The Vespiary Book Binding & Book Conservation

I was dreading the early morning departure for Great Falls from Missoula on Thursday morning, but I had the perfect storm of exquisite coffee, guilty-pleasure fast-food breakfast, great conversation, and spectacular scenery (we drove 200 the whole way - highly recommended). I was kicking myself that I forgot my camera, because some of the mesas by Mariah were unearthly.

I co-presented a workshop called “A Fleeting History: Pamphlets, Posters and other Ephemera in the Library.” (as an aside, let me just say that ephemera is one of my favorite words). Jordan Goffin, UM’s Special Collections Librarian took care of the first half, defining what ephemera is and why you might want to be on the lookout for it, while Eileen Wright (MSU-Billings) and I handled the care and repair aspects of these objects. Since the majority of the conference attendees were from small or public libraries, we kept our methods simple and our supplies cheap. I really tried to keep future damage from occurring by showing examples of discolored tape on maps, powdery residue from old book tape, and getting attendees to chant “Tape is Evil!” in unison (tip of the hat to Beth Heller).

As soon as I recover my notes, I’ll put up the links to suppliers and resources, and hopefully a scan of one my favorite pieces of ephemera that Jordan brought: “X-ray of the Ecumenical Monster!” We decided we’ll be naming our ukulele band after this strongly worded religious tract.