Pub Date : 2023-03-16DOI: 10.1177/15501906231160512
J. Avedian, Brenda Bernier
In 2015 staff in Harvard University’s Widener Library discovered an unidentified white powder in a few early twentieth-century books in Persian and Urdu languages that had been acquired four years previously from a rare book dealer in Pakistan. The powder was positively identified as the insecticides Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane(DDT), Coumaphos, and several derivatives. Later it became evident that these volumes were part of a large collection and that potentially thousands of volumes were contaminated. Various exposure assessments were followed by cleaning and reassessment which revealed that risks to persons were infinitely small. However, a bioassay revealed that the pesticide residues were still biologically active. The transparency of communication and demonstrated collaboration between Safety, Facilities, and Library personnel generated trust among staff that their health and safety were paramount. This trust was key to subsequent incidents of contaminated collections and our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
{"title":"Powder Struggle: How a Contaminated Rare Book Collection Led to a New Paradigm of Collaboration at Harvard","authors":"J. Avedian, Brenda Bernier","doi":"10.1177/15501906231160512","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906231160512","url":null,"abstract":"In 2015 staff in Harvard University’s Widener Library discovered an unidentified white powder in a few early twentieth-century books in Persian and Urdu languages that had been acquired four years previously from a rare book dealer in Pakistan. The powder was positively identified as the insecticides Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane(DDT), Coumaphos, and several derivatives. Later it became evident that these volumes were part of a large collection and that potentially thousands of volumes were contaminated. Various exposure assessments were followed by cleaning and reassessment which revealed that risks to persons were infinitely small. However, a bioassay revealed that the pesticide residues were still biologically active. The transparency of communication and demonstrated collaboration between Safety, Facilities, and Library personnel generated trust among staff that their health and safety were paramount. This trust was key to subsequent incidents of contaminated collections and our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.","PeriodicalId":80959,"journal":{"name":"Collections : the newsletter of the Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine, the Medical College of Pennsylvania","volume":"42 1","pages":"229 - 242"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73344844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-16DOI: 10.1177/15501906231159024
A. Tarnowski
The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is an actively collecting museum, and collections stewardship preservation activities include treatment of objects affected by mold. Mold adversely impacts the physical stability and esthetic qualities of collection objects and creates unsafe conditions; providing a safe treatment environment is part of an overall risk-reduction strategy. Federal standards for working with moldy museum objects do not exist therefore disaster recovery-type practices are utilized, but it is unknown if basic isolation tents provide the safest environment for protecting those treating the objects. Prolonged use of a disaster-type isolation tent at NMAAHC proved unsatisfactory and unsafe; defining the optimal specifications and identifying applicable standards were key to designing a safer solution. Input from the museum industry and engineers, along with an examination of standards for similar hazards, impacted the overall design of an improved enclosure. Comparisons between the disaster-recovery isolation type enclosure and the new negative-pressure enclosure are compared for appropriate applications, context, and scale of different situations.
{"title":"A Safer Work Environment for Stabilization of Moldy Collections","authors":"A. Tarnowski","doi":"10.1177/15501906231159024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906231159024","url":null,"abstract":"The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is an actively collecting museum, and collections stewardship preservation activities include treatment of objects affected by mold. Mold adversely impacts the physical stability and esthetic qualities of collection objects and creates unsafe conditions; providing a safe treatment environment is part of an overall risk-reduction strategy. Federal standards for working with moldy museum objects do not exist therefore disaster recovery-type practices are utilized, but it is unknown if basic isolation tents provide the safest environment for protecting those treating the objects. Prolonged use of a disaster-type isolation tent at NMAAHC proved unsatisfactory and unsafe; defining the optimal specifications and identifying applicable standards were key to designing a safer solution. Input from the museum industry and engineers, along with an examination of standards for similar hazards, impacted the overall design of an improved enclosure. Comparisons between the disaster-recovery isolation type enclosure and the new negative-pressure enclosure are compared for appropriate applications, context, and scale of different situations.","PeriodicalId":80959,"journal":{"name":"Collections : the newsletter of the Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine, the Medical College of Pennsylvania","volume":"20 1","pages":"202 - 210"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79027911","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.1177/15501906231160487
Alex G. Cummins
{"title":"Book Review: A Cultural Arsenal for Democracy: The World War II Work of U.S. Museums","authors":"Alex G. Cummins","doi":"10.1177/15501906231160487","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906231160487","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":80959,"journal":{"name":"Collections : the newsletter of the Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine, the Medical College of Pennsylvania","volume":"124 1","pages":"111 - 112"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74107650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.1177/15501906231159032
Katharine Chandler
{"title":"Book Review: Narratives of (Dis)Enfranchisement: Reckoning with the History of Libraries and the Black and African American Experience and Narratives of (Dis)Engagement: Exploring Black and African American Students’ Experiences in Libraries","authors":"Katharine Chandler","doi":"10.1177/15501906231159032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906231159032","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":80959,"journal":{"name":"Collections : the newsletter of the Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine, the Medical College of Pennsylvania","volume":"9 1","pages":"108 - 110"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76342075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.1177/15501906231159034
Ryan Nutting
Although primarily known as a modern and contemporary art museum the Folkwang Museum in Essen, Germany also possesses a significant anthropology collection dating from the museum’s inception which is ignored in most scholarship on the museum. Using a biography of objects approach this work analyzes the interpretation of four netsuke in the museum’s collection across three exhibitions between 2010 and 2021. By analyzing the display methods of these objects in these exhibitions, their interpretation by the museum, and utilizing theories of miniature objects I demonstrate that the small size of these objects encouraged visitors to closely examine and decode these objects. Consequently, this work provides a basis for further investigation on how museums exhibit and interpret miniature objects to construct knowledge.
{"title":"“Impressive Miniature Scenes Full of Life and Humour”: The Interpretation of Netsuke at the Museum Folkwang 2010 to 2021","authors":"Ryan Nutting","doi":"10.1177/15501906231159034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906231159034","url":null,"abstract":"Although primarily known as a modern and contemporary art museum the Folkwang Museum in Essen, Germany also possesses a significant anthropology collection dating from the museum’s inception which is ignored in most scholarship on the museum. Using a biography of objects approach this work analyzes the interpretation of four netsuke in the museum’s collection across three exhibitions between 2010 and 2021. By analyzing the display methods of these objects in these exhibitions, their interpretation by the museum, and utilizing theories of miniature objects I demonstrate that the small size of these objects encouraged visitors to closely examine and decode these objects. Consequently, this work provides a basis for further investigation on how museums exhibit and interpret miniature objects to construct knowledge.","PeriodicalId":80959,"journal":{"name":"Collections : the newsletter of the Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine, the Medical College of Pennsylvania","volume":"8 1","pages":"49 - 68"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91287736","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.1177/15501906231160534
S. S. Chitima, Amos Zevure
A historiography of museums since the cabinets of curiosity shows evidence that museums have been seized with the acquisition, conservation, and exhibition of collections for public consumption. National museums have, in different contexts, assumed the role of public heritage protector and educator of national history. They have also served as a vehicle for negotiating national identities. As museums seek to good care of its collections, the public’s expectation is that their heritage is in good hands when under museum administration. Sometimes, however, due to several challenges that are context specific this role has been found not to be easy. This study focuses specifically on evaluating the efficacy of conservation measures of artifacts on display employed at the Zimbabwe Military Museum (ZMM). The study employed qualitative and case study research approaches where interviews as well as observations were deployed as research instruments. The study reveals that artifacts in display cases and those in open displays are deteriorating at un-precedented levels chiefly due to lack of purpose built infrastructure, conservation equipment, policy frameworks, and staff training. Identified agents of deterioration were human factors, light, pollution, temperature and relative humidity. In addition, statues were broken, metal collections corroding, paper and photographs fading, and showing signs of discoloration as well as textile collections weakening. In sum, conservation measures employed at the ZMM are constrained hence artifacts on display are more susceptible to deterioration and destruction.
{"title":"“Of War Tanks and Military Memorabilia”: A Look at the Conservation of Military Collections at the Zimbabwe Military Museum (ZMM)","authors":"S. S. Chitima, Amos Zevure","doi":"10.1177/15501906231160534","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906231160534","url":null,"abstract":"A historiography of museums since the cabinets of curiosity shows evidence that museums have been seized with the acquisition, conservation, and exhibition of collections for public consumption. National museums have, in different contexts, assumed the role of public heritage protector and educator of national history. They have also served as a vehicle for negotiating national identities. As museums seek to good care of its collections, the public’s expectation is that their heritage is in good hands when under museum administration. Sometimes, however, due to several challenges that are context specific this role has been found not to be easy. This study focuses specifically on evaluating the efficacy of conservation measures of artifacts on display employed at the Zimbabwe Military Museum (ZMM). The study employed qualitative and case study research approaches where interviews as well as observations were deployed as research instruments. The study reveals that artifacts in display cases and those in open displays are deteriorating at un-precedented levels chiefly due to lack of purpose built infrastructure, conservation equipment, policy frameworks, and staff training. Identified agents of deterioration were human factors, light, pollution, temperature and relative humidity. In addition, statues were broken, metal collections corroding, paper and photographs fading, and showing signs of discoloration as well as textile collections weakening. In sum, conservation measures employed at the ZMM are constrained hence artifacts on display are more susceptible to deterioration and destruction.","PeriodicalId":80959,"journal":{"name":"Collections : the newsletter of the Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine, the Medical College of Pennsylvania","volume":"5 1","pages":"88 - 107"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74961223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.1177/15501906231160456
M. Statham, H. Pardoe, Vanessa Cunningham
This biographical paper examines the background of collections comprising illustrations of fungi and herbarium specimens attributed to Jessie O’Callaghan, held by the Amgueddfa Cymru—Museum Wales. O’Callaghan was a privileged, wealthy woman born in the Welsh parish of Llandaff, which, in 1922, was incorporated into Cardiff, now Wales’ capital city. Upon her marriage in 1906 she moved to Ireland, but eventually settled in the English county of Surrey. Throughout her life she had an enduring interest in botany, seeking, collecting, painting, and cultivating rare plants. She shared this passion with Eleanor Vachell, the well-regarded Welsh amateur botanist, whom she had known since childhood. Entries in Eleanor’s diaries, and their letters, together with a surviving photograph album, provide fascinating insights into Jessie’s life. The paper also speculates on the fate of O’Callaghan’s collection of 595 watercolour paintings of wild flowers, loaned to the Museum by her daughter in 1932, but later returned to her.
{"title":"The Legacy of Welsh Botanist Jessie Gwendoline O’Callaghan (née Insole; 1882–1932)","authors":"M. Statham, H. Pardoe, Vanessa Cunningham","doi":"10.1177/15501906231160456","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906231160456","url":null,"abstract":"This biographical paper examines the background of collections comprising illustrations of fungi and herbarium specimens attributed to Jessie O’Callaghan, held by the Amgueddfa Cymru—Museum Wales. O’Callaghan was a privileged, wealthy woman born in the Welsh parish of Llandaff, which, in 1922, was incorporated into Cardiff, now Wales’ capital city. Upon her marriage in 1906 she moved to Ireland, but eventually settled in the English county of Surrey. Throughout her life she had an enduring interest in botany, seeking, collecting, painting, and cultivating rare plants. She shared this passion with Eleanor Vachell, the well-regarded Welsh amateur botanist, whom she had known since childhood. Entries in Eleanor’s diaries, and their letters, together with a surviving photograph album, provide fascinating insights into Jessie’s life. The paper also speculates on the fate of O’Callaghan’s collection of 595 watercolour paintings of wild flowers, loaned to the Museum by her daughter in 1932, but later returned to her.","PeriodicalId":80959,"journal":{"name":"Collections : the newsletter of the Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine, the Medical College of Pennsylvania","volume":"33 1","pages":"3 - 29"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80338528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.1177/15501906231159029
Susan A. Barrett
{"title":"Book Review: Metadata for Digital Collections, A How-To-Do-It Manual","authors":"Susan A. Barrett","doi":"10.1177/15501906231159029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906231159029","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":80959,"journal":{"name":"Collections : the newsletter of the Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine, the Medical College of Pennsylvania","volume":"83 1","pages":"113 - 114"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84023346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-27DOI: 10.1177/15501906231159036
Oluwole Ejiwoye Rasaki, A. Egbedokun, Akeem Adedayo Adedimeji
The study investigates audiovisual collections at the Albert Ilemobade Library, The Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. Condition surveying, observation, and interview were the instruments used for data collection. Condition survey was conducted on audiovisual materials in the unit to ascertain their continuing accessibility and usability. The result revealed that most of the audiovisual materials are carrier-based analog format and are inaccessible owing to unavailability and obsolete playback equipment. Technology obsolescence, improper storage environment, lack of funding, lack of commitment by library management, and lack of trained personnel in audiovisual preservation were identified challenges of audiovisual preservation in the library. The study recommends digitization of analog carrier-based audiovisual materials, adequate funding, conducive storage environment, recruitment of preservation expert, and change of attitude to preservation of information materials.
{"title":"Preservation of Audiovisual Collections at Albert Ilemobade Library, Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria","authors":"Oluwole Ejiwoye Rasaki, A. Egbedokun, Akeem Adedayo Adedimeji","doi":"10.1177/15501906231159036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906231159036","url":null,"abstract":"The study investigates audiovisual collections at the Albert Ilemobade Library, The Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. Condition surveying, observation, and interview were the instruments used for data collection. Condition survey was conducted on audiovisual materials in the unit to ascertain their continuing accessibility and usability. The result revealed that most of the audiovisual materials are carrier-based analog format and are inaccessible owing to unavailability and obsolete playback equipment. Technology obsolescence, improper storage environment, lack of funding, lack of commitment by library management, and lack of trained personnel in audiovisual preservation were identified challenges of audiovisual preservation in the library. The study recommends digitization of analog carrier-based audiovisual materials, adequate funding, conducive storage environment, recruitment of preservation expert, and change of attitude to preservation of information materials.","PeriodicalId":80959,"journal":{"name":"Collections : the newsletter of the Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine, the Medical College of Pennsylvania","volume":"5 1","pages":"69 - 87"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79607077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-24DOI: 10.1177/15501906221147552
B. Jenkins, S. Best
In La Verne, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, residents have partnered with the town’s historical society to rebuild an important item from that organization’s collections: a 1938 International truck. Driven for decades by longtime La Verne resident Inman Conety, this automobile has logged over 900,000 miles since the early-twentieth century. As an expression of the collective identity of La Verne, the International has served the community as a recycling vehicle and supported civic pride with appearances in Fourth of July parades. The La Verne Historical Society recently launched a campaign to fund reconstruction of the vehicle, with the goal of returning it to the Fourth of July parade and affirming the truck’s status as a historical artifact with deep ties to the community. The 1938 International expresses the centrality of community support to the La Verne Historical Society’s collections.
{"title":"New Life for a Legacy: The La Verne Historical Society and Inman Conety’s 1938 International Truck","authors":"B. Jenkins, S. Best","doi":"10.1177/15501906221147552","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906221147552","url":null,"abstract":"In La Verne, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, residents have partnered with the town’s historical society to rebuild an important item from that organization’s collections: a 1938 International truck. Driven for decades by longtime La Verne resident Inman Conety, this automobile has logged over 900,000 miles since the early-twentieth century. As an expression of the collective identity of La Verne, the International has served the community as a recycling vehicle and supported civic pride with appearances in Fourth of July parades. The La Verne Historical Society recently launched a campaign to fund reconstruction of the vehicle, with the goal of returning it to the Fourth of July parade and affirming the truck’s status as a historical artifact with deep ties to the community. The 1938 International expresses the centrality of community support to the La Verne Historical Society’s collections.","PeriodicalId":80959,"journal":{"name":"Collections : the newsletter of the Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine, the Medical College of Pennsylvania","volume":"23 1","pages":"30 - 48"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90655502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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