Blog Posts by Subject: Preservation of materials

Motion pictures are really a form of compressing time. A shutter opens and closes capturing still images. We are complicit in this magical deceit extrapolating what happened in the interval between. This brief hand colored black and white Edison film in which Annabelle Whitford Moore dances a la trilby or barefoot is my favorite moving image in the library's collection; it is both mechanical and handmade. In this simple embellishment of a magical invention the changing colors hover amorphously over their intended areas 

Portable video, the development of machines smaller than a kitchen range and affordable on an institutional if not a personal scale, ignited a revolution in consumer and institutional video. Before the ubiquitous half inch EIAJ open reel VTR, ca.1970, early adopters employed non standard VTRs such as the Sony CV skip field recorder, circa 1965. André Eglevsky had a CV outfit that 

The Registrar's Office at the New York Public Library manages a robust outgoing loan program. We are responsible for all logistics and coordination of loans from the four Research Libraries to the borrowing institutions. Lending to different institutions accross the US and around the world allows our collection to be available to and enjoyed by many different audiences. We would not be able to reach these audiences without this important partnership with other institutions. This year 

Time Machine: if you could see what I have seen with these eyes.

Time travel is possible within the narrow bounds of my studio. It is remarkable that this can be accomplished with such primitive accessories. Wires and cables are sometimes strewn about reminding me of the Chris Marker film La Jetée. I have had the privilege of moving through time with many artists, through their early choreographies and refining rehearsals. I have watched the curtain open on their stage performances.

Have your own books, papers, and photographs seen better days? Or do you simply wonder how you can best take care of these things so they last as long as they can? The New York Public Library can help!

The American Library Association National Preservation Week is taking place between April 21–27, 2013. As part of this annual effort, NYPL is joining institutions across the country in highlighting the work of its own program as well as helping to inform the public about how to care for personal collections.

This letter is one of three supporting documents associated with a very important item in the Library’s Manuscripts and Archives Division known as the Olive Branch Petition. The Olive Branch Petition, written in 1775, was the final effort of the Second Continental Congress to persuade King George III of England to respond to the concerns of the American Colonists and to settle their differences 

Binding with metal bosses,Spencer CollectionWelcome to NYPL’s Preservation blog. We’re looking forward to sharing information with you about what the Preservation Division does to save cultural heritage and make it accessible to you. To start the conversation, here’s a look into what you would see going on in our program today.

In Collections Care you would see staff using CAD software to operate a machine that cuts custom-fitted boxes to protect books in fragile condition and others cleaning collections with a HEPA vacuum. In some of our libraries, we are