Preservation Technologies Has Moved
Preservation Technologies, Inc., suppliers of Bookkeeper Process
of Deacidification, has moved to 111Thomson Park Dr., Cranberry Twp.
PA, 16066, tel: 800/416-book, 412/779-2111; fax: 412/779-9808.
The Library of Congress has begun regular shipments of books from
its collection to the facility and intends to treat at least 4000
books a month in the coming year.
New President at OSAC
The Oregon School of Arts & Crafts announces the appointment of Joseph Wedding as president, replacing Interim President Jewel Lansing. Mr. Wedding is currently vice-president for advancement at the Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri. He has extensive fund-raising experience and a background of artist and art educator.
Conservation Training Program in Utah
The Mountain Plains Regional Library Collections Conservation Training Program, directed by Randy Silverman and funded by NEH, is complete. Mr. Silverman is Preservation Librarian at the University of Utah, where the program has enabled book repair staff from 16 institutions in the West and Southwest to train at the University in three sessions, each lasting one week. Sessions scheduled every 6 to 8 weeks allowed participants time to practice the repair techniques learned in class before learning more complex techniques offered in later sessions.
The Ink Business and Bird & Bull
Henry Morris, proprietor of Bird & Bull Press in Newtown, PA, has sent us a copy of Sign of the Windmill, the house organ of Van Son Printing Inks in Mineola NY. On p. 7 is a picture of Henry Morris' Two Birds With One Stone in a binding by Bernard Middleton, which Mr. Morris, in a letter to the publication says cost him $2100 for the binding and 6 3/4 cents for the ink to print it. It is unusual, he says, for people in the business of selling ink to 'cross-over' into such exotic areas and, with 80,000 readers, "guys doing commercial printing will have cause to wonder about design binding (maybe)".
European Book Art News
Italy: Spoleto School for Book Conservators
A new
school for book conservators has opened recently in the Umbrian town
of Spoleto, north of Rome, for students from all countries of
Europe, called the European School for the Conservation of Books and
Library Materials (Corso Europeo di Formazione Specialista per
Conservatori-Restauratori di Beni Librari) sponsored by the Region
of Umbria, the Italian Ministry of Culture and the European Union.
The curriculum includes codicology, conservation and preservation,
with courses taught by Tom and Sylvia Albro, Robert Futernick, Chris
Clarkson, Nicholas Pickwoad, Tony Cains and John L. Sharpe. The
school will also conduct research in the field of book and paper
conservation. The program consists of two years in academic and
bench studies, with a third-year internship in recognized
conservation laboratories outside Italy. Students are required to
have a reading knowledge of Italian and English. For information,
contact Maria Lilli di Franco, viale Maritiri della Resistenza,
I-06049 Spoleto (PG), Italy (tel/fax: 39 7 43/22 05 67).
Spain: On June 10th the exhibition "encuadernaci=F3n contempor=E1neo en los Fondos de la Biblioteca National" (Contemporary Bookbindings in the Collection of the National Library) opened in the anteroom of the Museo del Libro in Madrid, along with the work of 21 members of AFEDA (the Spanish association for promoting the art of bookbinding). On July 9, members of AFEDA were invited to visit the Library of the Royal Palace in Madrid. An exhibition of the books taking the Prize for the Best Artistic Bookbindings 1995 will be shown in the Biblioteca Central de la Rioja from October 18 to November 13, 1996. The show may travel to Zamora and Barcelona later. Information regarding afeda and Spanish bookbinding may be had from AFEDA alcal=E1, 93-4No, 28009 Madrid, Spain; tel: 577 19 94
Elephant Folio Project
Christopher James and Kevin Oliver, proprietors of Porridge Papers and Signature Bindery in Lincoln, Nebraska, are making a mammoth book to be displayed on a tour of Nebraska when finished. Each sheet, measuring 5' x 8', will be distributed to artists throughout Nebraska to create artwork for half their sheet and their chosen statement, biography or philosophy on the other half. James has built the 5' x 8' paper mould and frame and has been experimenting with various pulp formulas, and Oliver is building a huge table and sewing frame for working on the binding. He plans to use native Nebraska hardwoods for the covers and will apply leather to the spine and corners. The finished volume will weigh 300 pounds. Volunteers and donations are the keys to the project. Kevin Oliver and Christopher James can be contacted at Porridge Papers and Signature Bindery, 714 O Street, Lincoln, NE 68508, tel/fax: 402/474-3049, e-mail: folio@tbpress.com.