Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler
The work of the BPG Board continued to be expedited this year via the electronic communication system set up by Walter Henry, which permitted officers, committee chairs and past officers to participate in an easy and timely fashion in all discussions and decisions affecting the BPG. Primary attention during the past year was devoted to issues and activities that benefit the entire BPG membership: the annual meeting program and publications.
Eleanore Stewart, program chair, and Nancy Heugh, assistant program chair, organized a well-balanced and thought provoking series of sessions that both complimented the overall theme of the annual meeting (disaster planning and response) and extended our knowledge of materials and treatment approaches. The BPG reception at the Folger Shakespeare Library was a success in every regard: good food, good conversation, and of course beautiful surroundings and an amazing exhibit of early maps. On behalf of the Library Collections Conservation Discussion Group, Maria Grandinette and Randy Silverman developed a well-attended half-day program on the history and connoisseurship of paperback books, which touched upon social and literary history, paperbacks as physical objects and methods of stabilizing and preserving them. The Archives Discussion Group, organized by Hilary Kaplan, convened to continue discussions of surface cleaning: when, how, and using what materials. The session organizers and all speakers and participants are due thanks for their contributions toward achieving another successful BPG meeting.
The Book and Paper Group Annual, volume sixteen, 1997, comprised largely of papers delivered at the San Diego meeting, was distributed to all BPG members. The Annual continues to be a primary vehicle for recording and sharing technical information among members and the conservation community at large; sales of past issues also continues to provide income for BPG. Robert Espinosa, compiler and managing editor, has agreed to continue to serve in this capacity. He also chairs the Publications Committee, comprised of Konstanze Bachmann, Walter Henry, Jane Klinger, Kate Maynor, Olivia Primanis, and Diane van der Reyden. The committee is charged to develop a cohesive policy statement covering existing and potential BPG publications, as well as such issues as funding, peer review, and our relationship with the AIC Publications Committee.
Lyn Koehnline and Jan Paris coordinated the BPG response to the Ethics Committee on the draft commentaries to the Guidelines for Practice, sections 4 and 16-19. Work is ongoing in this important area, and is fair to say that there has been very limited response from the membership at large. In order for the commentaries to accurately reflect issues and concerns that are BPG specific, we all must make an effort to contribute to the discussion.
Topics pending more discussion by the BPG board and membership include the possibility of reviving the Paper Conservation Catalog project, revising previously published outlines as necessary and developing new topics. The question of utilizing available BPG funds for special projects or publications also needs to be addressed in the context of member needs and interests and the forthcoming report of the Publications Committee, which will have financial implications. A proposal for the BPG to consider providing monetary support for a planned publication of the AIC Health and Safety Committee points to the need for us to establish policies and procedures in these areas. This important proposal was discussed briefly at the tail end of the BPG business meeting when there was unfortunately not enough time to deal thoroughly with the relevant issues. This suggests we should perhaps reconsider the scheduling of the business meeting (though a free breakfast encourages attendance!) or its content (perhaps dispense with reports that can be delivered via BPG mailings). We do need to come up with a way to take advantage of the energy represented by assembled members to encourage full discussion of future directions and goals for the Book and Paper Group.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the work and activities of the BPG this year, and especially to the officers, committee chairs, and liaisons who kept everything moving in the right direction. Special thanks to Eleanore Stewart, Nancy Heugh, and our tireless secretary/treasurer Alison Luxner (who continues her term this year), and best wishes to incoming officers Abigail Quandt (chair), Nancy Purinton (assistant chair), and Jane Klinger (assistant program chair).