Preservation (Special Collections)

NEDCC Preservation 101: Preservation Basics for Paper and Media Collections

The Northeast Document Conservation Center's Preservation 101 textbook provides a basic introduction to the concepts and standards used to build an effective preservation program, and includes a discussion of preservation policies, building and environment, care and handling of collection materials, reformatting, emergency preparedness, and conservation practices.

To navigate through this online textbook, please click on the vertical, right-hand-side menu. You will need to click on each individual page/session. 

NEDCC Preservation Leaflets

The NEDCC Preservation Leaflets are free, highly specific PDF copies. Categories include Planning and Preservation; The Environment; Emergency Management; Storage and Handling; Photographs; Reformatting; and Conservation Procedures. 

Indiana University Libraries Book Repair Manual

The Indiana University Libraries Book Repair Manual contains resources for Repair Treatments, Enclosure Treatments, Hand Tools, Shop Tools, and Supplies and Materials, in addition to a Glossary for preservation. 

Preservation Enclosures by Hedi Kyle

This manual contains examples, illustrations, and instructions for creating preservation enclosures. 

The British Library Conservation Guides

A collection of research guides that cover a range of Conservation issues, preservation techniques, environmental management, and caring for various types of formats.

AICCM's Visual Conservation Glossary 

Photographs of different types of damages and deterioration. 

AIC Wiki 

Since 1985, the American Institute of Conservation has maintained and continuously updated a compendium of working knowledge on materials and techniques used to preserve and treat works of art and historic artifacts.

Brodart's Guide to Book Care and Repair

This first part of this guide is written with the intention of showing you how to keep periodicals and books, both hard- and soft cover, looking like new, while the second section is dedicated to book repair.

Book Repair Manual by Robert J. Milevski

Section One details Book Structure and Book Problems; Section Two details Book Repair Procedures; and Section Three details Adhesive Binding: History, Causes of Deterioration, and Simple Book Repair Procedures. Published through the Illinois Periodicals Online (IPO) Project, at the Northern Illinois University Libraries. 

The Future of the Past: Preservation in American Research Libraries

A summary of challenges and accomplishments in preservation efforts since early 1960 in an attempt to provide a common backdrop against which further work in preservation can proceed.