Learn more about the work of our Preservation and Collection Care section.

Erasing marginalia from a book with a chemical sponge.

CUATL Ep. 4: Is It Okay To Write In Books?

Oct. 14, 2019

This transcript of the CU at the Libraries episode “Is It Okay To Write In Books?” has been rewritten for the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries news site. Press play to listen to this episode below or find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts...

Course reserve books stacked on table.

How The Libraries Prepare For A New School Year

Aug. 20, 2019

As incoming and returning students arrive on campus and our faculty make last-minute edits to their syllabi, the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries are also preparing for a successful start to a new school year. Our Circulation Department has kept busy this summer by gathering materials from course reserve requests...

PASCAL owner takes on order picker ride.

What Is PASCAL And Why Do We Need It?

July 24, 2019

About 40 miles away on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, CO, there is a 30-foot tall high-density storage facility that holds millions of books, records, maps, and more. This place is called the Preservation and Access Service Center for Colorado Academic Libraries (PASCAL), and the University of Colorado Libraries...

Interns Lisa Donavan and Stacey Brown work on maps from the U.S. Congressional Serial Set volumes in the Preservation unit.

Re-Mapping Future Through Preserving History With Maps Project

June 13, 2019

The University Libraries are wrapping up an extensive project this summer that will keep over 60 maps detailing railroad survey reports that date back to the pre-Civil War era accessible to students, researchers, and librarians. Faculty and staff from the Government Information Library, the Preservation unit, and the Earth Sciences...

There is an entire bulletin board dedicated to objects found in library materials.

Weird Things We've Found In Books

April 22, 2019

There are plenty of reasons to love an old book, including the found forgotten objects that have held a reader’s spot, or that were tucked away for safekeeping, meant to be retrieved before the book was returned to the library, but often forgotten. These items are rediscovered by the University...

Hillary Morgan from CU Boulder Preservation

Happy Preservation Week!

April 22, 2019

What is Preservation Week? Memories and treasures should last beyond our lifetime and be passed on for other generations to learn from and enjoy. Preservation Week is an opportunity to inspire the preservation of collections. Also, the week-long campaign aims to raise awareness of the role libraries play in providing...

A guide to Oddy tests hangs on the wall of a LOC wall.

LOC Project With University Libraries Kicks Off

March 15, 2019

The University of Colorado Boulder Libraries are participating in a grant program through the Library of Congress (LOC) that is bringing together five academic libraries to compare the physical condition of similar books retained and preserved at institutions across the country. A guide to Oddy testing hangs on the wall...

Norlin Stacks

Libraries Part of LOC Grant from Mellon Foundation

Feb. 4, 2019

The University of Colorado Boulder is part of a major national effort to assess the physical health of books across American research libraries. The Library of Congress is spearheading the initiative , thanks to a $540,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. CU Boulder Libraries, along with libraries at...

Handwritten Italian in the days before the printing press

Il Decamerone: an Italian classic in Special Collections

April 26, 2018

Printed in 1555, this book was brought to the Preservation unit for a new enclosure, but, while here, we discovered a beautiful handwritten page in the middle of the binding. Talk about penmanship goals! It’s even more impressive when you consider that the book is only around 5” tall! Want...

1871 Ethiopian Magic Scroll is made of very tightly bound goat skin and handwritten in red and black ink

From the Archives and Preservation: 1547 Land Deed

April 25, 2018

This handwritten land deed from the 16th century came through the Preservation unit to have a new custom box created. The 1547 deed for parcels of land in England was sealed with a seal as big as our Conservator’s hand. Want a closer look? Materials like this are available to...

Pages