Utah librarian helps preserve history

Kent Library hosted a one-time lecture Thursday, April 6, on the preservation of artifacts. The lecture was given by Randy Silverman, preservation librarian at the University of Utah’s Marriott Library.

The lecture highlighted key points on what a person can do to preserve their artifacts as well as factors that contribute to damaging artifacts.

Silverman presented seven points on what people need to do.

The first point of the presentation of what a person can do to preserve the artifacts is Relative Humidity-moisture is the leading cause of damage. The best way to care for objects is to keep air circulation flowing in and out. The second point Silverman talked about was temperature-different temperatures can damage the artifacts. The ideal temperature is between 68 and 72 degrees. The next topic was about light-all light is energy. The best way to keep artifacts safe is to store them in a dark place. gaseous pollutants or anything that is a chemical compound-car exhaust, cleaning fumes, or any gaseous elements. Be careful what you clean with when cleaning old antiques some chemical ingredients in products will damage antiques like Windex on picture frames will damage the photographs. Silverman went on to talk about building problems-structural faults can run a risk of damage. Wiring, water pipes and airflow can contribute to the quality of artifacts. The sixth point is emergency planning and taking precautions when storing objects. The seventh and final point in the lecture was Storage and Exhibit. To help preserve artifacts you can wrap objects in a cloth or blanket.

After the presentation, some audience members were able to have their artifacts examined by Silverman. One audience member was Dr. Michael Hogan, who taught at Southeast for 40 years.

Hogan had his great-great grandmother’s Bible looked at. Alice Strange who lives in Cape Girardeau was another audience member at the show. Strange found the lecture to be interesting and educational.

“I didn’t know anything about how to preserve any documents or papers or books or anything,” Strange said. “I think he had some really good advice about keeping things in acid-free plastic and having it open to fresh air. He really knows a lot.” Strange said.

Strange went on to say

“I liked the pictures of the early manufacturing of paper, how they made paper from old rags and the steps they went through by hand. They’re real craftsmen, that was my favorite part,” Strange said.

The lecture was part of a $6,000 grant the university received from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The lecture was important to the library since the library has its own special collection of books and documents.

The library received a private collection of more than 800 books from Charles Harrison. A Cape Girardeau resident who lived in Cape Girardeau from 1898 to his death in 1944. The collection is valued around $8 to $10 million. Another collection the library has is papers on author William Faulkner that’s estimated at $20 million.

Special Collections and Archives librarian Roxanne Dunn is in charge of managing the library’s valuables.

Dunn, Facilities Management and Silverman took a tour of the building for structural soundness for the management of the collection.

“He went on the roof, he was checking out the roof he walked around the exterior to see if he can find any leaks he went into the HVAC system he’s been very thorough,” Dunn said.

Dunn also was impressed and enjoyed the lecture.

“He knows what he’s talking about, he has a ton of experience,” Dunn said.

Dunn was also excited for the people who brought their artifacts.

“My favorite part was when he got to talk about everyone’s pieces. When he got to look at everyone’s family Bibles, photographs and scrapbooks I thought that was really nice,” Dunn said.

The library will use the advice Silverman said when preserving the library’s collections in the future.

“I’m going to take what Randy tells us and I’m going to implement that to what we got already he’s definitely inspired me to do better and figure out what we can do,” Dunn said.

“He’s going to write a really big report on all of our collections that says this is how you can best care for them, and I’m going to take that report and follow it the best I can.” The library also has a goal of and hopes to make digital copies of all the records in preservation.

“We would eventually like to digitize some pieces and make them available to people online,” Dunn said.

The presentation by Silverman had 20 people in attendance among them were students, faculty and residents.

For more information on Randy Silverman visit the University of Utah’s website on the J. Willard Marriott Library webpage at lib.Utah.edu. For more information on Southeast’s Preservation website visit the Special Collections and Archives website on the Kent Library webpage at library.semo.e