October 19, 1995

Press Contact: Craig D'Ooge (202) 707-9189
Public Contact: Amparo Torres (202) 707-1026

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Preservation Workshop Open to Public

The Library of Congress will mark National Library Week with a Preservation Awareness Workshop on April 16, 1996. This event, co-sponsored by the Library's Center for the Book and the Preservation Directorate, will be free and open to the public. It will take place in the Mumford Room, sixth floor of the Madison Building, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world. It contains more than 108 million items that include more than 16 million books, 4 million maps, 14 million photographs, 2 million sound recordings, and 45 million manuscripts. The mission of the Library's Preservation Directorate is to preserve these collections for future generations. Founded in 1972, the preservation program has trained innumerable distinguished scientists, conservators and other experts in the preservation field; the program is also open to interns from all over the world, who learn while working on the Library's unique collections. Many of the methods developed at the Library have become standard procedures in libraries and archives worldwide.

During this special National Library Week event, the Library of Congress is inviting the public to come and learn about preserving their family treasures, such as photographs and letters. The staff will demonstrate different types of enclosures and boxes for storing material and provide information on the damage caused by humidity, temperature, light, and atmospheric pollution on paper-based material and on the different types of boxes, folders, and enclosures now available.

A wide range of companies that manufacture and distribute conservation products will participate in the workshop, distributing instructive information about preservation and conservation issues, as well as samples such as acid-free papers, cotton gloves, and pH pens, to workshop participants. The media are also invited to participate in this educational workshop.

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress was established in 1977 to stimulate public awareness about the importance of books, reading, and libraries.

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PR 95-142
10/19/95
ISSN 0731-3527