowa Preservation Department met with David Muhlena, librarian at the Czech & Slovak Museum and Library, and Susan Kuecker, curator at the African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa, for behind the scenes tours and lunch at Zindrick’s Restaurant in the Czech Village.

Preservation Department Field Trip to Cedar Rapids

Friday, May 30, 2008

On May 30th Preservation Department staff took a field trip to Cedar Rapids to visit the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library and the African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa.

At the Czech-Slovak Museum, Library Director David Muhlena (left) gave an informal talk on the museum’s history and plans for future development, followed by a behind the scenes tour of the museums library and storage facilities.

After viewing the current exhibits, the party retired for lunch.

At the African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa, Curator Susan Kuecker (below) gave a presentation on the museum’s history and future plans and then conducted a tour of the storage facilities.

Refresher Course on Disaster Response

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

I gave a refresher course to the Linn County Library Consortium on “Disaster Planning and Response: An Overview.” The LCLC have been conscientious about receiving training on disaster planning and preparedness and being prepared since I’ve known this group. It had been a while since they had had any training and thought they should have a “tune-up.”

UI Preservation Librarian Keynote Speaker

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 and care of photographic collections; customized storage systems; historic structure maintenance; emergency preparedness; behind the scenes tours of State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI), and a special session and tour of the Battle Flag Project at the SHSI.

The S.O.S. Save Our Stuff! preservation seminars will be held at the State Historical Society of Iowa building in Des Moines, IA on Friday June 6, 2008, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Genealogists, librarians, archivists, museum workers, conservators, county clerks, historical society volunteers and anyone who cares about preserving our heritage are encouraged to participate. The SOS seminars and tours will cost $40 for ICPC members and $50 for non-members. The fee includes the State Historical Society of Iowa building tours and lunch. Registration by May 31, 2008 reserves your lunch.

Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium (ICPC) is a membership organization seeking to initiate, encourage, and enhance preservation and conservation activities by providing basic preservation education and training.

Detailed information about joining ICPC and registering for SOS can be found at http://www.iowaconserveandpreserve.org/?page_id=330, or request a registration form by contacting Nancy E. Kraft at 319-335-5286, nancy-e-kraft@uiowa.edu or Lucy David at 319-338-0514, lucy-david@uiowa.edu.