We have long dreamed of a new Conservation Facility and to say we are thrilled would be an understatement. Since 1975, the present Conservation Lab has been located in Technical Services on the main floor of Clapp Library. Although we are glad to work in close proximity to our Library colleagues, this location has three major drawbacks. First, as we have expanded our conservation efforts, we have crowded more and more equipment into too small an area and increasingly encroached on others' space. The student workers who affix metal grommets to classroom maps must do the necessary hammering in a remote area of the Library because the noise is disturbing to other staff.
Washing paper is impossible because the large washing trays are unwieldy and too messy.
Third, built-in shelves, cupboards, and book stacks hamper our ability to reorganize Lab space. Our new Conservation Facility will be designed to minimize limitations and expand possibilities. It will be located next to the Book Arts Lab on the fourth floor of Clapp Library in a large, high-ceilinged, naturally lit room. Present plans call for seven custom-made workbenches, with a press or paper cutter beside each, clustered around the large pieces of equipment which must be shared. Most benches will be outfitted with the appropriate tools and supplies for a particular type of treatment, with one bench dedicated solely to creating enclosures for Special Collections materials.