We collect a variety of data and create different types of documentation records for the treatment work we carry out. Survey reports, spreadsheets and databases, condition reports, treatment proposals, and treatment reports. We also digitally photograph items before and after treatment. We may also research an object or object type related to its origins, fabrication, material composition, and previous use. Our documentation files are essentially the "medical" histories of objects. These records include conservation work done in the Gates Conservation and by outside conservators or consultants hired for specific projects.
Examples:
Conservation & Exhibition Services staff are available to assist Library staff with:
Reviewing the condition of individual items or collections of materials, from both circulating and special collections
Conducting conservation surveys of collections
Housing items and collections in boxes, custom enclosures, or mats
Advising and assisting with technical art history and material culture research questions
Planning and producing exhibitions with Library collections
Loaning items to other Library collections, campus museums, and outside organizations for exhibition
Managing outsourced conservation treatment projects
Contact Us:
Special Collections Conservation, Rare Books, Parchment and Papyri; and Lead Conservator for Gates Conservation Laboratory
Special Collections Conservation: Works on Paper and Photographs
Special Collections Conservation: Lewis Walpole Library Collections
Collections Conservation & Housing
Exhibitions: Planning, Mount Preparation, and Installation
Preventative Conservation: Environmental Monitoring/Assessment, Emergency Preparedness & Response, Risk Assessment for Renovation & Moves of Collections
Tara Kennedy, Preservation Services Librarian
Full staff directory and contact list can be found on the Yale University Library website @ https://web.library.yale.edu/sd/dept/preservation