Prevention

The Ounce: Don't Dry This at Work/Home

Welcome to The Ounce, an occasional missive for Harvard Library colleagues from Preventive Programs in HL Preservation Services.

The Dry Humidity Season: November-February

During the fall and winter season, indoor humidity levels drop, presenting risks for library and archive collections. Humidity below 40% is drying and can cause organic materials to shrink, warp, crack, or become brittle. These changes can be permanent or require conservation treatment to resolve.

If humidity drops lower than 30%, some materials are even more susceptible to these...

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The Ounce: Do The Flight Thing—How to combat webbing clothes moths in collections!

Welcome to The Ounce, an occasional missive for Harvard Library colleagues from Preventive Programs in HL Preservation Services.  

Many staff members inquire about pests or bugs they are seeing and if they are harmful to collections. Here at The Ounce, we have decided to send you an intimate portrait of one bug at a time throughout the year. 

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The Ounce: Of Glove and Pure Hands

We might want to wear gloves to protect an item we are handling or to protect ourselves from unpleasant substances that might be lurking within. We use nitrile, latex, and cotton. Which types are best? Should we use white gloves for handling special collections? Aren't cotton gloves more sustainable than disposable ones? 

Perhaps we should follow Nathaniel Hawthorne—"A pure hand needs no glove to cover it." In many cases, "none...

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Protecting Collections during Renovation Construction

This guide for Library Managers was developed by Harvard Library Preservation Services in consultation with FAS Library Facilities and several Library collection managers.  Planning concepts are followed by specific hazards and how to mitigate them.

Planning

A Seat at the Table

To prevent damage and ensure representation of collection-related issues, Library Representatives, Facilities Managers, Architects, and Construction Managers should work together during the...

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The Ounce: A Light-Hearted Series About Preventing Library Materials Damage

Benjamin Franklin advised fire-threatened Philadelphians in 1736 that, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” 

The Preventive Programs group within HL Preservation Services is starting an occasional series of HLComms posts called “The Ounce,” focusing on preventing damage to library materials.  The first “Ounce” is a reminder to spend a little time preparing your workspace and collections storage for the holiday break, when nobody will be around except for the creepy crawlies. 

Why are...

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Guidelines for Careful Handling During Remote Consultations

By Nora Dempsey, Associate Collections Conservator 

Toward the end of 2020, Harvard Library Preservation Services (HLPS) staff shared guidelines for handling collection materials during virtual consultations. These guidelines were created in response to COVID-19-related restrictions on access to library materials and in-person meetings. We welcomed the...

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