• Management of Documentary Heritage
• Digital Archiving
• Conservation Treatment
• Preservation of the Record of Cultural Communities
• Recorded Sound Preservation

• Encouraging and promoting faculty and student research
• Collaborating with a variety of institutions, organizations, and preservation interests
• Convening small groups of experts on a range of preservation topics
• Sponsoring symposia and conferences

Projects

Water and Paper Workshop

July 28-31, 2009

This four-day course provided an overview to the basic principles that determine the interaction of paper and water. Of primary importance to conservators, water plays an important role in the production of paper, in its deterioration, and is also the most essential agent in the conservation treatment of paper. The course, based on customized audio-visual training aids and workshop exercises developed over the course of a four-year project specifically for conservation education and training purposes, integrated knowledge from the paper engineering, sciences and conservation disciplines. Over fourteen conservators from the United States and Australia attended the workshop in the new iSchool Book and Paper Lab. Funded by The Foundation of the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works in partnership with Buffalo State College Art Conservation Department and The University of Texas at Austin School of Information's Kilgarlin Center for the Preservation of the Cultural Record.

Gray Areas to Green Areas

On November 1-2, 2007, the School of Information's Kilgarlin Center for Preservation of the Cultural Record at the University of Texas, Austin, hosted From Gray Areas to Green Areas: Developing Sustainable Practices in Preservation Environments. The Getty Conservation Institute and UT-Austin's Center for Sustainable Development in the School of Architecture partnered with the Kilgarlin Center to bring to fruition this two-day symposium to examine sustainable practices in cultural heritage preservation environments.

The symposiums website includes the full text of the symposium papers.

A Step in the Evolution of the Treatment of Acetate Negatives

Karen L. Pavelka, Lecturer, School of Information, UT Austin
Victoria Naipavel-Heiduschke, graduate (2003), School of Information, UT Austin
Paper presented at the American Institute for Conservation Meeting, June, 2004.

The authors developed a method to separate the gelatin pellicle from the acetate support using a solution of acetone, ethanol, and water, which are solvents with low toxicity. The method allows for effective, predictable, and efficient separation of the pellicle.

Sound Savings: Preserving Audio Collections

ARL presents the symposium papers online at http://www.arl.org/preserv/sound_savings_proceedings/

To purchase a print copy of the symposium papers are available for $45 + shipping. Order from:

ARL Publications Distribution Center
P.O. Box 531
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0531
Phone: (310) 362-8196
Fax: (301) 206-9789
E-mail: pubs@arl.org
Web: http://www.arl.org/pubscat/order/

Conserving Texas History (online)

Rebecca Elder, graduate (2003), School of Information, UT Austin
Kayla Jackson Chioco, Adjunct Faculty, School of Information, UT Austin Independent study project, 2002.

Written and photographic documentation is standard for all conservation treatments. Photographic documentation is carried out prior to and following the treatment with additional images during treatment as needed. This project has also been documented with digital video. Using the lastest streaming media standard, MP4, we have made the video of this conservation process available on the Site. To view the video segments, Quicktime Player 6 or RealOne Player Basic is required.