Abstract:
“Paul N. Banks Becomes a Book Conservator, 1956-64”: In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the new Council on Library Resources, the Association of Research Libraries, and the American Library Association began to support and apply theoretical, scientific, and practical “systems” approaches to the pressing preservation issues of the day. As important as these undertakings were, and for the historical credit they have received in promoting preservation of the nation’s research collections, they tell only one side of the larger story of the growth of preservation thought, research, and practice in the United States. To depict the nature of the field in its naissance, this paper examines the young book conservation field through the life and work of Paul Banks from 1956 until 1964, the period preceding his tenure at the Newberry Library as the first named book conservator in the United States assigned the responsibility to manage the preservation of a research collection.; “A Journey through the Preservation of the Alfred Rodman Hussey Papers”: The Alfred Rodman Hussey Papers are considered one of the more important Japanese collections at the University of Michigan’s Asia Library, largely because of the story they tell of the creation of the new constitution and re-construction of the government and its policies by the US in post-World War II Japan. From the careful microfilming done by the Library of Congress to current propositions for digitization by the University of Michigan Asia Library, the Alfred Rodman Hussey Papers have gone through a long journey of preservation techniques since their creation in the 40s through 60s. This paper will discuss assessing these valuable papers as part of a preservation needs assessment of the Asia Library and the creation of the collection finding aid illustrating the collaborative efforts between departments and libraries necessary to put such a project into practice.; “Preserving Voices: Digitizing the Mid-Century Folk Collection of Mary Celestia Parler”: Mary Celestia Parler, wife of famed folklorist Vance Randolph, preserved the unique heritage of the Ozark Mountain residents through the collection of folk songs, sayings, legends, and remedies during the 1950s through the 1970s, utilizing her students at the University of Arkansas as interviewers and collectors. The collection contains over 4,700 field recordings of songs and tales gathered from around the Arkansas Ozarks, as well as nearly 1,000 class reports documenting customs and stories, such as tales of Jesse James, Belle Starr, and other outlaws hiding out in mountain caves. The Special Collections at the University of Arkansas has begun a project to digitize these important cultural items. The original reel-to-reel audio tapes had begun to deteriorate, and the information on the unique Ozark culture was in danger of being lost. This session will discuss Parler’s collection and efforts to preserve the voices captured on tape and paper.
Description:
Moderator: Colleen Barrett, Lilly Library, Indiana University; “Paul N. Banks Becomes a Book Conservator, 1956-64”, Ellen Cunningham-Kruppa, University of Delaware; “A Journey through the Preservation of the Alfred Rodman Hussey Papers”, Ikumi Crocoll, University of Michigan; “Preserving Voices: Digitizing the Mid-Century Folk Collection of Mary Celestia Parler”, Timothy G. Nutt, University of Arkansas Libraries and Krista Oldham, University of Arkansas Libraries