Weissman Preservation Center
The Weissman Preservation Center, acting on behalf of students, faculty members, and researchers at Harvard University and beyond, manages and implements programs and projects dedicated to assessing, preserving, and making accessible the holdings, in all formats, of the Harvard University Library.
The Weissman Preservation Center, together with Conservation Services and Imaging Services in the Harvard College Library, provides a suite of high quality services directed at protecting, conserving, and reproducing library and other cultural heritage materials.
Weissman Preservation Center
Harvard University Library
90 Mt. Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel (617) 495-8596
Fax (617) 496-8344
preserve@hulmail.harvard.edu
Advisory and Field Services
Training and Outreach
WPC develops reports, guidelines, and educational products; hosts workshops, master classes, and conferences; and provides consulting and other services with the goal of extending and advancing the preservation capabilities of Harvard's libraries.
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Preparation for dealing with emergencies that threaten collections is essential to preserving library collections. WPC, working with HCL Conservation Services, provides assistance with planning and prevention activities, a 24/7 hotline to request assistance, and collection salvage expertise.
Collections Surveys
Systematic assessment of both circulating and special collections assists libraries in setting preservation priorities and planning preservation programs and projects. Working with HCL Conservation Services, we design and automate instruments for condition assessment, and assist in planning and implementing survey projects.
Environmental Monitoring
In collaboration with HCL Conservation Services, WPC helps libraries select appropriate environmental monitoring devices, establish monitoring programs, and interpret findings. Resulting data assist facilities managers in achieving environmental conditions that promote the longevity of library collections.
Digital Initiatives
Together with HCL Imaging Services, and the HUL Office for Information Systems, WPC develops specifications for digitization, digital preservation, and delivery of digital resources that have very long term value.
Conservation Services
Special Collections Conservation
Highly skilled conservators treat rare books, manuscripts, prints, drawings, maps, and other materials in special collections that have suffered the ravages of time, use, and exposure to poor environmental conditions. Many of the objects conserved in the special collections conservation laboratory are very rare or unique and are of extraordinary scholarly, historic, and artistic value.
General Collections Conservation
WPC conservators treat general collections materials that enter Harvard University Library digitization project workflows at 90 Mt. Auburn Street, and that cannot withstand handling and scanning without first being stabilized.
Reformatting Projects
Publishing Collaboratives
Working with curators and librarians, WPC helps to develop contracts with publishers to reproduce and index the Library's collections for the benefit of students, scholars, and researchers.
Preservation Reformatting Project History
Supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities for more than a decade, WPC managed seven microfilming projects that preserved over 100,000 brittle volumes in a wide variety of disciplines. We selected, prepared, and cataloged materials, and contracted with HCL Imaging Services for high-quality microfilming.