ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 40 / C&RL News ■ January 2003 P r e s e r v a t i o n N e w s Jane Hedberg Video fact sheets Eighteen fact sheets about videotape preser­ vation, produced by the Preservation Commit­ tee o f the A sso ciatio n o f M oving Im age Ar­ ch ivists (AMIA), are a v ailab le o n the AMIA W eb site. Written by Jim W heeler o f Tap e Ar­ chival and R estoration Services, with the as­ sistance o f Peter Brothers o f Specs Bros., LLC, and edited by Hannah Frost o f Stanford Uni­ versity Libraries, the fact sh eets o ffer up -to- date advice about using and caring for video­ tape. Topics include: introduction to magnetic tape preservation, definitions, a b rief history, structure and com position o f videotape, esti­ mating tape life, co m m on tape problem s, re­ formatting, environmental conditions, inspec­ tion, cleaning, equipm ent m aintenance, reju­ venating unplayable tapes, staff training, di­ saster preparedness and response, transporting tapes, video processors and time base correc­ tors, and d o’s and d on’ts o f tape care. The fact sheets are available at http://www. am ianet.org/ 11_In fo rm ation / 11g_VidPres/ 11g_intro.html. For more information or to sub­ mit comments, contact Jim W heeler at e-mail: jimwheeler@aol.com or Hannah Frost at e-mail: hfrost@stanford.edu. Disaster recovery technical bulletin The Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) has published D isaster Recovery o f M odern In form a­ tion C arriers by J o e Iraci as num ber 25 in its technical bulletin series. This 16-page techni­ cal bulletin co vers p roced u res for salvaging CDs, magnetic discs, and magnetic tapes after exposure to tap water, dirty water, sea water, heat, dust, dirt, mold, and shock. T he salvage recom m endations are based o n inform ation from case histories, advice from experts, and research done at CCI. Copies are available for $10 each from Pub­ lications Sales, Canadian Conservation Insti­ tute, 1030 Innes Road, Ottawa ON K1A 0M5, Canada; p hone: (6 1 3 ) 9 9 8 -3 7 2 1 , ext. 250; e- mail: cci-icc_publications@pch.gc.ca. They are also available through the CCI online bookstore at https://nt3.magma.ca/cci-icc/bookstore/index- e.cfm. U nder “O ther Pu blicatio ns and Prod­ u cts,” select “T echnical Bulletins.” Web-based tutorial T h e Council on Library and Inform ation Re­ sources (CLIR) and the Cornell University Li­ brary have produced an English-language, Web- based preservation tutorial specifically designed for cultural rep ositories in Southeast Asia. It begins with a self-assessm ent tool that facili­ tates determining the present level o f preser­ vation activities, creates a benchmark, and iden­ tifies any missing activities. It continues with narrative instruction that is divided into four sections. T he first section, “Management and Planning,” covers care and handling, environ­ ment, security, and disasters. The second, “Pres­ ervation," covers the nature o f materials, co n­ servation, facilities, and reformatting. The third, “Building Capacity,” covers training, education, and collaboration. The fourth, “Supporting the Effort,” covers resources, funding, and public relations. CLIR and C o rnell intend to adapt this tutorial for o th er regions o f the world. T he tutorial is available at http://www. librarypreservation.org. GRIP T h e N ationaal A rch ief (n ation al arch ives o f the Netherlands) and the European Commis­ sio n o n Preservation and A ccess (ECPA) are cosponsoring the Gateway for Resources and Information on Preservation (GRIP). This Web site currently provides access to a database o f m ore than 2 ,2 0 0 re fe re n c e s to p reservation publications, organizations, projects, activities, and d iscussion lists that w ill grow in the fu­ ture. Each reference was selected for inclusion based on usefulness, currency, and broad ap­ peal. W hen possible, the references are linked to online versions o f the documents. T he da­ tabase can be searched by keyword or browsed by predefined topic. GRIP is available at http://www.knaw.nl/ecpa/ grip/. For more information or to recommend (co n tin u ed on p a g e 4 5 ) Jane Hedberg is preservation program officerat Harvard University Library, e-mail: jane_hedberg@harvard.edu; fax: (617) 496-8344 http://www mailto:jimwheeler@aol.com mailto:cci-icc_publications@pch.gc.ca https://nt3.magma.ca/cci-icc/bookstore/index- http://www http://www.knaw.nl/ecpa/ mailto:jane_hedberg@harvard.edu C&RL N e w s ■ J a n u a r y 2 0 0 3 / 41 C&RL News ■ January 2003 / 45 second an en cy clo p ed ia of people, places, and other proper n o u n s — th is f a c t- p a c k e d , 90,000-entry compendium is a colorful aid for anyone learning the language or picking it up again years later. It includes hun­ dreds o f diagrams showing the component parts of such things as a horse, a water-treatment plant, a m icrophone, a cargo ship, and the ferm entation o f wine; numerous pictures o f fa­ mous people; 290 maps; special multipage color sections on cu­ riosities o f the animal world, world festivals and holidays, the history o f money, and Europe from antiquity to union; and a 48-page chronicle o f world history . For French-language students, it of­ fers a pronunciation guide, verb conjugation tables, rules for participles, noun plurals, and common prefixes and suffixes. Published an­ nually. $39-95. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 2-03- 530203-X . Trilobit es of New York: An Illustrated Guide, by Thomas E. Whiteley, Gerald J. Kloc, and Carlton E. Brett (203 pages + 175 plates, June 2002), surveys the diverse trilobite spe­ cies found throughout New York State, an abun­ dant source o f many fossils o f these marine arthropods that flourished between 520 to 280 million years ago. In addition to a taxonomic review, the authors examine trilobite biology, fossil preservation, and the Paleozoic strata of New York, and present more than 200 high- quality, black-and-white images o f represen­ tative species. $55-00. Cornell University. ISBN 0-8014-3969-8. Vending Machines: An American Social History, by Kerry Segrave (284 pages, Octo­ ber 2002), recounts the story of coin-operated automatic machines that dispense food, drink, products, or services. Supposedly invented by the Greek mathematician Hero, who in the 1st century A.D. described a drachma-operated device to sell holy water in Egyptian temples, true vending machines emerged in 1888 when Thomas Adams designed a machine to sell his Tutti-Frutti chewing gum on New York train platforms. Segrave follows the trends o f ciga­ rette, soft-drink, candy, and coffee vending to more exotic experiments as the Vend-a-Book, the Foot Ease Vitalizer, and the Perfumatic. One consistent thread in the b o o k is the industry’s war on counterfeit coins and slugs. $36.50. McFarland. ISBN 0- 7864-1369-7. Wild Cats of the World, by Mel and Fiona Sunquist (452 pages, October 2002), is a com­ prehensive guide to the ecology, behavior, description, and dis­ tribution of the 36 known spe­ cies o f living felids. A major e x p a n s i o n o f C. A. W. Guggisberg’s classic W ild Cats o f th e W orld (Taplinger, 1975), this volume also looks at each cat’s status in the wild and in captivity, conflicts with humans, and conservation ef­ forts. Appendices examine felid olfactory and vocal communication and reproduction. Do­ mestic cats are described following a section devoted to their close relatives, the European and African-Asian wildcats. $45-00. Univer­ sity o f Chicago. ISBN 0-226-77999-8. World War II on the Web, by J. Douglas Smith and Richard Jensen (207 pages, Novem­ ber 2002), examines the 100 best WWII Web sites and rates them for content, aesthetics, and ease o f navigation. The reviews are well- balanced and note where improvements could be made or when ads are too intrusive. The primary section is divided into ten major sub­ ject areas, each with a helpful introduction and substantial bibliography; this is followed by a topical index o f about 250 sites also “worth a visit.” An accompanying CD-ROM contains an Acrobat file of the entire book, complete with clickable links. $23-95- SR B ooks. ISBN 0- 8420-5021-3. ■ (“Preservati onNews”œntinııed from page 40) references, contact the European Commission on Preservation and Access, Royal Academy of Arts and S c ie n c e s , G RIP e d ito r -in -c h ie f, Kloveniersburgwal 29, P.O. Box 19121, 1000 GC Amsterdam, the Netherlands; e-mail: grip@ bureau.knaw.nl. ■