Caring for America's Library
GPO Branch Office at the Library, 1900-40
The problem of poor paper and the deterioration of thousands of valuable books in the Library of Congress collections had been recognized then since the end of the nineteenth century. Putnam was instrumental in having the Government Printing Office (GPO) establish a branch bindery and print shop within the Library in 1900; the staffs' preservation responsibilities included binding, repair, and other collections maintenance activities. The "binding and repair shop," as it was generally called, remained under the control of GPO from 1900 to 1968.
This branch by 1923 had 60 persons involved with the "rebinding of thousands of library books" for LC. The 1923 report of the Public Printer stated that the "most important work of the branch bindery is the repair and preservation of the treasured books and manuscripts in the Library.... Even the original manuscript of the Declaration of Independence was intrusted to the branch bindery for some preservation touches...."
In the early years, this office did very little that could be called book restoration; but, through the years, it gradually undertook a greater variety of restoration operations: treating manuscripts and other documents by silking or laminating them, cleaning and matting prints and photographs, and performing similar tasks. Armed with knowledge of currently acceptable preservation practices, some of this early work now appears less than desirable, such as silking and cellulose acetate lamination of documents.