Conservation and Preservation

Special Care

The documents of the Gezelle Archives require special care. They show traces of intensive use and the bearer is mostly nineteenth-century paper of inferior quality.

How Do We Preserve This Brittle Material?

• We keep an inventory of all individual documents and they are kept in acid-free storage materials.
  
• The items are stored in optimum conditions ensuring a stable temperature and relative humidity.
• The technical team has the expertise to handle the fragile pieces correctly. They regularly participate in conservation training and a specialist monitors all aspects of the preservation and conservation of the heritage collection.

• The nineteenth-century books of Gezelle's library are sometimes in poor condition. Even standing on the rack can be a problem. To provide first aid, the technical team designed customized storage covers in sturdy acid-free cardboard. The books can easily be placed on the rack again, get more support, manipulation becomes easier and crumbling pieces are no longer lost. Meanwhile all books have been placed in tailor-made acid-free storage boxes.
• Acquisitions and items that have been outside the library are placed in quarantine and undergo a prolonged controlled atmosphere treatment. This technique is effective against biological threats (bacteria, fungi, drill beetle, etc.). The books or documents are not at risk.

• High-quality digitization protects the pieces against physical manipulation. Digitized documents of the Gezelle archives are no longer available for consultation.
• In some cases, restoration is necessary to prevent further decay.

Conservation and Preservation Specialist :
BIRGIT AMPE
Bruges Public Library
Kuipersstraat 3, 8000 Bruges, Belgium
E-mail: birgit.ampe@brugge.be
tel: 32 050472337