Author: Ryan Winfield

In January of 2012, the  funded the continued development of the ConservationSpace initiative. The goal of ConservationSpace is to develop an open-source software application that will address a core need of the  conservation community for a shared solution to the problem of documentation management. The conservation community has long recognized that a digital approach to managing its documentation would improve continuity in procedures, increase access, expand research opportunities, and better ensure the preservation of its documents.

The National Gallery of Art remained as the lead institution. Six partner institutions also renewed their commitment to the project: Courtauld Institute of Art, Denver Art Museum, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst, and Yale University. The NGA and its partners are poised to release the final Request for Proposals (RFP) and supporting documentation that will bring a software developer on board to build the first version of the system. Once the software developer is selected, the work to develop a “core” version will begin. This version will be a hosted BETA solution that will be tested by all of the partner institutions. The first version of ConservationSpace will focus on: examination (single object), examination or survey (multiple objects), treatment (single object), treatment (multiple objects), and basic document/system management.

On October 11, 2012 the NGA released, on behalf of the partners and the conservation community, the Request for Proposals to hire the developer to build the open source application. The full call for proposals can be seen by visiting the Federal Business Opportunities website at www.fbo.gov.

The deadline for submissions is November 13, 2012. The NGA and project partners hope to award the contract by the end of 2012.

As part of the RFP development, the partners in working groups or teams, created a substantial dossier of documents, notes, and drawings to represent the “universe” of conservation work, documentation, and data. The NGA and the ConservationSpace team would like to direct interested parties to its Google work site. Although final versions of critical project documents will continue to be hosted on ConservationSpace.org, the Google site allows the conservation community to see the process and considerable effort of the partners behind the work to-date.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation continues to generously support ConservationSpace, and the partner institutions remain committed to this challenging and exciting project.

For more information, visit www.conservationspace.org.

Christine E. McCarthy
Chief Conservator
Preservation Department
Yale University Library
130 Wall St.
New Haven, CT
203-432-1710

Starting in November, 2012 Cornell University Library will help preserve valuable books and prevent damage from natural disasters thousands of miles across the ocean.

Thanks to a $180,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, the Library is beginning an internship program that will allow representatives from four libraries in China come to Ithaca to study

with experts in the library’s Department of Preservation and Conservation.

Cornell’s preservation experience, facilities and expertise will show the eight interns how to mitigate the immediate physical risks that threaten some of China’s most significant historical

collections and greatly extend the life of their valuable books.

“Knowledge creation is global. With fewer barriers to cross-border research, the well-being of collections in other countries is directly linked to the research we do at Cornell and around the world, and it benefits from their accessibility,” said Xin Li, Associate University Librarian for Central Library Operations. “Helping Chinese librarians preserve these materials ensures they’ll be around for the long run, which is part of the global mission of a land-grant university.”

Four leading academic libraries in Beijing–Renmin University Library, Peking University Library, Tsinghua University Library and the China Agricultural University Library–will participate in the program. Its first session begins Nov. 1, 2012 with two interns coming to Cornell at a time. Over the course of two years, each of the interns will attend two six-week workshops.

Interns will learn conservation of Western bindings, non-damaging exhibition practices and care and handling of collections, as well as how to prevent mold and mitigate water damage.

By the end of the program, interns will not only be able to implement preservation and disaster plans at their own libraries, but also help train other librarians, archivists and technicians at other institutions in China. An enhanced online preservation tutorial translated into Chinese will also allow library staff members to continue mentoring and advising the interns even after the project is over.

“Our ‘train-the-trainers’ model, combined with our online tutorial, means we can reach far beyond the people we’re training in person,” said Barbara Berger Eden, director of preservation at Cornell. “This program requires a combination of specialized skills that our Library can offer: singular expertise in traditional conservation skills and the innovative use of cutting-edge technology.”

“The preservation of endangered materials will benefit scholarship,” said Helena Kolenda, Program Director for Asia at the Luce Foundation. “This training program will also serve to build bridges between the library communities in the United States and China.”

To learn more visit www.library.cornell.edu/preservation.