Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel : There's an App for That

Given that we are entering the highest activity portion of hurricane season for coastal South Carolina and with all the rain causing ground saturation, potentials for flash flooding, and flood levels in area rivers, this message from Heritage Preservation addressing how to salvage family and cultural heritage materials damaged by flooding, fire, or hurricane may prove of immediate and practical use: 

Heritage Preservation’s Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel is available free of charge as a mobile app. The app, ERS: Emergency Response and Salvage, is currently available for Apple, Android, and BlackBerry users.


Long known as the authoritative resource for salvaging artifacts after a disaster, the Wheel has been used by museums, libraries, and archives around the world. The mobile app makes the Wheel’s invaluable guidance accessible to anyone who is in need of practical advice for saving collections in the first 48 hours after disaster strikes.

ERS provides the same reliable content found in the original Wheel. The app outlines critical stages of disaster response and provides practical salvage tips for nine types of collections, from photographs to natural history specimens. ERS can help users protect precious collections and significant records, access reliable information instantly, and save damaged objects. The app was created in partnership with the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training.

The original slide-chart Wheel was created by Heritage Preservation, a national non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of the United States. It has been translated into six languages and distributed internationally in more than 40 countries. The original Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel, sponsored by BELFOR, is still available for purchase at Heritage Preservation's bookstore.

 
Visit http://www.heritagepreservation.org/wheel/ to download the version that will work with your mobile phone. 

Library Website is Sort of Up

The Library website is up - but the BDC webpages are old, old, old.

The BDC web pages: Beaufort District Collection homepage and the BDC Services page are currently showing as if it were April 13, 2010.

The BDC web pages are updated at least every other week, sometimes on a weekly basis if there is no information to share.

IT is aware of the problem. We hope to have this fixed soon.

Southern Libraries Damaged by Tornadoes

American Libraries magazine ran a story about the damage caused by the rash of tornadoes unleashed upon Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia and other southern states. Luckily, the Pratt City Historical Archives came through relatively unscathed. In some cases, library buildings came through the tornadoes just fine, while homes of library workers were destroyed. It is likely to be a long recovery period.

A similar story about the damage to libraries in the aftermath of the tornadoes ran in the Library Journal.

It is my greatest fear that something outside our control will damage the BDC Research Room and its irreplaceable collection of materials of permanent research value. All we can do is prepare as best we can to protect human life first and foremost, and secondly to protect our holdings -- and pray that we will be spared!

FEMA Recognizes Libraries as Essential Community Organizations

A sea change for the treatment of public libraries in the aftermath of natural disasters: FEMA recognizes that libraries are essential community organizations that can be relocated using FEMA Public Assistance Program funds. Read the press release.

Stolen artifact returned to Historical Society (and how digitization helped)

One of the blogs I monitor is Digitization 101 by Jill Hurst-Walsh. She ran an entry about another use of digitization within cultural heritage organizations, that of artifact recovery!

The Eternal Conundrum for Special Collections Stewards

One of my many conundrums, and a conundrum inherent within the cultural heritage field, is how to provide appropriate access to materials while simultaneously providing appropriate stewardship for ensuring that those materials will still exist and be useable 100 years from now.

There are no hard and fast rules for how the competing issues should balance over time. Indeed, there are no hard and fast rules for how the competing issues should balance over the course of an hour.

Sometimes, I feel like I'm making things up as I go. Sometimes, I have no doubt, BDC customers think that I'm favoring one person or request over another person's request more or less on how I feel that day. [Please note: They are wrong because the goal of my professional life is to treat everyone equally badly regardless of race, color, national origin, socio-economic status, gender, height, breadth, religious affilition, political party, etc.!]

Take for example the question of digital photography of rare materials. Approximately 50% of the special collections in SC allow it; about 50% don't. Digital manipulation is just so easy these days that I don't want to imply encouragement of others to commit copyright infringement. Therefore, I tend to lean more to the "don't" side of the issue, particularly when images of photographs or artwork created after 1923 are involved. I tend to be a cautious person about other folks's property (which probably has a good bit to do with why I am a special collections field worker in the first place).

Being a reader in rare book libraries is a thought-provoking blog entry from Sarah Werner about the relative responsibilities of special collections librarians, special collections customers, and the eternal conundrum of access vs. preservation. I caution you that the blog entry is fairly long and comments are pretty intense.

Rick Ring's comment that "Access policies are often the result of two things in an archive/special collections: the institution's traditions and the personalities of the staff" rings (bad pun intended) true. Perhaps more than in any other part of library land, the personality of the Special Collections head holds more sway in daily operations and tenor of access than any other factor. And while I don't think access strictly depends upon the personality of the steward in charge of special collections, his/her personality does most definitely influence the terms under which materials can be manipulated. Please note: No one has ever accused me of having a blase personality!

Let me hear what you think.

Update #2: SCLENDS and the BDC

I regret that there are on-going problems with records for Beaufort District Collection materials. Not only do I take care of the BDC and local history collections for the BCL, I am a library cardholder in good standing who likes to borrow materials, place holds, and use the subscription databases from home. Paraphrasing Gov. Zell Miller's keynote address to the 1992 Democratic National Convention, [I] "feel your pain."

In the meantime, we will continue with my plan "B":

If you can't find what you are looking for on topics of local history, culture, and environment within the SCLENDS catalog (i.e., those topics that fall within the responsibilities of this department), just give us a call at 470-6525 or e-mail me at gracec@bcgov.net with your specific questions regarding BDC and local history holdings.

We'll do our best to try to help you in spite of the unsatisfying migration.

Some BDC holdings missing from SCLENDS catalog

Unfortunately, some BDC holdings have not yet transferred over into the combined SCLENDS catalog. They will be added to the SCLENDS catalog soon -- we just don't know what date yet. While the ILS team is working day and night with Equinox to get everything sorted out as quickly as possible:

If you can't find what you are looking for on topics of local history, culture, and environment within the SCLENDS catalog (i.e., those topics that fall within the responsibilities of this department), just give us a call at 470-6525 or e-mail me at gracec@bcgov.net with your specific questions regarding BDC and local history holdings.


Please note:
If you have questions about the SCLENDS catalog, your library account, or other parts of the Beaufort County Library, here is the contact information for Library staff who can provide the best service to you on these matters.

Questions about the Beaufort County Library website are best directed to Halle Eisenman, webmistress.

Questions about your library account are best answered by your local branch library circulation staff. Contact information for the branch libraries is on the Beaufort County Library's website.

Questions about how to use the SCLENDS library catalog are best answered by your local branch library Reference staff. Contact information for the branch libraries is on the Beaufort County Library's website.

MayDay: the BDC Makes Preparations for the Unexpected

"May Day" celebrations have been around a very long time. Beltane bonfires, English maypoles and a host of other activities have marked the day throughout the centuries. Is it Law Day? Labor Day? Protest Day? Military-Might Day? It is all those - and more. On no other day in the calendar do so many different types of worldwide celebrations take place. For us, in the Beaufort District Collection, the main focus of MayDay is being good stewards of the cultural heritage materials we hold in trust for our community. We plan, we train, we re-think our plan, we train -- all in hopes of being able to recover as many of the historically valuable materials we take care of from the past, for today, for tomorrow, and for the future.

Take a look at the images from our April 29th, "Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Workshop" held by the SC SHRAB at our Bluffton Branch Library facility.

November 9th is Earthquake Awareness Day

Most people don't think of South Carolina as an earthquake zone. But, it is. Seismic activity above 2.0 on the Richter scale has been measured more than 70 times since 1973 -- and this leaves out many of the lesser tremors that get measured by gauges but which humans tend not to notice. And, of course, the more history minded of our readers will know that the 1886 Charleston Earthquake was the largest east coast earthquake felt since the time that Europeans began wandering our continent. The 1886 quake caused a 20 foot wave in the Beaufort River -- or so local lore has it. Look at images of the devastation caused by the 1886 quake in our neighbor to the northeast, Charleston.

The South Carolina Earthquake Education and Preparedness (SCEEP) program is designed to heighten awareness and promote earthquake safety education among both the general public and county/local government officials through outreach, education, and research. Because significant earthquakes occur both in the Charleston/Summerville area (e.g., the 1886 Charleston earthquake) and throughout the rest of South Carolina (e.g., the 1913 M ~ 5 Union County earthquake; two M 3.5-4.0 earthquakes near Cheraw, SC in September 2006), SCEEP will examine earthquake hazards on a statewide basis.

Check out these links from the South Carolina Earthquake and Awareness Program. For information about specific earthquakes felt within South Carolina, use this link.

Care of Photographs pamphlet from NEDCC online

Celeste Wiley will be here on Thursday, the 16th, to demonstrate archival best practices with regard to care of 20th century photographs. Please contact us to reserve your spot. For additional information on how to take care of photographs that you have at home, we suggest you download NEDCC's "Care of Photographs."

Link updated by Kristi Marshall on April 15, 2020.

How to Take Care of Your Family Treasures

Please note: This post was updated 15 April 2020. All information and links were accurate as of this date.- Kristi Marshall

Good information about how to take care of your family treasures can be found on the websites of several key preservation organizations. One of the most prestigious is the Northeast Document Conservation Center. NEDCC provides printable Preservation Leaflets with information on a wide variety of preservation topics, supplier contact information, and links to additional resources. The leaflets may be downloaded at no cost. The leaflets were recently updated with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. The full list is available.

Take-Home Preservation Principles: Environment! Environment! Environment!

Please note: This post was updated 13 April 2020. All information and links were accurate as of this date.- Kristi Marshall

Heat, humidity, and frequent afternoon showers characterize our summer months here in the southeastern United States. Let's face it, it simply doesn't feel like summer until the high temperatures hit the mid 90s Fahrenheit (F) and the humidity hovers 95% - 100%! In contrast, most dwellings and public offices keep their thermostat set from 65-75 degrees F. Often, the most brutal part of summer is adapting your body to your surrounding conditions. Thankfully, sweating, shivering, and incalculable clothing options make these transitions more bearable. (But really, that's another story.) The real question is how does the heat and humidity affect our treasured paper-based possessions?

You may be surprised to learn that the most important thing you can do to protect your family papers, books, and photos is to place them in a controlled and stable environment. No, the attic is not an option; it is possible for summer temperatures in your attic to reach 150 degrees F. No, your basement or crawl space is not an option either; humidity and moisture collect here creating a breeding ground for mold and insects. When storing your family keepsakes, locate an area of your home that will not suffer extreme fluctuations in either temperature or humidity. A shelf within an interior hallway or an entry way closet is a very good option in most households.

The ideal temperature is 68 degrees F and allows for a three degree fluctuation in either direction. The ideal relative humidity (RH) is 40%, and, again, allows for a three percent fluctuation.

Recent trends in energy conservation as well as personal preferred comfort levels may leave you wary to run for the thermostat. Too costly and too cold may not be an option for you, and that's a-okay with us! Few people choose to maintain archival environmental standards within their own homes. However, just making the move from your attic to a room that has 75 degree F and 60% RH conditions can increase the life of your treasures by 4 times. Moving to an environment with ideal conditions, like here at the Beaufort District Collection, can increase the life of your paper artifacts up to 10 times!

So, get those treasures out of the attic, basement, or crawl space! When selecting the ideal location and environment, keep in mind:

• Sunlight. Keep your family treasures out of direct sunlight. Ultraviolet radiation (UV) from sunlight can cause fading.
• Dust. Dust your collection frequently. By keeping the area clean, you can prevent most common insect infestations.
• Book Support. Store your books upright supported by book ends. If a book is too large or already damaged, store it flat. Never stack more than 3 books high!
• Staples & Paper Clips. Remove all staples and paper clips from your paper items before storing them. By carefully removing these metal items you will prevent rust from damaging (or further damaging) the paper. Use a spatula--not a regular office staple remover. (Call us, we can tell you where to order one.)
• Tape. Avoid using tape to make repairs. The sticky side of tape contains acid that can "eat" paper. There is no such thing as acid-free tape, regardless what the manufacturer or supply house tells you.
• Pencils. Pens and markers also contain acid, so play it safe and stick to pencils.

For more information about protecting your personal archival collections, check out these articles from The Library of Congress:

Preserving Works on Paper: Manuscripts, Drawings, Prints, Posters, Maps, Documents

The Deterioration and Preservation of Paper: Some Essential Facts
The Beaufort District Collection is a division of the Beaufort County Library, a department of Beaufort County Government of South Carolina.

Ever wondered what to do with a mess of wet stuff?

Part of my responsibilities as the Historical Resources Coordinator for the Beaufort County Library is to serve as a preservation/emergency agent of sorts for the library system and for the public. A lot of the questions about what to do about wet books, photographs, and treasured heirlooms end up on my desk. The sooner corrective action is begun, the more likely you can prevent further damage. Or, in words of the American proverb, "A stitch in time saves nine!"

Check out this very informative short video "Coping with Water Damage" from Heritage Preservation on what you can do when you discover soggy materials at home or work.

Be patient while the video loads. It could take up to 45 seconds, depending on the speed of your computer's internet hook-up. Don't forget to click the arrow to start the video once it's loaded. -- Grace Cordial

The Beaufort District Collection is a division of the Beaufort County Library, a department of Beaufort County Government of South Carolina.