Preserving the history of the Indiana State Library
Recently in the ISL Conservation Lab our Conservator, Rebecca Shindel, completed treatment on four original editions of the Indianapolis Sunday Star from September 23, 1934 featuring a front page story on the opening of the new Indiana State Library. This newspaper can be found in the Edward Pierre collection, located in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Division.
Because newspapers are made from lower-quality wood pulp paper, they deteriorate rapidly and become very brittle with age. These copies were stored in our collections out of the light and in a relatively stable environment for 80 years, so they are luckily in better condition than most newspapers would be at their age. Unfortunately, as you can see, each of the four copies were folded up, and needed to be unfolded safely in order to be viewed.
To unfold the copies safely and to reduce the possibility of the paper flaking and tearing along the fold lines, the papers are gently humidified over many hours to relax them and reduce the danger of damage. They are then gently pressed overnight to help them stay flat so that they can be stored and viewed safely.
The ISL Conservation Lab, newly established this year, is dedicated to the conservation and preservation of ISL’s collection to ensure ongoing and increased access to historically important items like these for the public and for posterity.
Image 1: Folded newspapers before treatment.
Image 2: The papers are placed in a specialized humidification chamber and carefully monitored
Image 3: Humidity levels inside the chamber are monitored with a digital hygro thermometer
Image 4: The process of unfolding the papers cannot be rushed. It is done in stages. At this point, the paper was able to be unfolded once but needed more time to be unfolded fully.
Image 5: The Conservator removing the fully unfolded papers from the humidity chamber.
Image 6 and 7: The papers are placed in a “sandwich” of specialized materials between two custom pressing boards to help them safely release the humidity without wrinkling.
Image 8: The pressing board “sandwich” is placed in a large platen book press to gently and evenly press the papers flat.
After Treatment
The conservation processes featured in this article should never be attempted by anyone without proper training.
PR RS 8-12-2014