{"id":8429,"date":"2019-05-13T09:38:16","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T13:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=8429"},"modified":"2019-05-13T09:39:16","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T13:39:16","slug":"adventures-in-preservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=8429","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Preservation"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post was written by Amy Sullivan, Preservation Officer\u00a0for George Mason University Libraries. You can follow Amy’s adventures in preservation on Instagram @gmupreservation<\/a><\/span>. SCRC sent items from Randolph H. Lytton Historical Virginia collection<\/a><\/span> to be de-framed by Amy and her student, and she noted this document made of parchment that was covered in *GASP* scotch tape.<\/em><\/p>\n

Pressure sensitive tape is the bane of archival collections. It\u2019s never good for preservation, but in this particular case it\u2019s bad for a new reason: it\u2019s on parchment<\/strong>. (A quick primer: parchment is hide that has been prepared by paring and stretching under tension as it dries.) Unlike paper with similar problems, you can\u2019t heat the adhesive (in this case, tape) to make it pliable – heat can shrink and even split the parchment – or use anything wet, like a solvent (as moisture introduces the possibility of warping and stretching). this means it\u2019s time for some good old fashioned mechanical reversal. Yep, that\u2019s right, time and patience and a microspatula are all you need. (Side note 1: always stop when the friction caused by stabilizing your spatula hand with some fingers against your work surface start to bleed. Preferably before it ends up on the item under treatment. Side note 2: transparent tape means you\u2019ll be working almost 100% by feel to know where the tape is and when you\u2019ve removed it all.) Below are some pictures of this process. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

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The document in question – a contract on parchment.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The parchment attached to board by tape.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The board without the parchment. Note all the tape used to attach it to the parchment.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Tape attached to the parchment. An archivist’s and preserver’s nightmare!<\/p><\/div>\n

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Tape attached to the parchment.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The microspatula a work: a mighty tool!<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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The work is never done, and Amy’s hands take no prisoners! (Make sure not to bleed on your documents!)<\/p><\/div>\n

Follow Special Collections Research Center on Social Media\u00a0<\/em>at\u00a0our\u00a0Facebook<\/a><\/span>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a><\/span>, and\u00a0Twitter<\/a><\/span>\u00a0accounts. To search the collections\u00a0held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our\u00a0website\u00a0and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail\u00a0us at\u00a0speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a><\/span>\u00a0or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to\u00a0schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions. Appointments are not necessary to request and view collections.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post was written by Amy Sullivan, Preservation Officer\u00a0for George Mason University Libraries. You can follow Amy’s adventures in preservation on Instagram @gmupreservation. SCRC sent items from Randolph H. Lytton Historical Virginia collection to be de-framed by Amy and her student, and she noted this document made of parchment that was covered in *GASP* scotch […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101014,"featured_media":8465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,121],"tags":[770,61],"class_list":["post-8429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-scrc-interest","category-scrc-picks","tag-parchment","tag-preservation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Capture3-1.jpg?fit=674%2C419&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-2bX","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9579,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9579","url_meta":{"origin":8429,"position":0},"title":"Preservation and Conservation at Work","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"June 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was originally written for the George Mason University Libraries' news blog, which you can find here. 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For though\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/thornton1-1536x1152-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/thornton1-1536x1152-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/thornton1-1536x1152-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/thornton1-1536x1152-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/thornton1-1536x1152-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7430,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=7430","url_meta":{"origin":8429,"position":1},"title":"Preservation Week","author":"Amy Sullivan","date":"April 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Celebrate preservation awareness week by hosting a build-your-own-book-weight workshop! \u00a0 \u00a0 Book weights are filled fabric pouches that gently hold your books open while they\u2019re in use to avoid breaking the spines and free up your hands. 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Do you ever wonder how to treat stinky smelly collections? I\u2019ve gotten a surprising number of questions via email and Instagram about that since the pandemic started. Maybe people are trapped at home with odoriferous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/odor3.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/odor3.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/odor3.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/odor3.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9319,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9319","url_meta":{"origin":8429,"position":3},"title":"SCRC Fall Policies and Procedures","author":"admin","date":"August 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Libraries\u2019 Special Collections Research Center will be reopening on Monday, August 24 on an appointment-only basis for the Fall 2020 semester. Researchers requesting an appointment will need to know what collections they are interested in, the boxes or books they would like to use, and the estimated amount of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "GMU Fairfax Campus"","block_context":{"text":"GMU Fairfax Campus","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=272"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/so-happy-to-bd30f89569.jpg?fit=800%2C418&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/so-happy-to-bd30f89569.jpg?fit=800%2C418&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/so-happy-to-bd30f89569.jpg?fit=800%2C418&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/so-happy-to-bd30f89569.jpg?fit=800%2C418&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4816,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=4816","url_meta":{"origin":8429,"position":4},"title":"Rare Book Conservation","author":"admin","date":"January 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"George Mason University Libraries' Special Collections & Archives (SC&A) was the proud recipient in December 2012 of an NEH Preservation Assistance grant.\u00a0 Grant activities included working with a preservation consultant to assess preservation of collections here, creating a preservation plan, and prioritizing preservation actions.\u00a0 We identified one important priority as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rare Books"","block_context":{"text":"Rare Books","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=326"},"img":{"alt_text":"JK3925_1829A13_1830_before2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/JK3925_1829A13_1830_before2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":644,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=644","url_meta":{"origin":8429,"position":5},"title":"Not Just Another Library Preservation Video!","author":"Bob Vay","date":"April 15, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"As you know, this week is National Library Week, and George Mason University Libraries and Special Collections & Archives has teamed up to create a video to educate library users on the proper care of library materials. 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