The Beinecke Library is home to 500,000 volumes of rare books and "several million" manuscripts making it one of (if not the largest) repositories dedicated to the collection and preservation of rare writings. Among the documents housed therein are an original Gutenberg Bible and, as discussed in these pages earlier, the Voynich manuscript.
Hopefully, the documents will be around for a while, but that's not a given. One of the biggest problems with caring for old books is that the paper (or other materials) they're written on will, over time, disintegrate. The library's job? Slow down that process as much as possible. The solutions: gas, freezers, and stone.
More from Now I Know.
Showing posts with label Historic preservation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Historic preservation. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
• Library of Congress Releases National Recording Preservation Plan
If you listen to music, the state of recorded sound may strike you as healthy and robust. Whether you hear it in a club, on the radio, on mp3, compact disc or LP, and whether the recording was made last week or decades ago, the sound is solid and the experience can be immersive.
But historians of recorded sound have long been fretting about the relative delicacy of that sound, or more specifically, of the media on which it is stored. And anyone who has listened to transfers made from early cylinders – the dominant format for the first quarter-century of recordings, before the invention of the flat 78 rpm disc – or who has tried to play a digital file in an obsolete format, understands their concerns.
These worries, and their ramifications for the national legacy, became a matter of government concern when Congress passed the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000. That bill directed the Library of Congress to “plan and coordinate a national effort to develop policies and programs to save our nation’s recorded sound history and ensure its accessibility to future generations.”
More HERE.
But historians of recorded sound have long been fretting about the relative delicacy of that sound, or more specifically, of the media on which it is stored. And anyone who has listened to transfers made from early cylinders – the dominant format for the first quarter-century of recordings, before the invention of the flat 78 rpm disc – or who has tried to play a digital file in an obsolete format, understands their concerns.
These worries, and their ramifications for the national legacy, became a matter of government concern when Congress passed the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000. That bill directed the Library of Congress to “plan and coordinate a national effort to develop policies and programs to save our nation’s recorded sound history and ensure its accessibility to future generations.”
More HERE.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
400 Great Discoveries in Albany
2009 marks the City of Albany's Quadricentennial, honoring the 400th anniversary of Captain Henry Hudson's voyage. Enter your own "Great Discovery" in the categories of Event, Place, Restaurant, Recreation or Activity, Arts and Culture, Architecture or History. You may submit as many entries as you like.
Prize winners will be drawn at random from those whose entries were selected for the list of 400 Great Discoveries in Albany. Prizes include a $400 cash prize, dinner for a family of four at DP-An American Brasserie, family 4-pack tickets to a show at the Times Union Center, and more!
Entry Deadline: April 1, 2009
Prize winners will be drawn at random from those whose entries were selected for the list of 400 Great Discoveries in Albany. Prizes include a $400 cash prize, dinner for a family of four at DP-An American Brasserie, family 4-pack tickets to a show at the Times Union Center, and more!
Entry Deadline: April 1, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
The area's most influential events of the past 400 years
The Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce is asking for your vote. In celebration of the region's Quadricentennial, the Chamber has compiled a list of some of the area's most influential events of the past 400 years. The Chamber is asking Capital Region residents to vote on which milestones have had the biggest impact on our region. Voting will take place on the Chamber Website. Only one vote per person is allowed. Voting is open to the public and will be open through Thursday, February 26th.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Preservation League of New York State Workshop: Enhancing Main Street
WHAT: Enhancing Main Street: Making Upper Floors Work Again
A free workshop presented by the Preservation League of New York State
WHEN: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
WHERE: WAMC Linda Norris Auditorium
339 Central Avenue
Albany, NY
The workshop’s featured speakers will include:
Buffalo architect Clinton Brown, who will discuss Main Street revitalization and why it matters, and also present a case study of mixed-use project in Medina, Orleans County; Joe Fama of the Troy Architectural Program in Troy, who will explain how New York’s building codes and preservation can work together; Murray Gould of Port City Preservation in Oswego, who will provide information on funding sources and strategies for downtown conversion projects; and Sandra Adams of the Community Preservation Corporation in Albany, who will discuss how financing was assembled for recent mixed use projects on North Pearl Street.
The workshop is free and lunch will be served, but seating is limited.
Please register by Friday, April 11. Call 518-462-5658 x13 for more information or email upperfloors@preservenys.org.
Enhancing Main Street: Making Upper Floors Work Again is presented by the Preservation League of New York State, and sponsored by the Central Avenue Business Improvement District, Empire State Development Corporation, and WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Co-sponsors include the City of Albany Department of Development and Planning; Downtown Albany Business Improvement District; Historic Albany Foundation; Lark Street Business Improvement District; New York Planning Federation; and Office for Small Cities — NYS Housing Trust Fund Corporation.
A free workshop presented by the Preservation League of New York State
WHEN: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
WHERE: WAMC Linda Norris Auditorium
339 Central Avenue
Albany, NY
The workshop’s featured speakers will include:
Buffalo architect Clinton Brown, who will discuss Main Street revitalization and why it matters, and also present a case study of mixed-use project in Medina, Orleans County; Joe Fama of the Troy Architectural Program in Troy, who will explain how New York’s building codes and preservation can work together; Murray Gould of Port City Preservation in Oswego, who will provide information on funding sources and strategies for downtown conversion projects; and Sandra Adams of the Community Preservation Corporation in Albany, who will discuss how financing was assembled for recent mixed use projects on North Pearl Street.
The workshop is free and lunch will be served, but seating is limited.
Please register by Friday, April 11. Call 518-462-5658 x13 for more information or email upperfloors@preservenys.org.
Enhancing Main Street: Making Upper Floors Work Again is presented by the Preservation League of New York State, and sponsored by the Central Avenue Business Improvement District, Empire State Development Corporation, and WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Co-sponsors include the City of Albany Department of Development and Planning; Downtown Albany Business Improvement District; Historic Albany Foundation; Lark Street Business Improvement District; New York Planning Federation; and Office for Small Cities — NYS Housing Trust Fund Corporation.
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