Introduction

The Book & Paper Conservation Studio (formerly the Library Conservation Unit) is based in the Main Library at the University of Dundee and has been in operation since 1985. We offer a complete conservation service for books, paper and paper-based collections.

• About the studio
• History of the studio

Announcement

Book & Paper Conservation Studio nominated for national award

COLLECTIONS CARE NOMINEE 2007: The Book & Paper Conservation Studio, University of Dundee - The Linnaean Correspondence Project

The Book & Paper Conservation Studio, University of Dundee, was commissioned to preserve a collection of letters to the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, born in 1707, who developed the Latin naming system for plants and animals still in use today. Containing 4000 documents from over 600 correspondents, many of them major figures of the time, the collection is of enormous importance in the history of science. The letters are mostly folios of hand-made rag paper with iron gall ink manuscript and applied seals. Among the letters are pressed biological specimens and detailed drawings and prints. In the late 19th century, the collection was pasted onto the pages of guardbooks. Heavy, unwieldy and inherently acidic, this storage system put excessive pressure on the fragile objects within and caused physical damage to many of the letters, which had also suffered from poor storage and handling. Typical problems included torn and crumpled documents, crushed and cracked seals, and loose biological specimens. In an intensive three-year programme carried out for the Linnean Society of London, the conservators worked to safeguard the letters in a format which would make access easier, while preserving the delicate specimens and seals. After treatment, the volumes were mounted in custom-made fascicules and stored in acid-free boxes in a controlled environment. The Linnean Society was then able to realise its plan to digitise the letters and make them available on the Web for the tercentenary of Linnaeus' birth in 2007.

The Judging Panel for the Award for Collections Care:

• Dame Liz Forgan DBE, Chair of the Judging Panel and Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Heritage Lottery Fund.
• George Ferguson, Chairman of Acanthus Ferguson Mann Architects, Past President of the Royal Institute of British Architects and Director of the Academy of Urbanism.
• Maev Kennedy, Journalist and broadcaster.
• Gillian Lewis, Formerly Director of Conservation at the National Maritime Museum.
• Georgina Nayler, Director of the Pilgrim Trust.

The judges commented that 'the Dundee conservators brought great skill and imagination to their work on this hugely important collection. It was a brilliantly well managed project, completed on time and budget, which made it possible to increase public access while reducing wear and tear on the original letters'.

For more information:
The Conservation Awards
The Linnean Society

Comments or queries to: h.holden@dundee.ac.uk.

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