ALA ~ Preservation Products and Services

At the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco, I talked to several vendors on the exhibit floor that were offering preservation products and services. Here I will discuss four: T&D data loggers, Brodart, Azuradisc, and Digital Revolution. I was very impressed by the wide presence of vendors offering preservation products and services at ALA.

T&D

Promo Materials from T&D 

I saw an ad for T&D data loggers in the ALA Program and Exhibit Directory, so I made it a point to stop by the last day the exhibit hall was open. If there was ever such a thing as a library worker Christmas list, I would have a data logger on it -- temperature and RH are not routinely measured for the general and reference print collections at my library, so it would be interesting (just for fun) to see how much these conditions fluctuate for both. Furthermore, I will be conducting a survey about study zones in the fall at my library, so I was interested to see if data loggers exist to measure sound (decibels).

I found out T&D data loggers measure very important conditions for libraries, museums, and archives (temperature, RH, luminescence/UV, CO2), as well as conditions germane to other industries (instrumentation signals, location information for transport, pulse signals, voltage). Additionally, T&D's advanced systems can communicate data wirelessly, making collecting and charting the data directly automated to a PC. The wireless or wired data loggers can also trigger alarms, emails, and other notifications in the event a pre-set threshold is surpassed.

Unfortunately T&D do not offer data loggers for decibels, but I had a good chat with the representative about possible avenues to follow to that end.

Brodart

Brodart Guide to Book Care and Collection obtained from their booth at ALA 

Brodart is a company ubiquitous to the library community in all the library-related products they sell, including furniture, book carts, and signage. Brodart also offers book repair materials as well as a range of archival products such as boxes, files, shelving, sleeves, etc.

I picked up the Brodart Guide to Book Care and Repair at their booth, and the representative scanned my conference tag to send me a archival products catalog at a later date.

The Brodart Guide to Book Care and Repair is like a similar guide I got from Demco, which I used extensively for a Reference Collection survey and mending project I completed some years ago at my library. Looking over the Brodart guide, I surmise the techniques outlined are geared for general circulating collections primarily at public libraries, and are aimed at prolonging the circulation of the materials rather than preserving them in an archival sense. These types of guides are big on using tape and other quick, cheap methods of reinforcement and repair, and they do not always jibe with my training in archival preservation and book arts. Besides using binding tape when repairing spines of circulating books, I always defer to PVA glue rather than tape, and defer to a nipping press rather than a four sided rubber band for pressing.

However, the Brodart guide does do a good job of covering the basics of repairing hinges and spines that uphold the tenets of library bindings, as well as covering the terminology of book parts and other book repair and care terms. It's definitely a good starting place for novices and those on a tight budget.

Azuradisc

Azuradisc coupon for free disc repair and catalog obtained from their booth at ALA 

Azuradisc is one of several vendors that offer disc repair services that are valuable for the preservation of audio CDs, DVDs, BlueRay discs, and CD-Roms. The Azuradisc representative demonstrated the repair machine by scratching up a CD, putting a solution on it, then placing it in the machine which buffs out the scratches and makes the surface appear to be smooth as brand new. I see this as being very valuable to many types of institutions -- circulating disc collections in public and academic libraries as well as archives and special collections that are processing or preserving CD collections. A disc may be scratched upon ingestion, but with the repair like this, it will be able to be played successfully in the future, as well as reformatted without quality loss.

Azuradisc also offer other disc solutions, such as scratch guards for the foil layer (beneath the label), jewel case liners, microfiber optical cloths, spray cleaning, optical combo kits, and dual strip security labels. Lastly, they offer a mail-in service as well, in the event it is more cost effective to go that route rather than purchasing a disc cleaning machine.

Azuradisc makes their machines in the USA, in Arizona, which is great because I value that. While I did not speak to reps from other disc repair companies, I am not sure they can say their machines are made in USA as well.

Digital Revolution Media Preservation Services 

Digital Revolution promo packet obtained from their booth at ALA. It contains the article "Jean Sequencing" from the Society of California Archivists Newsletter, a handout called "Your history is important: Your media library is deteriorating • rescue it before it's too late," a handout called "Triage and your tape collection: Assessing magnetic tapes," an overview and workflow of Digital Revolution's media preservation services, and a reprint of a SF Chronicle article about Digital Revolution's project digitizing City Arts & Lectures recordings for the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley.

I happened across the Digital Revolution booth on Friday evening (June 26), which was great synchronicity with Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) workshop I had just attended and the Photographic Preservation class I am taking during this summer term. Digital Revolution is a San Francisco company that offers preservation and archiving services across the board -- from digitizing magnetic tape formats, to assisting in project management of archiving and digitization initiatives, to photographing and creating metadata for unique collections such as ephemera and clothing. It was really fun and exciting to talk to these reps!

I mentioned the AMIA workshop I had attended, and specifically discussed the portion of the workshop that dealt with managing outsourcing projects. The rep agreed that the things we had learned in the workshop are helpful, such as documenting the format, length, and number of video tapes in the digitization project, as well as specifying other aspects of the deliverables, such as file naming conventions and the way digital files will be transmitted back to the institution. Digital Revolution's guide to triaging magnetic tape collections that I obtained from their booth offered information in line with that I had learned in the workshop, such as the most at risk formats, how they deteriorate, optimal storage conditions, the pressing need to digitize these collections, and the difficulty obtaining and maintaining native playback equipment. I mentioned BVAC to the rep, as a BVAC employee had presented at the AMIA workshops. The Digital Revolution rep was very honest in his opinions of BVAC, and it was funny and interesting to see a different perspective of BVAC, and get a bit of dirt on the competitive nature of the local SF digitization companies.

Digital Revolution counts many California and Bay area organizations and companies as their clients: UC Berkeley, AAA, Chevron, NASA, Charles Schwab, The North Face, Del Monte, Disney Films, Wired Magazine, Chapman University, Gap, and City Arts & Lectures. Most interestingly, Digital Revolution worked with the Levi Strauss & Co. historian and archivists on a major project of creating a digital asset management system (DAM), the digital assets themselves, and the accompanying metadata. The digital archive contained thousands of images of the company's garments from the past 140 years, original wet plate collodion negatives (many of which had cracked), and physical artifacts like point-of-purchase displays, catalogs, historic books, and manuscripts. The Digital Revolution Rep said that working with the Levi Strauss & Co. archivist was very cool, because with each garment, she started telling stories about the clothing, its provenance, its history, and personal stories as well. I asked him if they also captured that as an oral history, and he said they did the best they could to translate her stories into useful metadata, but they did not record her talking. The Society of California Archivist's Newsletter ran a detailed article on the process in its Spring 2015 issue called "Jean Sequencing" that I recommend checking out.

AMIA@ALA Moving Image Preservation Workshop

On Friday, June 26 I went to the AMIA@ALA workshop on moving image preservation. This was a great program with some of the coolest and most friendly people -- the presenters and organizers seemed impassioned and extremely knowledgable in the most approachable, universal way. According to the official overview, "The Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) is proud to lead this workshop on preserving, protecting, and making audiovisual material accessible." The workshop was co-sponsored by the ALA Video Round Table.

AMIA@ALA Preconference: Preservation, Digitization, and More

How Libraries can Preserve Analog Resources in a Digital World

Presenters: Siobhan Hagan, University of Baltimore; Andy Uhrich, Indiana University; Maureen Tripp, Emerson College; Jennifer Jenkins, University of Arizona and Rick Prelinger, Prelinger Archives.

The opening presentation covered film formats and participants were able to examine 8 mm, 16 mm, and 32 mm film for identification of qualities such as soundtrack, perforation, size, etc., for the purposes of record creation and conducting a survey. The approach could range from collection level down to in-depth item level, and depends on available resources, intended use, and whether the work will be done in house or outsourced. One can identify objects through inspection of labels on the case and reel for descriptive metadata, as well as technical metadata such as gauge and sound from examining the film itself.

The presenters also spoke of preservation and conservation decisions that can be made from inspecting the can and film reel. Upon opening the can, immediately attempt to ascertain smell. A smell of vinegar, burning, or mothballs may be present if the film is deteriorating; if a vinegar smell is present, prioritize for cold storage and conservation treatment, if possible. It is also possible to use A-D strips in the cans to test for acidity level. Reels should be stored horizontally, and if the original can is not rusted and/or contains important labels and other unique marking, then it can be continued to be use for storage. Otherwise, it is advisable to obtain archival cases, one of which was given to each participant as a souvenir.

Other things to look for are color fade, mold, shrinkage (looks like cobblestone), scratches, splices, and broken sprockets. Nitrate prints should be immediately separated from other collections, and prints that are highly acidic or moldy should also be separated from other collections.

Lastly, the presenters left us with some resources:
• Library of Congress - National Film Preservation Board
• Film Forever
• National Film Preservation Foundation
• FilmCare.org (coming soon!)

Instrument to measure shrinkage and to ascertain if film is safe to be run through a projector.
This is only made by one man in Canada, and costs upwards of $1000.

Don't Be a Film Wrecker -- Best Practices for Storing, Repairing, and Viewing Film Prints and VHS Tapes

Presenters: Antonella Bonfanti, Association of Moving Image Archivists and Michael Angeletti, Stanford University.

This next section actually included some of the film information I mentioned above, but it was a bit out of order so I organized it better for my memory here. Largely this section dealt with magnetic video tape format, and was very exhaustive in identifying them. The presenter covered the most common formats, which were many as the technology evolved rapidly from the 1950s to the 1990s, and included professional grade formats as well as amateur formats.

The largest preservation issues the magnetic tape format faces is one that can coined as "degralescence" -- the combination of obsolescence and degradation. It is difficult to find native playback hardware, and the presenters stressed that time is of the essence -- for all these formats, buying playback decks is an essential activity, and a stockpile to canonabilize for parts is preferred if an institution has the space to accomodate it. The tapes themselves are subject to mold and sticky shed syndrome. Tapes experiencing severe sticky shed syndrome can damage playback decks, but can be baked in a tape incubator to abate the stickiness.

When processing and preserving a video collection, it is also important to create identification records, to mark the inventory on the tape, and decide circulation rules based on whether the item contains unique, valuable content, or if the content is replaceable. Tapes should be stored in quality snap cases (not cardboard), stored vertically, and never on the bottom shelf.

When viewing it is important to test the machine before inserting the video, and it is important to care well for the VCR: leave it empty, turn it off, keep it cool and dry, keep it clean, use it periodically, clean the transport, conduct electronic alignment and parts replacement maintenance at regular intervals, and when necessary seek professional tape treatment.

Tried and true image of the layers of magnetic tape. Such an illustration helps
one visualize types of deterioration based on structure.

A/V Outsourcing for All: A Step-by-Step Method for Initiating Video Digitization Projects 

Presenters: Elena Rossi-Snook, Association of Moving Image Archivists; Melitte Buchman and Kim Tarr, New York University; and Paula DeStefano and Jonah Volk, The New York Public Library. 

This session of the workshop was very technical and while the panelists identified best practices for managing digitization projects that are universal, some of the specifics of schematics and technical specifications went over my head. Nonetheless, some of the things I learned in the Project Management (PM) class I took at SJSU's iSchool in Fall 2014 reverberated in my head, as the presentation seemed to combine the tenets of project management with the specifics of digitizing video tapes. It seems that library and archive digitization projects are fertile ground to perfect PM strategies and approaches, and I wish that class had possessed a practicum aspect, where we could have mapped out our PM process in relation to a specific digitization project. 

But I digress. 

First off, digitizing video tapes is absolutely necessary in their long-term preservation due to "degralescence": both the native playback equipment is becoming scarce, and binder hydrolysis, aka sticky shed syndrome (SSS), basically affects all video tapes. 

The planning process begins with identifying potential vendors (through discussion with colleagues and friends, as well as recommendations from professional associations), sorting out copyright clearance, determining funding (it may be necessary to apply for grants), and developing a request for proposal (RFP). The RFP should be complete in identifying the materials that need to be digitized (types of formats in the collection, the time length, inventories), as well as stating the standards for the deliverables (specify the format of received digital files, naming conventions, timeline, etc.). Once you receive the deliverables from the vendor, there is still much work to be done, from conducting quality control and quality analysis, to ingestion, receiving original tapes back, and cataloging.

A representative from a local vendor, Bay Area Video Coalition, was on hand to discuss what happens on their end in the digitization process, which was probably the most technical aspect of the session, but also very informative. BAVC's Audiovisual Artifact Atlas was also mentioned, which is a "community-based, online resource used in the identification and diagnosis of artifacts and errors in analog to digital practice and archival work." It's a sensory throwback to even visit the site and watch the jumping and fuzzy VHS images. I can't imagine the inner sensory life of professional VHS digitizers. 

The presenters also referenced a lot of good resources and guides:

• Jonah Volk's presentation, To Outsource or Not to Outsource (pdf)

• The Video at Risk Program at NYU

• Digitizing Video for the Longterm (pdf), which came out of the Video at Risk program

• Videotape Identification and Assessment Guide (pdf) from the Texas Commission for the Arts

• California Audiovisual Preservation Project (CAVPP)

Indeed, one of the presenters and his slide, a detailed schematic of the equipment
used for a proper digitization set-up.

Using Films: Reviving 16mm in the 21st Century Classroom

Presenters: Elena Rossi-Snook, New York Public Library, Pratt Institute/ Association of Moving Image Archivists; Roger Brown, University of California, Los Angeles; Josephine McRobbie, North Carolina State University and Jacob Barreras, University of Colorado.

This was more of a panel discussion than a training or presentation, and it was the perfect way to cap off the workshop as it blended pedagogy, ethics, medium, and message into a moving call to arms. The panelist had one message I heard loud and clear: bringing back the appreciation of superseded formats starts here, with you and your students in your institution. The panelists shared stories of moving students through interacting with Kodak Pageant projectors and 16 mm film that were surprising. The stories demonstrated the millennial generation's ability to go retrograde, to have a new world opened to analog media that redresses the fake promises of technology by which millennials so often feel bamboozled. 

The panelists highlighted film projection as a performance, the in-sync choreography of projectionist and projector, and the mesmerizing metronome of the projector's  click, click, click, click during a "performance" or viewing. One panelist mentioned the study of neurocinematics, which is a new(ish) field that studies the effects of films on the brain activity of its viewers. Apparently, the shutter gap in analog projectors gives the brain a half second to process the information it has received, which can simulate a near dream state in the viewer, and produce a very relaxing effect. That is in contrast to the digital projectors and digital format of film of the now, which often leaves viewers feeling exhausted no matter what type of movie they have watched. The panelists highly recommended the Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Flick by Annie Baker. 

This panel brought up the philosophic grounding of preservation, that preservation equals access, which can sometimes be at adds with the standard, conservative actions archivists and librarians take to protect collections. Some content is only available in the format of 16 mm film, and efforts to watch it and catalog it make saving it more essential. It is not simply a question of digitizing everything, it is a question of even knowing what we have before digitize anything. If we don't watch it now, by projector, it will be regarded with such obsolescence within 2 or 3 generations there will not even be a way to watch it, let alone the desire to watch it.

The venue was the Ninth Street Independent Film Center. In the last
session, participants were treated to watching a film on 16 mm,
projected from the Kodak Pageant projector pictured above.  

Theory Meets Real Life

In a funny dovetail of events, a couple days after the workshop, my mom started asking me about an 8 mm projector she thought my dad still had. I asked her why, why did she want this projector. Turns out she had been storing a box of home 8 mm films in her closet, and I got excited to put some of what I had learned into practice. First, I inspected the film and their storage cans, ascertaining that the tins were still in good condition, but that the film prints themselves were deteriorating a bit because the smell of vinegar was present. Otherwise there is no dust or mold on the film, so that is great. We now have a preservation plan for the film: package them in double thick freezer bags and store horizontally in our home freezer, as described in the The Film Preservation Guide put out by the NFPF. Next, we have to acquire an 8 mm projector as soon as possible (turns out my dad is not in possession of a projector), because as mentioned over and over in the workshop, now is the time to obtain the native playback equipment for these analog formats. In the next 5-15 years they will become so rare that what is available will be very expensive. I am excited to experience the visceral pleasure described in the 16 mm viewing panel, and I consider the act to be one of deliberate performance: sure, my mom and I will probably digitize the films eventually, but I look forward to experiencing them in their native format, and experiencing that hypnotizing click, click, click, click of the projector. 

ALA ~ Preservation Panels

There was a lot more to choose from when it came to preservation panels and sessions at ALA than there was at ACRL, and I had a blast utilizing the resources of my colleagues! At the very last minute I decided to go to Librarians Without Borders: International Outreach, which featured three presenters discussing efforts they had been part of to provide services such as preservation, conservation, cataloging, library design, and automation. The session ended up being really inspiring and almost spiritual in combining the technicalities of library work with the ethics of why we do what we do.

Librarians Without Borders: International Outreach

Jacob Nadal, Executive Director, ReCAP, The Research Collections & Preservation Consortium; 

Jacob Nadal and his team participated in a major recovery project in Liberia in the wake of the country's civil war. The team received tips on an on-going basis while they were in the country, and managed to recover various letters, manuscripts, official documents and public records, as well as a couple abandoned safes that wound up containing the country's Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The team provided conservation and reformatted the materials to microfilm, and eventually digitized the records, which are hosted on the University of Indiana website.

Sign of the CNDRA in Liberia from Mr. Nadal's presentation

The story contained larger themes of the right to the freedom of information and the patriotism that can arise out of having documented and reliable record of a country's values and order. The team helped the local administrators and government officials pass a Freedom of Information Act, whose celebration coupled with the exhibition of the country's founding documents brought much inspiration to the Liberian community.

Mr. Nadal left us with a couple wise maxims: preservation is a sustainable activity, optimized over time; any improvement is improvement; a moment of access makes the case for preservation. It felt like a realistic and galvanizing call to arms.

Jessica Phillips, Head, Preservation, University of North Texas

Ms. Phillips presented on behalf of her colleague Dr. Shultz-Jones, who directs the study abroad service learning program at the University of North Texas LIS program. A group of UNT LIS students have traveled to a foreign country in the name of library outreach almost every year since 2003; they've gone to Thailand, Russia, Peru, Ukraine, Germany, Czech Republic, and Albania. Namely the group automates the local library's records and lending practices, chooses an ILS system and catalogs the collections. In addition they design the setting of the library and document their actions to aid in staff training and project sustainability in their absence.  This is no small task and I can't imagine how much work -- and reward -- must come from participating in a study abroad program like this!

Becky Ryder, Director, Keeneland Library, Keeneland Association Inc.

I think Ms. Ryder's presentation was the most powerful because she effectively conveyed the altruistic spirit of universal human appreciation for culture and the manuscripts and documents that bear witness to the culture.

Ms. Ryder and her colleagues traveled to Manipur, which is a small state that has been rising an insurgency against Indian rule for 50 years. Ms. Ryder and her colleagues from the US and the UK were immersed in total Manupuri culture, attending polo exhibitions, Memorial Day rituals, and fertility festivals, which only added to their deep reverence of the ancient manuscripts held in the local archives. It was their job to listen and learn rather than to consult -- they observed, photographed, and described the artifacts and provided information about preservation, but they did not intervene. The manuscripts were as old as the 1st and 2nd Century and were made of various materials such as papyrus, cotton, silk, and jute. There were also some manuscripts made from palm leaves, and they were the worse off. Many of them were accordion folded, and a few were sewn codices.

In addition to having a mission to more formally provide preservation to these manuscripts, Ms. Ryder was introduced to the Manipuri Pony which is an endangered species that must be conserved. She is working with local equine associations in Kentucky to solve this problem.

Manipuri Ponies and polo players in traditional costume (from horsetalk.co.nz)

This presentation left me with more than a sense of the nobleness of my pursuit of librarianship and preservation: we were given the names of organizations we can become involved in. One is Partners of the Americas and the other is the US Committee of the Blue Shield.

ALA Annual Conference 2015 Intro and Wrap-up

This evening I look back on my first ALA Annual Conference, which was conveniently held in my hometown, San Francisco. I did conference things for three of the six official days of the conference. Here's my breakdown and some remarks. More in-depth posts about the preservation themed workshops, panels, roundtables, and sessions I attended will follow.

Friday, June 26, 2015

• AMIA@ALA: Association of Moving Image Archivists Workshop for ALA 

• Grand Opening of the Exhibit Hall 

With classmates from SJSU's iSchool that I met at the workshop! 

Saturday, June 27, 2015

• Librarians Without Borders: International Outreach

• Geek Out!: The Importance of Pop Culture in Libraries 

• Preservation Metadata Interest Group

• Preservation Showdown (panel debate)

• SJSU School of Information Reception 

Monday, June 29, 2015 

• Culture under siege and our response: scholars and librarians in action

• STS Program Poster Session (ACRL Science & Technology Section)

• Library of the Future - Learning with Google's Daniel Russell

• Conversation Starter: Naked Truth: connect.create.contribute

• Conversation Starter: What do LIS Students Really Think About Their Education?

This conference, over-all, was a great experience -- I got to run into many classmates, instructors and colleagues while also keeping a sort of anonymity that such a large conference affords. In terms of setting, the locality of the conference was further refreshing: I rarely get a chance to head downtown in the name of my profession, and witness such a beautiful day and people, and leave the confines of my home library behind while basking in the familiarity of San Francisco. 

Professionally, I have more avenues to chase down and an inherent desire to do so rather than in the name of rote planning. I made note of various individuals with titles such as Preservation Librarian that presented or spoke at the conference, and I joined ALCTS as I learned it is the association that encompasses the preservation of collections. The folks I met at the AMIA workshop immediately came across as knowledgable, impassioned, cool, and not snooty! AMIA is an association I look forward to joining in the future, for the fellowship of likable archivists and librarians more than information or association alone!

A conference as massive as the ALA Annual is more than the sum of its parts. It's a meeting of large scale logistics, coordination, interests, and personality. The excitement you feel when waiting for the exhibit hall's grand opening on Friday night (and the frenzy over the free food!) is unique just as the desertion of the exhibit hall and ALA Store packing up on Monday afternoon is a little bit sad -- by that time there is no promise in the days to come, just exhaustion over the busy days behind you. I look forward to attending ALA in the future, but it will never be as sunny and comfortable as 2015, the year it was in San Francisco. 

Photo from the ala_members flickr stream

* I will update this post in the future as conference proceedings and resources become available.