Conservation Research in Libraries

David Howell, Ludo Snijders

• Publisher: De Gruyter Saur
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9783110396331
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Library & Information Science
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Conservation research in libraries is a rapidly growing field. This book places analysis within its context in conservation and provides examples of how this expensive resource can be used. Through a series of case studies, it describes major analytical procedures, including visualization, molecular, elemental and separation techniques as well as chemical tests. It is thus a suitable reference work for library conservators and curators.

Please note: Despite careful production of our books, sometimes mistakes happen. Unfortunately, the authorship for some chapters wasn't correct in the original publication. Chapter 5 was written by Andrew Beeby and David Howell as co-author, chapter 6 by Kelly Domoney and David Howell as co-author, and chapter 9 is authored by Anita Quye. This will be corrected. We apologize for the mistake.

Chapter 1 Introduction

The purpose of this long-requested work is to fulfil the demand for a book on science and heritage, particularly library materials. Most conservators and curators are from arts and humanities backgrounds, and science is not necessarily a language that is generally understood. At the same time, there are an increasing number of announcements in both the general and academic press that major discoveries have been made in heritage collections, using scientific methodologies. This results in a number of reactions from library professionals, sometimes including suspicion of techniques, often due to the fact that they do not know enough about it to feel confident that the techniques are safe for objects. On the other end of the spectrum of reactions is the wish for access to the same ‘magic’. So, the demand for access to analytical services is real, but the understanding of what is available and what techniques are appropriate for each specific question is not yet well formed.

The term ‘scientific methodologies’ requires some elaboration here. This is not a chemistry book, or a textbook on chemical analysis. It concentrates purely on techniques that are available for use in libraries, or at least on library materials. It elaborates on what they can be used to investigate, and a brief description of why they work and how they are applied. The techniques described here are also not limited to chemical analysis but encompass many of the various techniques that can be used to find out more about our library materials, not just in knowledge of materials but also revealing ‘hidden’ information. Thus, we are talking about using archaeological or forensic techniques to tell us more about the people and societies within which these objects existed, as well as increasing knowledge of the objects themselves. What all these techniques share, however, it that they require some form of advanced device to function.

Cultural heritage science is a broad church. The United Kingdom’s National Heritage Science Forum set up in 2013 has members from museums, libraries, universities, as well as English Heritage and the National Trust. Interests vary from specialist investigations of individual items of specific collection types to the science involved with caring for whole buildings and their contents, and even the conservation of ruins and non-built heritage. This spread of interests would be of far too wide a scope for any single volume, particularly in a field which is evolving so quickly. Such a book risks being out of date before it is published!

This book is designed to show a snapshot of the current state of heritage science research in libraries. It has been revised up to the last moment in order to have currency for as long as possible. Technological advance is so rapid that new or improved methodologies are being devised all the time, but this book will lay the foundations of understanding to allow those advances to be followed and adopted with comprehension and discretion. For instance, a knowledge of the current state of Raman spectroscopy for identifying pigments in manuscripts, maps and works of art on paper will allow the reader to form an opinion on any new technique advertised as being ‘the latest thing’ in this field.

Libraries have a number of critical qualities which need to be in place to be useful institutions in the Google age. The quality and size of the collections are often seen to be key performance indicators, but other factors, such as the ability to find the information required, and the skill of library staff in helping in that process, are also vital. Heritage science tends to only take place in research libraries, those with collections of unique material, material of permanent retention, and the slightly undefined ‘special collections’. This type of material tends to be curated rather than managed by a librarian due to the age, value, vulnerability, and importance of this material. It is in this area that the heritage scientist, conservators, and curatorial staff need to have a common understanding of the questions being asked, the relative importance of those questions, what is known already and how easy it is to get new answers. A decision has to be made as to how much a curator or conservator can find out just from their experience and knowledge, and how much they can be assisted by technical investigation and scientific analysis. It is often a combination of skills that leads to a positive outcome rather than the scientist being given a task and coming back with an answer which he or she thinks is the answer to the question, only to find that it isn’t.

1.1 Ways of looking

Sight is the single most important sense when studying library material but – as degraded material often has a distinctive odour and may feel different to the touch than ‘whole or intact’ material – other senses, such as smell and touch, can play a part to a smaller extent. Apart from this, information from a book is almost entirely visual. The study of the written word is of course an enormous subject area. What we are concerned with here is palaeography, or the study of ancient and historic texts and manuscripts, and pictorial art for their form and the process of creation, rather than their content. At the same time, some techniques described in this book can reveal parts of the physicality of such a document that allows further study of the content, such as palimpsests. In this book we are primarily interested in materials, condition, structure and integrity. Some of this information can be obtained through visual inspection by people who are experienced and know what they are looking for. This is an essential stage in deciding if, and what kind of, further investigation is required.

In the same way as potential aeroplane pilots and other professions where excellent eyesight is a prerequisite, conservators and curatorial staff are often subjected to certain visual tests as part of their recruitment process. This is necessary, as for many tasks being able to observe details and interpret what is seen are key for optimal performance. But good eyesight is not enough, and what is required is experience and ‘learning’. Thus experienced experts will be able to see evidence of manufacture and damage because they have come across similar instances in the past, either in their work or during their training. Scholars and conservators ideally spend many hours inspecting an object to really get to know it and its details. They will be looking for marks of manufacture, style, materials, erasures, damages and repairs.

Scholars visiting libraries will possibly be most interested in content: what the words are and what the writer meant; what style are the illustrations and are they from a particular school? In their search for such answers, they will be referring to published reference material to give context to the current research. The need for time for scholars to make their conclusions is proven when visiting ‘the reserve’ in a reading room. The ‘reserve’ in the Bodleian Libraries is where books and manuscripts are taken when a reader requests them. The readers then take them to their desks, returning them to the reserve each time they leave the reading room and then collecting them again on their return. It is only when they have finally finished their study that the item is returned to its secure storage. The reserves in the Bodleian Libraries are most often very full of materials, often multiple items for individual readers who need to consult more than one item at a time. The investigators will be comparing the objects they are studying to other similar items. They may also be interested in the materiality of the object, if that knowledge helps in their scholarship. So, can an individual artist be identified by name just from the style? Can books be connected in some way by the use of a similar palette? This means that many scholars spend extended periods of time at libraries, looking at a wide variety of material types.

Conservators and curators may be most interested in the condition of an object: is it safe to handle; does it need interventive conservation; does it need special protection, for example to be placed in a purpose-made box? A conservation inspection of a single item can take many hundreds of hours, often longer than an actual conservation intervention. Conservators are the people who get closest to the objects and with their training and experience they can glean a great deal of information with nothing more than good lighting and simple aids for viewing. They will be able to distinguish paper, parchment and binding materials. They will record how the pages are put together by assessing how the groups of pages are assembled or sewn. They will assess the ability of an item to withstand being made available to readers. In the Bodleian Libraries there is a class of material that is withdrawn into what is referred to as ‘conservation reserve’. These items, usually of unusual significance, are in such fragile condition that no one is generally allowed to access them. A notable example of this is the early Indian mathematical text, the Bakhshali manuscript. This birch bark item is incredibly fragile and on a recent inspection its condition seems to be deteriorating. Given its increased profile since it has been carbon-14 dated it is inevitable that further requests will be made to access it, but this will only be possible if extensive intervention takes place to strengthen it and protect it.

In their inspections the conservators will also be assessing soiling and possible cleaning methods, noting the number of leaves, the location and number of rips, tears and creases and possible remedial repairs, and making the most accurate record of its condition so any deterioration can be monitored in the future. In this process, conservators often use a notebook to make notes and draw diagrams. They will make accurate use of technical terms to accurately describe an object in detail.¹ Although digital imaging can produce useful records of an object, diagrams and written observations can often convey more meaning than an image alone.

Of course, scholars, curators and conservators are all people interested in library material, so their interests will obviously overlap. Therefore it is very common for experts from the different groups to work together, pooling their knowledge and experience. The most successful projects are those in which we are able to share information and insights, especially when experts from different fields come together. Each will look at an object in a slightly different manner, will have a different focus and a different set of presuppositions and questions. In other words, collaboration is key.

The visual inspection of manuscripts may require specific aids to enhance regular human vision. Many people rely on aids for seeing on a daily basis, using glasses, contact lenses or dark glasses to help them see ‘properly’. These are not seen as enhancements of vision but rather a way of bringing sight up to an acceptable level. But it is possible, using apparatus, to improve the quality of what we can see. The basic physiology of the eye is such that its perception of colour and details is actually quite limited, and it is only by the immense power of the brain making sense of the world that we see things with the ‘clarity’ that we perceive. Everyone will be aware of magnifying glasses, but there is a large range of devices to enable us to see better and more clearly. The devices discussed here do not fall in the category of scientific methodologies, but they are nonetheless essential in the first assessment of library materials.

A basic but much used tool by many conservators is a magnifier. These come in two formats. Some are simply a single large lens on a frame that the conservator looks through at the object to see the magnified image (Figure 1.1). These can be used for visual inspection to reveal small details not discernible to the unaided eye. They are also often used by conservators to carry out detailed close-work conservation treatments. But even such simple equipment has to be used correctly. There is a specific skill in using magnifiers. This takes time and patience to master and some people find it much easier than others. Magnifiers are only useful if they help with observation. The distance from the lens to the object and the distance from the viewer to the lens need to be constantly adjusted to give a good image. Because everything is magnified, the slightest movement of hand or any tool is also magnified, which takes time and practice to get used to. The position and distance from both object and eye are critical to getting a good image, and time and practice are required for confidence in use. A ‘normal’ magnification could be as low as 1.75 times magnification (x1.75) and this is both useful and easy to use for relatively long periods of time. Some magnifiers have a magnification of up to x4 and allow for both eyes to use the same relatively large lens, but these can be quite tiring on the eyes if used extensively.

Figure 1.1: Magnifier lens (© Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford).

A slightly more refined magnifier is worn like glasses and has two lenses, one for each eye (Figure 1.2). These are available in a range of magnifications, with x2 being most popular but up to x5 being available. Care has to be taken not to wear these magnifiers too long as they can cause eye strain and headaches. Another comment from users has been that it is sometimes quite difficult to get everything positioned so that there is room to work with your hands while at the same time keeping everything in focus.

Figure 1.2: Magnifiers to be worn as glasses (© Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford).

These relatively simple devices may be the only equipment you really need to help with your research. They are by far the most used pieces of equipment in a conservation studio. If they are a not enough, there is a whole range of devices that may help in finding the solution to your question. Many of these devices rely on, or are used in conjunction with, visible light. Since light has long been understood to be a potentially damaging factor to library materials, it is worth considering it in some detail here.

1.2 The issue of light

Lighting has a profound effect on how we see things, and especially on how we perceive colour. Using bright colour-matching light sources can improve what we see and reveal detail invisible under low light levels using ordinary light sources. Conservators will worry about the use of bright light sources, but for some objects the only way to reveal important features is to increase the light levels. Conservators will actually acknowledge that they need bright light to see to do their work and it is hypocritical to insist on low light levels which will prevent researchers doing their work.

The unit of light, more correctly t...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 Defining research questions
• Chapter 3 Microscopy
• Chapter 4 Digital imaging
• Chapter 5 UV-vis, infrared and Raman spectroscopy
• Chapter 6 X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and related techniques
• Chapter 7 3D scanning and imaging
• Chapter 8 Spectral imaging
• Chapter 9 Chromatography
• Glossary
• Index