Join NYU Libraries for Preservation Week 2021!The following events are presented as part of NYU Libr

Join NYU Libraries for Preservation Week 2021!

The following events are presented as part of NYU Libraries’ Preservation Week series of programming. Preservation Week is an annual initiative of the American Library Association aimed at connecting our communities through events, activities, and resources that highlight what we can do, individually and together, to preserve our personal and shared collections.

Please note that all participants must RSVP for each event; Zoom links will be distributed following registration confirmation. 

Investigating Plastics in The Special Collections
Mon, April 26, 2021, 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM EDT

Link to RSVP here

In 2020, the Preservation Department was awarded a Kress Conservation Fellowship to support research into plastic objects in our Special Collections. We hired objects conservator Chantal Stein to identify the composition of plastic items in the David Wojnarowicz Collection (MSS 092) and to establish best practices for housing and monitoring various plastic types. Our goal was to find a means to preserve these fragile items while supporting access and use. Chantal will present the results of her research.

Event Speakers:

• Chantal Stein
• Jessica Pace

Chantal Stein is the Samuel H. Kress Conservation Fellow in plastics conservation at the Barbara Goldsmith Preservation and Conservation Department at New York University Libraries. She received her MA in Art History and MS in the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works from NYU, and her BA in Fine Arts and Creative Writing from Columbia University.

Jessica Pace is the Preventive Conservator at New York University Libraries, where she is responsible for environmental monitoring, emergency preparedness and response, integrated pest management, as well as handling and housing of Special Collections materials. She received her MA in Art History and CAS in Conservation from the Institute of Fine Arts’ Conservation Center at New York University, and her BA in Art History and Visual Arts from Barnard College.

Artist Interviews and Artist Books
Tue, April 27, 2021, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT

Link to RSVP here

Charlotte Priddle and Jessica Pace discuss two artists’ books made in non-traditional media that challenge our approach to their preservation and use. Ben Denzer’s 20 Slices contains twenty slices of Kraft American Singles. Didier Mutel’s edition of Isaac Newton’s Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica is made of thin sheets of concrete. In both cases, conversations with the artists regarding their material selection, manufacture process, and their views on the object’s aging, use, and conservation strongly informed the resulting preservation plans.

Event Speakers:

• Charlotte Priddle
• Jessica Pace

Charlotte Priddle is the Director of Special Collections and the Librarian for Printed Books at NYU Libraries.

Jessica Pace is the Preventive Conservator at New York University Libraries, where she is responsible for environmental monitoring, emergency preparedness and response, integrated pest management, as well as handling and housing of Special Collections materials. She received her MA in Art History and CAS in Conservation from the Institute of Fine Arts’ Conservation Center at New York University, and her BA in Art History and Visual Arts from Barnard College.

A Conservator’s Perspective on Caring For Art Created During Art Therapy
Wed, April 28, 2021, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM EDT

Link to RSVP here

Laura McCann will describe her sabbatical research on the conservation and collection management of artworks produced during art therapy with Edith Kramer. Edith Kramer, whose papers are part of the NYU Special Collections, is one of the founders of art therapy in the United States. Laura will address the implications of U.S. health privacy laws on access and use of the artworks.

Event Speaker:

• Laura McCann

Laura McCann is the Interim Director and Conservation Librarian in the Barbara Goldsmith Preservation and Conservation Department at New York University (NYU) Libraries. She received the following degrees: MSLIS from the Palmer School, Long Island University; MA in Paper Conservation from Camberwell College of Arts; and a BA from Bates College.

Beyond the Pale Listening Party and Discussion
Fri, April 30, 2021, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED; See additional information here 

Celebrate the recent digitization of the Beyond the Pale radio program, which was completed with support from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) Recordings at Riskprogram.

JoinBeyond the Pale co-hosts Marilyn Neimark and Esther Kaplan as they revisit episodes of their radio program, Beyond the Pale, which was a weekly radio program designed to provide a progressive, Jewish perspective on issues confronting the United States. The program aired on WBAI/Pacifica Radio in New York from 1995 to 2014. The topics addressed included the peace process in the Middle East, Jewish culture and artistry, responses to and confrontation of the Radical Right, Ethiopian Jewry, Zionism, domestic violence in the Jewish community, racism, and myriad other issues.

NYU’s Tamiment Library holds the entire archive of Beyond the Pale, which consists of analog and digital audio recordings. Tamiment will reformat and preserve over eight hundred at-risk elements recorded on a variety of legacy formats. The project will digitize a substantial portion of these unique recordings for preservation, which will enable NYU to conduct archival arrangement and description, and update the collection’s finding aid with streaming audio files.

Event Speakers

• Shannon O'Neill, Curator of Tamiment-Wagner Collections
• Kimberly Tarr, Media Preservation Unit Head
• Michael Koncewicz, Michael Nash Archivist & Ewen Center Program Coordinator
• Marilyn Neimark, Co-host of Beyond the Pale
• Esther Kaplan, Co-host of Beyond the Pale
• Ari M. Brostoff, Culture Editor at Jewish Currents
• With special musical guest: Basya Schechter, Founder of the group Pharaoh’s Daughter