Skip to main content
Home
  • Hours
  • Contact
Menu
Search this site

Ask A Librarian

Give Now

  • Search
  • About
  • Research & Teaching Support
  • Locations
  • News & Events
  • Using the Library
  • About the UCLA Library
  • About the Collections
  • Giving to UCLA Library
  • UCLA Homepage
  • Jobs @ UCLA Library
  • Social Media Directory

Quick Links

  • Preservation Program

Preservation Blog

Water Salvage Workshop

By Dawn Aveline on Wed, 2013-03-27 09:38

Image iconIMG_2106-764x1024.jpg
Books absorb water and expand.

On Tuesday, March 19, I volunteered at the water salvage workshop put together by LAPNet (Los Angeles Area Preservation Network) and hosted by the University of Southern California. Julie Page of the California Preservation Program (CPP) and the Western States and Territories Preservation Assistance Service (WESTPAS) led the workshop. Thirty-six professionals from libraries and archives from around southern California (including two UCLA Librarians – shouts out to Susan and Diane) assembled at the gorgeous Doheny Library for an afternoon, to absorb Julie’s extensive disaster preparedness knowledge. Following a brief presentation about essential disaster prep tools, the crowd, along with several of us LAPNet steering committee members, reassembled in the courtyard to get our hands on a wide assortment of materials, and perform rescue procedures.

Earlier that morning, Julie had put together trays of water that she liberally stocked with archival materials of all types. She had collected black & white photographs on both resin-coated and fiber stock; color photos; colored paper; standard office files stuffed with typical photocopies and laser prints; blueprint materials; large colorful maps (that I was sorely tempted to rescue); black & white negatives; color slide positives in both paper and glass carriers; brittle old scrapbook pages with newspaper clippings (note: these come loose in water); colored paper of various vintages; and glossy magazine paper.

Image iconIMG_2104-764x1024.jpg
Many types of material often found in archives were soaked in bins of water to provide experience with drying them.
Image iconIMG_2108-224x300.jpg
Handi-Wipes and plastic straws are useful tools for dealing with water damaged materials.
Image iconIMG_2107-224x300.jpg
Absorbent materials used in water salvage include Handi-Wipes, Reemay, non-fusible interfacing, and watercolor paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to these wide trays, Julie had placed a variety of books upright in several inches of water in larger plastic containers. The books rapidly absorbed the water and expanded, filling up the initial inch or so of open space to either side. She’d also put together a metal shelf and loosely populated it with books which she doused with water from above. These too plumped with the moisture, making them difficult to unshelve by midday.

Image iconIMG_2109-764x1024.jpg
Waterlogged colored paper leaches dye onto its neighbors.

Following her lecture, workshop participants got to experience interleaving the books with paper towels, propping them with pages fanned open, and using plastic straws to lightly lift the boards to permit airflow. Another interesting technique involved using Velobind combs to gently keep pages open and stabilized in case of any breeze.

Image iconIMG_2110-764x1024.jpg
Sheets of mylar are used to safely lift documents out of the water.

We used sheets of mylar to carefully retrieve, using water tension, documents floating in the wide trays. Dispersing the wet pages across the provided tables on paper towels, we were able to successfully dry our sample materials. Some participant groups were positioned at tables that were unfortunately situated in the full afternoon sun, which caused rippling in the paper of their items as they dried. My table happened to enjoy a shady spot, and our materials seemed to dry more smoothly.

Image iconIMG_2105-224x300.jpg
Books that are not too soaked through can be propped up on end with their pages fanned open to permit airflow.

In addition to shade, we learned that a salvage effort will require far more tables than you’d imagine. One estimate is that a standard archival box containing approximately one cubic foot of material will require up to 30 six foot long tables of drying space.

I highly recommend participating in a workshop like this if you can. Even better, Julie suggests helping out someone else’s library or archive recover from their water emergency. You gain direct, hands-on knowledge of how different materials react to submersion – and your colleagues will definitely appreciate the help.

--Dawn Aveline, Preservation Specialist.

Preservation

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

Archives

  • September 2020 (1)
  • July 2020 (2)
  • May 2020 (4)
  • April 2020 (2)
  • January 2020 (1)
  • December 2019 (1)
  • May 2019 (2)
  • March 2019 (1)
  • February 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (1)
  • November 2018 (1)
  • October 2018 (1)
  • March 2018 (1)
  • November 2017 (1)
  • October 2017 (1)
  • August 2017 (2)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (1)
  • May 2017 (1)
  • April 2017 (3)
  • March 2017 (2)
  • February 2017 (4)
  • April 2015 (2)
  • March 2015 (1)
  • December 2014 (1)
  • October 2014 (1)
  • July 2014 (1)
  • November 2013 (1)
  • October 2013 (2)
  • September 2013 (2)
  • August 2013 (3)
  • June 2013 (3)
  • May 2013 (1)
  • April 2013 (1)
  • March 2013 (2)
  • February 2013 (1)
  • September 2012 (2)
  • July 2012 (1)
  • June 2012 (1)
  • May 2012 (1)
  • April 2012 (2)
  • March 2012 (1)
  • February 2012 (1)
  • October 2011 (1)
  • September 2011 (1)
  • August 2011 (2)
  • July 2011 (6)
  • June 2011 (1)
  • May 2011 (1)
  • April 2011 (6)
  • March 2011 (3)
  • February 2011 (1)
  • January 2011 (1)
  • November 2010 (1)
  • October 2010 (2)
  • September 2010 (2)
  • August 2010 (1)
  • July 2010 (1)
  • June 2010 (1)
  • May 2010 (1)
  • April 2010 (3)
  • March 2010 (2)
  • February 2010 (8)
Home

The UCLA Library creates a vibrant nexus of ideas, collections, expertise, and spaces in which users illuminate solutions for local and global challenges. We constantly evolve to advance UCLA’s research, education, and public service mission by empowering and inspiring communities of scholars and learners to discover, access, create, share, and preserve knowledge.

facebook social-link-twitter class= social-link-instagram class= social-link-youtube class=

  • About the UCLA Library
  • About the Collections
  • Giving to UCLA Library
  • UCLA Homepage
  • Jobs @ UCLA Library
  • Social Media Directory
  • © 2014–2021 UC Regents,
  • Creative Commons Attribution 4.0