About Preservation Week
The Library of Congress Preservation Directorate participates in American Library Association’s Preservation Week every year. This annual celebration is held in the spring, and libraries across the U.S hold events that highlight what we can do, individually and together, to care for our personal collections and to support preservation efforts in libraries, archives, museums, historical societies and collecting institutions in communities all across the country.
Year 2025
125 Years of Preservation at the Library of Congress: It all starts with Binding Video Available!
April 28, 2025, 11am ET. Speakers: Keith Shovlin, Senior Binding Technician and Ronlicia Gordon-Falls, Senior Binding Technician
Preservation first started at the Library of Congress with the opening of the Binding Office 125 years ago. See how preservation and binding techniques have changed over the years. Today, in the Processing and Preparation Section, we use modern technology to responsibly care for, track, and maintain the Library’s collections. Join us as we take you through our process and history!
Preserving the Pictorial: Treatment of a Mounted Clarence White Photograph Video Available!
April 29, 2025, 11 am ET. Speaker: Sophie Church, Advanced Intern in Photograph Conservation
The process of making a platinum print allows for artistic manipulation of the final print and was an ideal medium for photographers of the Photo-Secession movement. An untitled platinum print from 1904 signed by Clarence Hudson White, was the subject of examination and treatment to address surface dirt, reduce adhesive residue, mend punctures and tears, and fill losses in all layers.
Looking through the Layers Video Available!
April 30, 2025, 11am ET. Speakers: Meghan Hill, Preservation Science Specialist; Chris Bolser, Preservation Technician; and Susan Peckham, Senior Paper Conservator
In the 19th century, instead of white-out, corrections and edits were added by adhering a small piece of paper to cover the original handwritten musical notation. Preservation staff use specialized knowledge of the unique chemistry and materiality for the inks and papers of the 19th century and frequently employ the safest and most expedient method for detaching the “paste-over” and re-attaching it by a secure hinging system. However, when a manuscript easily contains hundreds of paste-overs, it becomes most efficient to use multi-spectral imaging, which is a series of different waves of light that allow one to “see” through the layers of paper to read the text below.
Storage in the Stacks Video Available!
May 1, 2025, 11am ET. Speaker: Matt Martin, Assistant Chief, Collection Management Division
One of the universal struggles all libraries face is storage, or the lack thereof. The Collection Management Division has been working on improving stacks storage in the Library’s historic Capitol Hill locations. This talk will focus on efforts to increase and refine storage methods by removing books off the floor, shifting collections, making selections for offsite transfers, and the new initiatives for doing inventory of the general collection.
Past Programs
Year 2024
Revealing our Founding Fathers
April 29, 2024. Speaker: Dr. Fenella France, Chief, Preservation Research and Testing Division.
Video Available!
(re)Building Rudolph: Conservation of a Large Architectural Model
April 30, 2024. Speakers: Liz Peirce, Objects Conservator, and Collections Conservation Technicians Anna Zastrow, Chloe Genter, and Mary Elizabeth Watson.
Video Available!
Understanding Risks to Collections Through Physical and Chemical Analyses
May 1, 2024. Speaker: Eric Monroe, PhD., Head Scientific Laboratory Section, Preservation Research and Testing Division.
Video Available!
Journey to the Center of the Conservation Lab
May 2, 2024. Speakers: Conservators Eclair Morton and Nina Mourat.
Video Available!
Year 2023
Mapping our Collections with Scientific Imaging
April 24, 2023. Speaker: Eric Monroe, PhD., Head Scientific Laboratory Section, Preservation Research and Testing Division.
Video Available!
Assessing Collections for Space and Condition
April 25, 2023. Speaker: Beatriz Haspo, Collections Officer, Collection Management Division
Video Available!
Web Archiving at the Library of Congress: Preserving Internet History for Memory and Research
April 26, 2023. Speakers: Senior Digital Collection Specialists Lauren Baker, Grace Bicho, and Chase Dooley
Video Available!
An Introduction to the Conservation Internship at the Library of Congress
April 27, 2024. Speakers: Advanced Conservation Interns Meredith French, Veronica Mercado, and Emily Mercer
Video Available!
Year 2022
Fragments, Discovery and Creating Knowledge
April 25, 2022. Speaker: Dr. Fenella France, Chief, Preservation Research and Testing Division
Video Available!
Preserving the Legacy of Robert Cornelius and Other Daguerreotypes in the Prints & Photographs Division
April 26, 2022. Speaker: Rachel Wetzel, Senior Photograph Conservator
Video Available!
Preservation Digitization Program Overview April 27, 2022. Speaker: Aaron Chaletzky, Head, Reformatting Projects Section
Video Available!
Moving Collections to an Off-Site Facility: Key Things to Keep In Mind
April 28, 2022. Speaker: Cathy Martyniak, Chief, Collection Management Division
Video Available!
Fiscal and Organizational Sustainability for Preservation Programs
April 29, 2022. Speaker: Jacob Nadal, Director for Preservation
Video Available!
Year 2021
Preservation Meets Public Health: Enduring Lessons from Pandemic Planning
April 26, 2021. Speaker: Jacob Nadal, Director for Preservation
Video Available!
Collections Management Division: Restarting Operations During a Pandemic
April 27, 2021. Speaker: Matthew Martin, Assistant Chief (acting), CMD
Video Available!
Focus on Scientific Reference Samples: Center for Heritage Analytical Reference Materials (CHARM)
April 28, 2021. Speaker: Dr. Fenella France, Chief, PRTD
Video Available!
Librarians-in-Residence: Training the Next Generation
April 29, 2021. Speakers: Adrija Henley, Chief, Preservation Services Division with former LIRs Jon Sweitzer-Lamme, Zach Maiorana, and Katie Daughtry
Video Available!
Peek inside the Lab: Two Mini Presentations
April 30, 2021. Speakers: Alan Haley, Senior Preservation Specialist, Dan Paterson, Senior Conservator, and Leslie Long, Senior Preservation Specialist, Conservation Division
Video Available!
Year 2020
Keeping it Cool: Designing the Library's New Gutenberg Bible Display Case
April 27, 2020. Speakers: Elmer Eusman, Chief, Conservation Division and Nancy Lev-Alexander, Head, Collection Stabilization Section
Video Available!
Acquiring and Developing an Offsite High Density Collections Storage Facility
April 28, 2020. Speakers: Steve Herman, Chief, Collection Management Division; Rohn Roache, Assistant Chief, Collections Management Division; Nancy Lev-Alexander, Head, Collection Stabilization Section
Video Available!
Assessing the Condition of the United States National Collection
April 29, 2020. Speaker: Dr. Fenella France, Chief, Preservation Research and Testing Division
Video Available!
Environment, Housing & Building Materials Testing to Protect our Collections
April 30, 2020. Speaker: Dr. Eric Monroe, Supervisory Physical Scientist
Video Available!
Would You Like to Save Your Game?
May 1, 2020. Speakers: Amanda May, Digital Conservation Specialist; David Gibson, Processing Technician; Laura Davis, Project Specialist
Video Available!
