Original and reformulated BEVA® 371: Composition and assessment as a consolidant for painted surfaces

Abstract

Many natural and synthetic products have been used for the consolidation of paint layers, but none have been thoroughly tested for this application. This is apparent for most of the synthetic and semi-synthetic adhesives for conservation, many of which are pure polymer resins and dispersions adapted from other industries. They were not specifically formulated with the appropriate properties for conservation, nor do they take advantage of some of the more recent developments in adhesive technology. BEVA^® 371 is unique among adhesives used for consolidation treatments, as it is a multi-component mixture and was designed specifically for the conservation field using the best technology available at the time. However, the main focus of the research was its application as a lining adhesive. Thus, optical properties and stability, specifically color stability, were not thoroughly evaluated even though some lining applications that were first recommended could have benefited from this type of investigation. This paper will discuss the development of BEVA^® 371, the chemistry, and roles of each component, and address a practical concern about the tack behavior of its replacement formulation, BEVA^® 371b.     

Policy and Partnerships for the Development of the Infoculture — Information at the Centre of a New Form of Solidarity

The development of digital technologies for the production, processing, dissemination and use of information is leading to the emergence of a new society based on a far reaching transformation in the relationship between people and institutions and on a radical change in many professional, economic, educational or cultural practices. The crucial question facing us today is whether our traditional societies are ready for such a shift in ways of thinking, communicating and acting. Are people sufficiently aware and adequately equipped to become citizens of this new information society? Are they prepared to be active, efficient and responsible participants in the new communities living on information exchange? Are we really ready to be part of a new culture based on a swifter and broader flow of information, ideas and knowledge? The development of that special culture, or infoculture, depends first and foremost on education, both general and vocational, and on initial and continuing training as well as on raising awareness among the public at large. Achieving a real infoculture calls for full-scale mobilization of all those who in their various ways are involved in the information society. Partnerships must be encouraged; national, regional or world projects must be given support; there is more than ever a need for a new form of solidarity to develop the infoculture.     

Meaning at the Interface: New Genres,New Modes of Interpretative Engagement?

As audience reception scholars commute from audiences to literacies, both of which share the concept of interpretation, this article sets out to draw together themes around the changing nature of interpretive work, from 6 texts that have reflected recently, in different ways, on interpretation in new media environments. In reviewing a multithreaded conversation across 4 books from literacy studies, media and communications, and user studies, I select 2 essays, written at a crucial moment for reception studies, to provide her a narrative. Speaking from diverse fields, these works suggest a widespread agreement that there is a need to rethink terminologies and concepts from mass-mediated communication in the age of interactive media, not because they no longer prove useful, but because they provide constructive intellectual challenges in thinking through the changing natures of texts and readers, genres and interpretation, literacies, and legibilities, as we await new modes every day, for all of these, but also perhaps, new modes of interpretative engagement.     

‘Tales of Japan’: a travelling exhibition of Japanese art from the New York Public Library

Abstract

Acrylic polymer dispersions, regularly used as artists' media or varnishes, were monitored for the development of yellow discoloration under natural aging conditions for a period of two years. Films of a number of water-based acrylic artists' media were kept under visible light of either moderate (150 lux) or low (50 lux) intensity (cycled on 10 hours per day) and were compared to films kept in dark storage, which have been observed to yellow. Results after two years show that exposure to visible light at 150 lux effectively prevented film discoloration in a number of products, and seemed at least to slow the rate of yellowing in others. Exposure to low-intensity (50 lux) lighting was found to be less effective in preventing this yellowing.     

‘What a setting for a mystery’: Yaddo, the Yaddo records, and the memory of place

‘Yaddo’, recalled composer Aaron Copland, ‘became so much a part of my life that I tend to forget how strange the name sounds to those not familiar with it.’ By its very delineation, vagary of purpose, and posture of cloistered withdrawal, Yaddo is defined by a meticulously cultivated and carefully guarded tradition of community and cultural identity; one that was carefully preserved (and, in turn was informed by) the formation of an archive. My point of query centers on the particular consequences of the bond between historical trace and physical place being severed (as perhaps it always must be) when the very materiality that informs an institution’s ‘memory’ is irrevocably distanced.     

Critically reflexive dialogue and praxis: Academic/practitioner reflections throughout a formative evaluation of Circles® USA

Reflections about the use of critically reflexive praxis by academic/practitioners are offered based on a case study of a formative evaluation of Circles^® USA, a nonprofit organization coordinating initiatives across the U.S. working to move families out of poverty. Critically reflexive praxis is theorized as featuring several themes including acknowledging different levels of context, critical dialogue with collaborators, engaging cultural difference and intersectionalities, problematizing power relations and relationships among researchers and collaborators, and occurring throughout the research project. Examples of critical dialogic reflexivity and navigating common tensions that emerge throughout such community engagement projects are detailed during three phases: planning and design; fieldwork and interviews; and outcomes, applications, and implications.     

Two Stangengläser from the collection of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague: Decorative techniques,material analyses,and conservation

Abstract

The two Stangengläser, tall cylindrical vessels from the beginning of the seventeenth century, are described in detail. The severely damaged Stangengläser, decorated with diamond-point engraving and cold-painting, were challenging to treat. Research preceding the conservation revealed differences in decorating techniques. Samples of the paint layers were analyzed using micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Two layers of resinous varnish with a middle layer of paint containing a plant gum were found on the Stangenglas with Allegory of Caritas and Zierotin coat of arms. In the plain paint layer of the Stangenglas with dancing couples, egg white was identified as the binder. The glasses, analyzed using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, had similar potash–lime–silica compositions, which seems to be characteristic for glass from Bohemian lands. Results of analysis contributed to the discussion about the possible provenance of the Stangengläser, the glassworks at Wilhelmberg, South Bohemia.     

Acquisition of multilingual materials; Through a central resource agency or by individual libraries?: Contribution to the panel on finding,selecting, and purchasing materials for multilingual libraries in the 80s,New York, 30 June 1986

Different ways are explored of organizing acquisitions work for multilingual public library collections, on the local, national and international scale. The respective technical pros and cons of three methods—decentralized acquisitions, centralized acquisitions to rotating deposit collections, centralized cooperative acquisitions—are set forth. Mention is also made of some external demographic and social factors which influence the library's choice of an acquisitions method. Flexibility and responsiveness to reader needs are stressed.     

Cultural Identity Tensions in a Post-Acquisition Organization A previous version of this paper was presented as a “Top Paper” at the annual convention of the International Communication Association,New Orleans,May 2004.

This study examines the problems associated with cultural integration in the aftermath of a corporate acquisition. Based on focus groups and one-on-one interviews with members of a post-acquisition organization (PAO), the results reveal three identity tensions used by organization members to reconcile conflicting pulls toward identification and disidentification: collaboration/competition, assimilation/autonomy, and consensus/command. Findings indicate that members across the four sites of the PAO reconcile these identity tensions differently, resulting in more evidence of disidentification at the two sites that had been acquired by the larger organization, than at the other two sites which had been long-standing locations of the acquiring organization. Implications are discussed relative to cultural and identity issues during periods of organization mergers and acquisitions.     

Reinvisioning and redesigning “a library for the fifteenth through twenty-first centuries”: a case study on loss of space from the Library and Center for Knowledge Management,University of California,San Francisco

The University of California, San Francisco, is an academic health sciences campus that is part of a state public university system. Space is very limited at this urban campus, and the library building''s 90,000 square feet represent extremely valuable real estate. A planning process spanning several years initially proposed creating new teaching space utilizing 10,000 square feet of the library. A collaborative campus-wide planning process eventually resulted in the design of a new teaching and learning center that integrates clinical skills, simulation, and technology-enhanced education facilties on one entire floor of the building (21,000 square feet). The planning process resulted in a project that serves the entire campus and strengthens the library''s role in the education mission. The full impact of the project is yet unknown as construction is not complete.     

Preparing for the Future: National Library of Medicine's® Project to Add MeSH® RDF URIs to its Bibliographic and Authority Records

ABSTRACT

Although it is not yet known for certain what will replace MARC, eventually bibliographic data will need to be transformed to move into a linked data environment. This article discusses why the National Library of Medicine chose to add Uniform Resource Identifiers for Medical Subject Headings as our starting point and details the process by which they were added to the MeSH MARC authority records, the legacy bibliographic records, and the records for newly cataloged items. The article outlines the various enhancement methods available, decisions made, and the rationale for the selected method.     

Does Online News Reading and Sharing Shape Perceptions of the Internet as a Place for Public Deliberations?

With the rapid development of interactive communication technology, the Internet is a major source of news and also plays an important role in connecting individual members of society. However, Internet users may have different perspectives on whether the Internet positively functions as a medium for public deliberation. Based on the assumption that being exposed to information on public affairs is a crucial step for one's civic engagement, this study explores how individuals’ motives related to news consumption, elaborative online news reading, and online news sharing influence their perceptions of online deliberation using structural equation modeling method (N = 998). The study finds significant relationships between news consumption motives and elaborative news reading and sharing behaviors, but only elaborative reading behavior had a significant effect on one's perceptions of online deliberation. The implications of these findings are discussed.