CHARACTERIZING & PRESERVING PAPER-BASED ARTIFACTS IN THE DIGITAL AGE
By Dianne van der Reyden, Senior Paper Conservator
SMITHSONIAN CENTER FOR MATERIALS RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
"THE TECHNOLOGY OF ARTIFACTS"
SI Resident Associates/George Washington University Summer Course for Appraisers, July 17 1998
ACTIVITIES:
Video: "Rescuing Records: Recognizing Problems in Preserving Documents in Research Collections"
Identification of:
o value, use and risk inherent to documents;
o papermaking technology, characteristics and properties;
o media technology, characteristics and properties;
o analytical techniques;
o natural aging and deterioration of paper and media;
o preservation procedures
Lecture: "Case Studies: Recognizing the Real Thing using Research Techniques"
Lab Tour: Introduction to Some Evaluation Procedures for Paper Materials
HANDOUTS:
1. Paperlab Website Preventive Care Curriculum
2. Video Text
3. "Seeing 'The Real Thing' - Analyzing Appearance: Case Studies in Curatorial Collaborations"
4. "History, Technology and Treatment of Specialty Papers Found in Archives, Libraries, and Museums: Tracing and Pigment-Coated Papers"
5. "Recent Scientific Research in Paper Conservation"
6. "Paper Documents"
7. Summary of Some Techniques used to Preserve and Characterize Paper