British Library Courses

British Library Courses: "British Library Courses 2015
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British Library Courses 2015

West Dean College has collaborated with the British Library to deliver a programme of courses in preservation and collection care for libraries. The programme focuses on Continuing Professional Development and is aimed at professionals, conservation students and others interested in furthering their skills in this area.

Understanding and caring for bookbindingsDavid Pearson, Sarah Hamlyn, Karen Limper-Herz, Roswitha Ketzer, Robert Brodie
BL3 
23 April 2015
Location: The British Library, London

This training day will help librarians and archivists understand the types of bindings in their collections and will provide guidance on handling and describing bindings and on appropriate conservation techniques. Participants will be given an overview of the history of Western bookbindings, with examples drawn from British Library collections. At the end of the day participants will be able to:

• Recognise different bookbinding structures and materials
• Describe bookbinding styles and structures
• Understand why bookbindings deteriorate
• Minimise the risk of damage to bookbindings
• Commission appropriate conservation work.

Course fee: £116

Environment: Effective monitoring and management
Jane Henderson
BL4 
24 April 2015
Location: The British Library, London

Avoiding a ‘one size fits all’ approach to environmental parameters, this training day helps you to understand the vulnerabilities and tolerances of your collections and then shows how to set realistic and achievable targets that are appropriate to the materials in your care and the resources available to you. At the end of the day you will be in a strong position to take cost-effective decisions and prioritise actions for maintaining a sustainable environment. The training day is aimed at people with responsibility for the care of library and archive collections, and is led by Jane Henderson, Senior Lecturer in Conservation at Cardiff University. 

Course Fee: £116

Disaster response and salvage
Emma Dadson
BL5 
28 April 2015
Location: The British Library, London

This intensive course focuses on preparing for disaster response and salvage. The course uses experience of responding to real incidents to demonstrate how planning can minimise the impact of emergencies in libraries and archives as well as outlining the practical steps to take when responding to situations. With reference to case studies, the course includes strategies for dealing with damage, an emergency decision-making exercise and a major incident desktop scenario. By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Identify the key issues that a disaster plan needs to address
• Give examples of the decisions to be made when responding to an incident
• Source salvage equipment to build a disaster kit

Previous attendees commented that they had learnt ‘how much there is to think about when dealing with a disaster and how to prioritise actions’, 'the importance of preparedness, tips for emergency kits and for small scale incidents, and how to assess what we can cope with ourselves and when to call in help'. 

The day is led by Harwell Document Restoration Services.

Course fee: £128

Dust and dirt: Strategies for prevention and management
Caroline Bendix and Paul Garside
BL6
3 June 2015
Location: The British Library, London

Dust is a constant presence in most libraries and archives and can be harmful to collections. This training day will focus on understanding the nature of dust and the threat it poses, as well as means by which dust can be cleaned and how collections may be protected from it. At the end of the day delegates will have:

• A clear understanding of how dust forms and from what it is made
• Practical knowledge of cleaning collections
• Awareness of health and safety issues
• The ability to identify pest and mould damage
• Details of various methods of protecting against dust
• The ability to set up a housekeeping programme
• An understanding of using volunteers to help clean collections

Course fee: £128 

Preventing pests by IPM
David Pinniger
BL7 
10 June 2015
Location: The British Library, London

Led by David Pinniger, Independent Consultant Entomologist, this one-day workshop provides an introduction to preventing pests through use of integrated pest management. The course is aimed at anyone with any involvement with, or responsibility for care of libraries, archives and collections. Technical handouts will be given to support the course. This session is limited to only 16 places.

Course objectives:

• To introduce the main insect pests which attack collections: what they need to live: how to identify them: the damage they cause; ways to prevent them becoming established
• Understanding pest environments
• Selecting the most appropriate treatments to control pests
• Making plans to establish an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programme

Course fee: £128

Essential preservation
Ruth Honeybone and Sarah-Jane Hamlyn
BL8 
12 June 2015
Location: The British Library, London

Preservation is a means of ensuring that collections can be used for the long-term. This workshop focuses on the preservation of library and archive collections, with an emphasis on traditional, paper-based collections. The day introduces common terminology and standards, highlights risks to collections, and describes simple and practical steps for putting preservation into practice.

The day is targeted at those who are newly involved in caring for library and archive collections, those for whom preservation is just one of their many responsibilities, and those who are seeking a bit more confidence in how to approach preservation.

By the end of the day, participants will be able to:

• Understand what is meant by preservation
• Identify the main threats to library and archive collections
• Identify factors to consider when storing and handling items
• Understand the role preservation policies play in supporting and enabling good practice
• Find other sources of information and networks to support their preservation work

Course fee: £128

Information and booking

Download a booking form here. 
For further information please call 01243 818219 or 01243 818300. 

Please return your completed booking form tobookingsoffice@westdean.org.uk

How to Find Us

West Dean College and Gardens are situated in South East England, six miles north of the historic city of Chichester and 12 miles from the south coast.

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