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Rescuing the Past—The Problem of Deteriorating Books & Documents
Preservation is a growing problem faced by research libraries all over the world. Most
books and documents dating from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century
were printed or written on paper that has become highly acidic, as a result of the interaction, over time, of oxygen with impurities in the paper itself. As a result, many old documents and books are brittle
and in danger of disintegration.
YIVO's collections have faced some additional and unusual hardships.
The core of YIVO's library of 350,000 volumes and 22,000,000-item archives
consists of materials which the Nazis pilfered during World War II. Though
the Nazis destroyed much of YIVO's holdings, they also appropriated thousands
of books and documents for a proposed "Institute for the Study of the
Jewish Question." Discovered near Frankfurt am Main after the war, these
materials were restored by the U.S. Army to YIVO's new headquarters in
New York in 1947. In a sense, these books and papers are also survivors
of the Holocaust. (For more information about YIVO's history, click here.)
In a few cases, YIVO's copy of a book is the only one known to exist.
Without the YIVO Library and Archives, it would be difficult for a scholar
to complete his or her investigations in the fields of East European Jewish
life, the Holocaust, and American Jewish history.
What Can Be Done to Save Fragile Books & Documents?
Most library and museum preservation programs employ some or all of the following
strategies to conserve and restore old books and documents:
YIVO's preservation
program dates back to the 1960s, when the Library's European Yiddish newspapers
were microfilmed with support from the Ab. Cahan Fund. In the late 1980s,
YIVO initiated a comprehensive and long-range program to ensure that its
unique collections would remain accessible to future generations. In 1987,
YIVO received a three-year matching grant from the S.H. and Helen R. Scheuer
Foundation which enabled it to begin the large-scale conservation of its
collections. A Preservation Department was established; a conservation laboratory
set up; and full-time conservators and microfilmers were hired. The Scheuer
grant was followed by gifts from the National Endowment for the Humanities,
the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, and the New York State Library.
In recent years, YIVO's Preservation Department has made considerable
strides in stabilizing the institute's most fragile books and documents.
Over 7,500 books and 2,700 linear feet of archival documents have been
microfilmed; over 750 rare East European Jewish posters
have been conserved and encapsulated; and hundreds of deteriorating newspapers
have been preserved by being repackaged in acid-free containers. YIVO's
world renowned collection of over 45,000 Yiddish books was also rehoused
in acid-free coverings.
YIVO's recent move to the Center
for Jewish History accomplished an important part of its preservation
mission (the transfer of library and archival collections to climate-
controlled storage) that otherwise might have taken years. During the
move, many of YIVO's collections were cleaned and rehoused. The rare books
and documents are now stored in a fully climate-controlled environment.
The new facility includes state-of-the-art preservation and microfilm laboratories, which
serve YIVO and the other institutional partners of the Center. The laboratories will allow
the institutions to become self-sufficient in microfilming. Extensive book repairs, paper
conservation, and limited deacidification will also be performed. Additionally, for the first
time, the Preservation Department will have the resources to prepare materials for
exhibition.
Please help us preserve and restore YIVO's rare collections by becoming
a member or making a donation
today. Even a small donation can help.
Partial List of Archives & Library Collections Restored or Microfilmed Since 1988
Joint YIVO/CJH Genealogy Institute Preservation Workshop for Family Historians
In late Fall, 2000, family historians attended a workshop on preserving the physical evidence of family history. The program was jointly sponsored by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and the Center for Jewish History Genealogy Institute.
In the state-of-the-art conservation laboratory at the Center, participants were introduced to basic archival methods of stabilizing, reformatting, storing, and organizing deteriorating documents, photographs, and three-dimensional objects.
Participants also practiced preservation techniques in hands-on experiences.
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