jan06c.indd


Jane Hedberg P r e s e r v a t i o n  N e w s  

Video about fi lm care 
Video Aids to Film Preservation (VAFP) is a 
new Web site designed to complement print­
ed motion picture film preservation guides. It 
contains short video clips that illustrate basic 
principles of film handling and treatment. As 
of this writing, the clips include “What does 
mildew damage look like?” “What does a 
film with shrinkage look like?” “What to do 
if the film on a reel is loose?” “How do you 
identify film gauge from the reel it is on?” 
“How do you identify film by its container, 
size and shape, and sprocket holes?” “How do 
I identify optical or magnetic sound tracks?” 
“How do you make a cement splice in regular 
8mm?” “How do you inspect a cement splice?” 
and “How do you make a splice using a 
simple splicing block and press tape?” 

There are also three short films made by 
professional film laboratories to illustrate 
procedures they have used in fi lm restoration. 
Contributors include Littlefi lm.org, Cineric, 
Film Technology Company, and Colorlab. 
The clips and films may be streamed in 
MPEG­4 and either Real­Surestream or Real­
Broadband, and downloaded in MPEG­4 fi les. 
They are governed by the rules of Creative 
Commons, so may be used with appropriate 
attribution. 

The URL for VAFP is www.folkstreams. 
net/vafp. 

Magnetic and optical media repair 
The Canadian Conservation Institute has 
published “Remedies for deteriorated or 
damaged modern information carriers” by Joe 
Iraci as number 27 in its Technical Bulletin 
series. This 23­page booklet reviews the types 
of deterioration sustained by magnetic and 
optical media as they age or encounter poor 
handling and storage conditions. It goes on to 
present remedies for that deterioration to en­

Jane Hedberg is preservation program offi  cer at Harvard 
University Library, e-mail: jane_hedberg@harvard.edu; 
fax: (617) 496-8344 

able playback of audio, video and computer 
tapes and discs, plus CDs and DVDs. 

This booklet costs $15 US and may be 
purchased through the CCI online bookstore 
at https://www.cci­icc.gc.ca/bookstore/index­
e.cfm or their Publications Sales Office at (613) 
998­3721, ext. 250. ISBN: 0­660­19527­5. 

Labeling hazardous chemicals 
The September 2005 issue of AIC news (v.30: 
no.5) contains a special insert, “A conserva­
tor’s guide to labeling hazardous chemicals” 
by Judith Bischoff. This article offers an over­
view of the OSHA regulation and other laws 
that pertain to safe labeling of the chemicals 
typically found in conservation laboratories, 
and the importance of using labels that con­
form to the law. 

The regulation doesn’t specify type of 
label, so the article describes two rating 
systems, the National Fire Protection Asso­
ciation National Fire Rating and the National 
Paint and Coatings Association Hazardous 
Materials Identification System. Lastly, it 
recommends an inventory of all chemicals 
in the lab, acquisition of the appropriate 
Material Safety Data Sheets, application of the 
necessary labels to all chemical containers, 
and explanation of the label system to staff 
members. The article also contains a table 
of the health, flammability and instability 
(reactivity) codes for common conservation 
chemicals; a list of acronyms; a glossary; and 
a list of Web sites. 

(“Washington Hotline” continued from 
page 33) 

Brought to you by ALA, American Asso­
ciation of Law Libraries, American Society of 
Newspaper Editors/Sunshine Week, Coalition 
for Open Government, League of Women 
Voters, the National Freedom of Information 
Coalition, and OpenTheGovernment.org 

For more infor mation visit www. 
sunshineweek.org/. 

C&RL News January 2006  34 

http:sunshineweek.org
http:OpenTheGovernment.org
https://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/bookstore/index
mailto:jane_hedberg@harvard.edu
www.folkstreams