News / Preservation Fair 2011: Preserving Your Family Treasures
10/11/2011
Want to learn how to preserve Great-grandmother’s wedding dress?
Worried about your family photos which were stored in a wet basement?
Not sure how to protect the 8mm films of family occasions?
Answers to these types of questions…and more…can be found at Preservation Fair 2011: Preserving Your Family Treasures. This one-day informational event will feature lectures, demonstrations, and exhibits by more than 30 conservation professionals. Scheduled for Saturday, October 22 from 10 am to 4:00 pm, the Preservation Fair will host conservators, archivists, and librarians who will discuss what individuals can do to save, repair, and protect family treasures ranging from books, photographs, films, letters, paintings, textiles and more. Admission to the Preservation Fair is free with purchased admission to the Carnegie Museums (4400 Forbes Avenue): no separate registration is required. For complete details, visit www.sis.pitt.edu/~presfair. The event is co-sponsored by the Carnegie Museums and the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences.
Some of the highlights of the Preservation Fair include:
Keynote Lecture by Rick Sebak, WQED Senior Producer and creator of more than 20 documentaries. Mr. Sebak will, in his trademark quirky style, discuss whether or not to “Just Save Everything.”
Free Conservation Advice. Bring your books, photographs, films, letters or other documents, paintings, textiles, or other family treasures for free basic conservation advice. Please note that, due to the popularity of this event, visitors are to being one item only. No appraisals or valuations will be given.
Demonstrations by national experts. Demonstrations will cover topics ranging from carpet restoration to hand-made papermaking, to proper storage of textiles such as wedding dresses. A complete list of demonstrations is located at http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~presfair/program.html.
Book Dunk. Students from the School of Information Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh will demonstrate how to salvage water-damaged materials.
Vendor/Information Tables. Professionals will staff information tables all day, providing one-on-one advice and take-away conservation literature. The exhibitors range from specialists in art conservation and handling, bookbinding, digitization of paper artifacts, gold leaf conservation to preserving maps and photographs. A complete list of exhibitors is available at http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~presfair/exhibitors.html.
The School of Information Sciences (the iSchool) is pleased to be a partner in this project: the School hosts educational and research programs in the areas of Archives, Preservation and Records Management.