Sep. 30th, 2008 03:27 pm
Post Its: Resolution?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mizarchivistLate last week, I had a small flurry of folks sending me the link to the Wired article about Jay Walker's library. Everyone's first reaction is to say "ooooooh." After the oooh wears off, some folks started to notice that the picture on page 5 was somehow reversed and was showing the mirror image. Not me. Nope. I was losing my mind over the Post-It notes on the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle. My compulsion after regaining a semblance of cool was to find Mr. Walker so I could tell him. He had to know.
Emails to the article's author and to the info addy for Walker Digital are sent with the request to talk to Mr. Walker in reference to the article. When a reply comes back from the president of WD, I am pleasantly surprised. My email will be passed up. I leave for the weekend trying not to plot too much about how to wrangle a visit to see the library.
My Monday, as previously noted was busy. I finally checked my email about three hours after I get in and holy smokes, The Man Himself has written to me saying "reach me here." The entire afternoon is lost to a carefully crafted reply.
What I said---
Dear Mr. Walker,
I’m very glad to have made contact with you. The article about your library in Wired made its first rounds through my tech-employed friends late last week. While my they were noticing that Wired had somehow flipped the picture on page 5 to be a mirror opposite, I was noticing the Post-It notes.
Post-Its are not as innocuous as one would think. In the course of talking to a conservator friend, [![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
spinrabbit ], she put it better than I ever could:
And his reply from earlier today--
Thx [mizarchivist ],
I will remove the post-its (carefully). They haven't been there very long and I should have known better!
Your vigilance is most appreciated. As a custodian of these treasures, I am always trying to as careful as possible. The post-its were a way to avoid turning pages to find images more than necessary. I will paper slips in the future, which are less handy, but have no risk.
All the best
Jay
My final word was in essence- thanks- feel free to stop by if you're in Boston. As Robin said when I related this to her: "saving the books, one at a time."
I'm still thinking about the sociological aspect of this. Here's a guy who is a big deal in his field- he made it big, has done innovative things and reaped the rewards. This is not someone I'd ever have a chance or reason to connect with, and yet! He crossed into my world a bit with that library and the dreaded Post-Its. His authority doesn't negate my authority in my own field, so... suddenly it seems perfectly appropriate and even encouraged. This doesn't mean it reduces the weird/woah of it all. I also wonder if there'll be other book guardians who follow my path and try to contact him once they see it, too.
Emails to the article's author and to the info addy for Walker Digital are sent with the request to talk to Mr. Walker in reference to the article. When a reply comes back from the president of WD, I am pleasantly surprised. My email will be passed up. I leave for the weekend trying not to plot too much about how to wrangle a visit to see the library.
My Monday, as previously noted was busy. I finally checked my email about three hours after I get in and holy smokes, The Man Himself has written to me saying "reach me here." The entire afternoon is lost to a carefully crafted reply.
What I said---
Dear Mr. Walker,
I’m very glad to have made contact with you. The article about your library in Wired made its first rounds through my tech-employed friends late last week. While my they were noticing that Wired had somehow flipped the picture on page 5 to be a mirror opposite, I was noticing the Post-It notes.
Post-Its are not as innocuous as one would think. In the course of talking to a conservator friend, [
spinrabbit ], she put it better than I ever could:“The thing about post-its and scotch tape and other sticky things that you peel off of something and stick down some place else is that their adhesives aren't stable. As long as any adhesive is still sticky, it's also slightly liquid, and it can gradually seep into the paper it's sitting on, and then cross-link with itself and the paper until it eventually has migrated so far into the paper and become so cross-linked that it gets solid, brittle, and discolored. At that point the post-it note or the scotch tape falls off, and you're left with a stained and embrittled place in your original paper.”
Further, I can recommend a very good resource for further preservation, curatorial issues: The Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) in Andover, MA has an extensive pamphlet collection on their site: http://www.nedcc.org/resources/introduction.php. I have an on-going relationship with NEDCC: microfilming, document repair, continuing education, and preservation surveys. I can vouch that they are a highly regarded organization. If you would like to discuss this or similar issues with me, I would be happy to do so. I hope that I have provided you with useful data.
Best wishes and happy reading,
[Me/my contact info]
So, while I don’t know the circumstances of the Post-Its on your Chronicle, I felt honor-bound to make sure you were aware of the ramifications of a mundane looking office supply.
Further, I can recommend a very good resource for further preservation, curatorial issues: The Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) in Andover, MA has an extensive pamphlet collection on their site: http://www.nedcc.org/resources/introduction.php. I have an on-going relationship with NEDCC: microfilming, document repair, continuing education, and preservation surveys. I can vouch that they are a highly regarded organization. If you would like to discuss this or similar issues with me, I would be happy to do so. I hope that I have provided you with useful data.
Best wishes and happy reading,
[Me/my contact info]
And his reply from earlier today--
Thx [
mizarchivist ],I will remove the post-its (carefully). They haven't been there very long and I should have known better!
Your vigilance is most appreciated. As a custodian of these treasures, I am always trying to as careful as possible. The post-its were a way to avoid turning pages to find images more than necessary. I will paper slips in the future, which are less handy, but have no risk.
All the best
Jay
My final word was in essence- thanks- feel free to stop by if you're in Boston. As Robin said when I related this to her: "saving the books, one at a time."
I'm still thinking about the sociological aspect of this. Here's a guy who is a big deal in his field- he made it big, has done innovative things and reaped the rewards. This is not someone I'd ever have a chance or reason to connect with, and yet! He crossed into my world a bit with that library and the dreaded Post-Its. His authority doesn't negate my authority in my own field, so... suddenly it seems perfectly appropriate and even encouraged. This doesn't mean it reduces the weird/woah of it all. I also wonder if there'll be other book guardians who follow my path and try to contact him once they see it, too.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
no subject
no subject
...do i know you?
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Low-acid paper, one hopes . . .
[smooch]
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject