Hair, purportedly of the Welsh fasting girl, Sarah Jacobs
There is a story, possibly apocryphal, that the phrase “computer bug” derived from the discovery of a moth in a computer which was stopping it from working. Although the truth of this story has been questioned, it makes a good introduction to the work of the Collections Care Section.
The Collection Care Section is responsible for preserving, sustaining and making available the Library’s holdings. There is an enormous variety of material types within the Library’s collections. As well as the expected paper, vellum and parchment, we also hold many other materials, such as textiles, papyrus, metals, bamboo and even human hair.
Our digital holdings are also increasing significantly. This is not only due to our own digitisation programmes, but also an increase in the material which is being transferred to the Library in digital format.
Mobile shelving in the Third Library Building
Although the formats themselves may differ, the preservation of our holdings depends upon an integrated approach. The Collection Care section has three areas of responsibility which support sustained access. Preventative conservation ensures that the rate of deterioration of the items is slowed as much as possible. Conservation treatment ensures that items which need repair are identified and treated according to set priorities, whereas the Collection Supportunit ensures that the items are located and boxed appropriately.
The oldest items in our collection are over 1,000 years old; the challenge we face is to ensure that new items are available in another 1,000 years. We are doing this though implementing and developing strategies for collection care, which are underpinned with skills, training, resourcing and collaboration. One element of the strategy is to isolate items which pose a threat to our collections, whether they are physical bugs ,or virtual viruses!Sally McInnes, Collections Care Section