Paper Conservation in Spain
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English Slovak |
| ISBN: | ISBN 0-8412-0553-1 |
| Online Access: | http://www.viks.sk/chk/ppthav_33_44.doc |
| Abstract: | Summaries. Paper conservation, as known today, is new to Spain. Until a few years ago, custodians of the nations records on paper and parchment could only despair at the deterioration taking place. The restorers-craftsmen, in reality-scarcely were trained to tackle the broad problem. The pleas and warnings of those who wanted something done went unheeded. Here and there individual authorities sought professional help from abroad, but results proved minimal. In 1969, a dramatic change took place. Conservation was raised from the empirical to the scientific level. The breakthrough: a law that provided for a centralized agency to restore the nation's archival and library materials, determine the causes of deterioration, and train personnel to carry out these tasks. Conclusion. Its progress notwithstanding, paper conservation in Spain has just begun. There is much to do but at the moment, unfortunately, the resources available will not stretch that far. The legislation that pulled the many loose strands together was a good start. But the problem is overwhelming when one considers the immensity of the book and archival inventory that needs immediate attention. This does not count the records, written or printed on paper of poor quality, that find their way into the national collection. The situation is aggravated by the countless nonstate entities-institutions, municipalities, monasteries, convents, private organizations-that seek and are given help. In the meantime, there is a long line of books and records awaiting treatment at the Center and its field workshops. The input has to be controlled because of limited facilities. More space is needed, to be filled by more technicians, more material, and equipment; to do this more funds are needed. But in a country with serious economic problems, the Center's priorities are not considered of immediate urgency. The Center is trying to overcome these obstacles by diverting its resources to areas where the most good can be done: more rapid and economical methods of restoration, and expansion of restoration facilities in the major archives and libraries of the nation. Meanwhile, other programs must wait. Whether or not they are ever realized, they do constitute a national need: construction of suitable buildings for poorly housed archives and libraries, or, at least, improvement of present facilities; climate control, a priority requirement, in view of the intolerable levels of environmental pollution in Spain's urban centers; a national program for custodians of books and documents that alerts them to the conservation problems they face and what action can be taken within budgetary limitations; a movement to stimulate the manufacture of a permanent type of paper; an expanded microfilm program as part of a cooperatively organized national preservation program; and an expanded research program for the many conservation problems that exist today in the peninsula, the Balearic Island, the Canary Islands, and the Spanish enclaves in North Africa. |
|---|---|
| ISBN: | ISBN 0-8412-0553-1 |
