Quick Links

Preservation – July 2011

Slow Fires, Burnt Edges, and the Only Perfect Cycle Seat

By Jacob Nadal on Fri, 2011-07-22 10:00

Hello, esteemed readers! This is Dawn Aveline reporting to you from the summer after completing my first year in UCLA's MLIS program. Since last fall, I've had the good fortune of working with Jake in the Preservation Department, as a preservation assistant. The job encompasses a variety of preservation-related duties that often change from week to week. My tasks range from querying WorldCat holdings, searching for out-of-print books, gathering environmental data, to helping coordinate digitization projects.

Digital Preservation Survey

By Jacob Nadal on Wed, 2011-07-20 02:06

On July 15, I led a workshop for UCLA Library staff and some guests from the Southern UCs. We covered a lot of topics that bear on preserving digital collections: specifics of preservation theory as it plays out in digital libraries, creating digital objects, strategies for future access and risk-assessment of contemporary digital objects, metadata, and digital repositories. Obviously this was a broad but shallow overview. The target audience was non-specialists who nonetheless do a lot of work with digital libraries and need to be aware of the issues that are in play.

Terror, Evil, Depravity...

By Jacob Nadal on Tue, 2011-07-19 07:37

During a visit to the Performing Arts Special Collections my friend and colleague Peggy Alexander moved some files including a set of Adams Family musical greeting cards and remarked "these poor things don't sound so good anymore." She opened one and it started to play a loop of jumbled finger snaps and low percussive noises. I happen to have some obscure knowledge of these, so I volunteered to try to fix it.

Summer Internship First Impressions: Emilia Mahaffey

By Jacob Nadal on Mon, 2011-07-18 03:59

In the middle of June I began an internship with the preservation department at UCLA. The internship started the way all jobs do - with a lot of paper work. I began my morning with a trip to library HR to fill out 1-9s and W-2s and learn all about the intricacies of working for a UCLA library. Finally, a couple of hours later, I got to meet Jake Nadal, the Preservation Officer, in person.

Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant (ALA ALCTS PARS)

By Kristen St. John on Fri, 2011-07-01 01:17

Yesterday on the ALA/ALCTS email discussion group PADG Beth Doyle announced a new grant to support travel for people wanting to attend the ALA Annual Meeting (the full text of her announcement is after the break). In my opinion two things make this a special award. It honors Jan Merrill-Oldham who has contributed so much to the field of preservation - a sense of her accomplishments is given in Beth's announcement.

Preservation

A weblog about preservation, conservation, and the stewardship of the UCLA Library's collections.

Archives