Could sopmeone please tell me how to suspend receiving this list serve while
I am out of the office?

 

Thanks.

 

Aarom

 

 

Aaron T. Kornblum, Archivist

Western Jewish History Center

Judah L. Magnes Museum

2911 Russell Street

Berkeley, CA 94705

Tel: 510 549 6950 x356

Fax: 510 849 3673 

Email:  <mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]

 

 <http://www.magnes.org/> http://www.magnes.org (Judah L. Magnes Museum
webpage)
 <http://magnes.org/collections/wjhc.html>
http://magnes.org/collections/wjhc.html (Western's webpage)

 

Please visit the Western Jewish History Center and the Judah L. Magnes
Museum online to see a listing and description of our current exhibitions
and public programs!

  _____  

From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Barbara Austen
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2006 5:49 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: marking manuscripts

 

Thank you to all who responded to my question about marking manuscripts.
Evidently there is no consensus on this issue.  Many of you share my concern
about defacing a valuable document.  But if you plan to keep it forever, is
reducing the market value really important?

 

 Many of the responses were posted to the list, but a few were sent to me
directly.  As requested, here is a compilation of messages with names (and
institutions) removed.  We will be discussing this issue at our staff
meeting this morning.  I will probably post to the list what our final
decision is, if there is any interest.

 

Barbara Austen

Connecticut Historical Society Museum

 

 

1.  In a rare books class in library school, an instructor mentioned a micro
stamp as a way of marking materials.  I believe they're small enough that
they're not readily visible, but can be seen with magnification.  Hence, if
an item of yours goes missing and shows up elsewhere, you can have it
checked in a particular place for your micro mark.  I would favor this
method for marking rare items, though it doesn't serve as a theft deterrent
the way a more obvious mark might.

 

 

2.  Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler has some information on marking materials in her
book, Preserving Archives and Manuscripts (SAA, 1993).  See p. 115.  In
particular, she notes that a non-destructive method should be used, and
notes that "The Library of Congress has made available a permanent,
non-acidic ink specifically for the purpose of marking manuscripts."  She
advises repositories to contact the National Preservation Program Office,
and ask for the ink (which as of 1993 was being provided free of charge) and
a copy of a leaflet, "Marking Paper Manuscripts" (Preservation Leaflet No.
4.  Under revision at the time, so a new version may be out..)

 

 

3.  I can see the argument for marking manuscripts as a security measure.
It acts as a type of insurance in the case of theft, etc.  However, I don't
particularly feel good about marking manuscripts.  Isn't it taught in
library school preservation classes to use methods that are reversible?  If
necessary, we use pencil to mark our manuscripts.  Isn't the manuscript
itself a unique item?  In that case, there would be no need to have a unique
mark or stamp, especially if you have thorough cataloging practices.  

Our archives is part of an academic library, and we do not use any permanent
marks in our Rare Books, so I would be hesitant to mark our manuscripts. A
few years ago we briefly considered marking the rare books, but feared that
an ink that is considered acceptable now, might not be in thought safe in
the future. Making a permanent mark in a book or manuscript also seems
wrong. Even if we wanted to mark our manuscripts, the idea of needing to
mark thousands of pages is daunting. [I do make pencil notes on papers from
about the 1950s to present to indicate an approximate date, or record
information that was on Post-it notes.]

If you have some item that would be highly desirable by collectors, you
might consider marking it in an unobtrusive place.

 

 

4.  Here's another source.  National Park Service Conserve O Gram July 1993
Number 19/2

http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/19-02.pdf

 

"... Security Considerations Theft of rare books is an increasing problem.
The following measures can help the rare book manager protect the
collection.   Make sure all rare books are properly identified and marked
for ownership in pencil on the back of the title page near the binding at
the bottom. ..."

 

 

5.  If an institution has rare and unique manuscripts, I would think a
photocopy and digital image might serve the purpose of "proof" of ownership
instead of marking the item.  I have concerns over the ink, type of mark,
not to mention how you decide what to mark.  And with 700,000+ materials,
you then have the question of WHAT to stamp.    Years ago, many institutions
marked manuscripts on the margin or at a point that did not affect the
manuscript writing, image, etc. - and what did thieves do, they trimmed
those edges!

 

I've wondered many times the scenario of trying to prove something was yours
and was stolen.   It seems to me that good cataloging data, accession data,
photocopies or digital images would serve the same purpose.  But clearly I
don't have the staff to stamp every manuscript or archive item that we have.

.

 

6.  I would recommend taking a look at Gregor Trinkaus-Randall's
publication-Protecting Your Collections: A Manual for Archival Security
(SAA, 1995).  I recently wrote a "Theft prevention and recovery policy" and
from my research it seems clear that marking manuscripts is really a thing
of the past.  I think that most archivists view it as defacement and
destructive.  Here at HSWP, many of our most valuable documents, perhaps the
vary ones that are the most highly collectable and marketable, are the exact
pieces that are occasionally exhibited in our museum exhibitions.  Our
museum staff and administration would absolutely have a cow if we
intentionally altered those documents.

 

 

7.  At the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois a
combination of a micro embosser and a non-acidic ink stamp are used.  I
don't recall how/where the ink stamp is used, but the micro stamp is used on
a "secret page".  The ink stamp tends to be in an up-front, highly visible
place, while the micro stamp is relatively well-hidden.

My gut reaction to stamping books and manuscripts is that the value of the
item is being decreased.  On the other hand, if, on the odd chance, the
library deaccessions any of the material, a certain value might be found in
the indication of provenance.  Just a thought.

 

 

8.  Here is another place where museums and archives differ. It is ingrained
in museum personnel not to do anything to an object that is not reversible.
It goes against everything I was taught to permanently mark a manuscript.
It's like mutilating it.

 

 

9.  As one who was heavily involved in creating the current RBMS Security
Guidelines and its marking recommendations, I would like to point out that
the recommendations there are based on sound theory and practice and on some
unfortunate experiences.

Also speaking as one who has been, to his dismay, involved over the past
several years in efforts by various libraries to recover their stolen
manuscripts, I can assure everyone that an institutional property stamp is
the be-all and end-all of recovery efforts if your materials are stolen.  If
the visible mark fails in its role as a deterrent and your manuscript is
stolen anyway, that mark is going to be removed, even if the thief has to
cut it out.  That is why the invisible mark is so important; with any luck
the thief will not see it and it will remain on the document to provide
proof.  Such things as cataloguing records, scans, microfilms, etc., are all
dubious proofs subject to interpretation.  I know of cases wherein the
stolen document and the image have been put side by side, and you'd be
surprised how different they can appear.

 

Also, regrettably, such excuses as it is too much trouble to mark materials
or that doing so is too daunting a task or that it hurts the material will
also be turned against a library seeking to recover stolen materials,
especially if any amount of time has passed between the theft and its
recovery.  Such defenses as estoppal and laches will be raised to deny the
library the recovery of its material, especially if the material is
unmarked. Lack of marks will merely be interpreted to mean that the library
did not take reasonable measures within its grasp to protect its property
and will be advanced as yet another reason the aggrieved purchaser does not
have to return the materials.

Mark your stuff!  Don't join the unhappy group of librarians and archivists
who get to see a judge hand possession of their property to somebody else.
Besides, SAA endorses those Guidelines as best professional practice.  No
reason not to follow them.

 

 

 

10.  We mark selected manuscript items with Newberry Library ownership
stamps, using Library of Congress ink. We can't stamp everything, either,
but we don't want a famous person's autograph or other valuable documents
getting away. The solution of having a surrogate to use as proof of
ownership suggests that one has time to make photocopies or digital copies
of everything in the collection, which is more time-consuming,
shelf-consuming, and server-consuming than marking the originals.

To avoid thieves trimming the stamp out of the document, we stamp in a
prominent place, e.g., on the verso of a letter behind the signature.

Since the Smiley incident, we've stepped up our marking, and now even every
page in every valuable atlas has the Newberry's mark on it.  We've learned
it's hard to prove ownership otherwise. Personally, I still feel a little
guilty about defacing these items, but we're expecting to keep them forever,
and even with security guards checking every bag and briefcase at the exit,
it's still too easy for some items to walk away.

 

 

11.  Shades of James Bond, there is also the microdot (data dot,
Microtaggant) as found on the IFTF site in a discussion of RFID:

 

http://future.iftf.org/rfid/

 

a few entries down as:  Feb. 14, 2005 Other Tagging Methods"

 

Sounds expensive to just spray - but maybe the rice-size piece could be
inserted in a spine one by one or attached and concealed some other way.

 

 

12.   When I read your post, it occurred to me that perhaps a mark that is
not visible without a UV light might have the desired affect, but not affect
the aesthetics of the items so marked.  I have NO idea what is in UV
sensitive inks, or if there might not be an inert, non-reactive option. I am
thinking maybe something that is organic and naturally UV reactive, like the
glow in the dark mushrooms.

 

 

 

 ============================================================


Barbara Austen

Manuscript Archivist / Cataloger

The Connecticut Historical Society Museum

One Elizabeth Street

Hartford, CT  06105

(860) 236-5621, ext. 251

Fax: (860) 236-2664

www.chs.org <http://www.chs.org/> 

 <http://www.chs.org/>   

 

 

 

 

 

Join us for one of our coming events!

Visit  <http://www.chs.org/events.htm> www.chs.org/events.htm for a complete
listing.

 

 

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