November 9th, 2007 Posted in University News
In October, 2007, the Columbia University Libraries received a grant for $32,450 from the New York State Conservation Preservation Program. The grant was for the New York State Coordinated Project to Create Custom Fitted Boxes for Rare Books. There are several
New York state and city libraries that will participate in this project.
The project itself is designed to provide custom fitted clamshell boxes that are made of archival quality materials to hold 400 rare and special volume books.
The titles for the books that will be preserved in the project are from special collections at the various participating libraries. The portion of the project that will come from
Columbia
University will be from the Book Arts collection currently found in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Some titles that will be included are Ashendene 1927 Don Quixote, the Plantin polyglot Bible, which was published around 1569, a book from Virgil that was printed by Didot in 1798, four works by Bodoni, two by the Bremer Presse from Germany, and the Oxford Lectern Bible, which was printed by Oxford University Press in 1935.
Columbia University Libraries is currently one of the top ten academic library systems in the
United States, and has 9.2 million volumes, as well as more than 65,600 serials. It also includes a large collection of electronic resources, manuscripts, microforms, and rare books. There are 25 libraries in the Columbia University Libraries chain, which support specific academic or professional studies. In addition, the libraries at
Columbia
University currently employ over 400 staff, including professionals, to assist faculty, students, and researchers in their quests. The protective boxes will provide a much needed method for preserving these rare books by giving them a structural support and shielding them from light, as well as sudden temperature or humidity changes, pollutants, and dust. The clamshell box will consist of two trays that are connected by a central spine, and made to fold into each other. The inner tray will be custom fitted to each specific volume and the outer tray will be constructed to fit tightly over the inner tray. The volumes inside will be very well protected from outside elements and can be easily removed without the danger of scratching. It is a wonderful way for the university to preserve these rare and aged volumes for decades to come. The project is stated to begin in November, 2007, and will run for approximately one year.