National Conservation Service

Day 4 of showcasing Conservator Jolanta's work on this volume from the BBC Written Archives Centre. These images show the repaired textblock. Jolanta surface cleaned the leaves, the mould damaged areas were then consolidated with Klucel G in Propan-2-ol and the losses infilled with Japanese paper.

Day 3 of showcasing Conservator Jolanta's work on this volume from the BBC Written Archives Centre. After surface cleaning, Jolanta infilled the board losses with layers of Japanese paper and Manilla, adhering a layer of toned Japanese paper to beautifully blend the repair to the original covering.

Day 2 of showcasing Conservator Jolanta's work on this volume from the BBC Written Archives Centre. These images show the mould damaged text block before work commenced.

This week we are showcasing a project that Conservator Jolanta has recently completed at our Hackney studio. This volume is from the BBC Written Archives Centre. These images show the front and back before work commenced.

Preventive Conservator Catt and Conservator Jolanta have recently completed an AD strip 400 sample survey on Iconic Images Gallery collections. AD strips are dye coated paper strips that monitor the levels of deterioration of cellulose acetate film.

It's always lovely for us when we arrive on site to carry out routine work to find something special is happening. Lead Conservator Marie arrived @salisburycathedral.bsky.social recently to carry out environmental and pest monitoring to find the flower show was on!

Sign the Petition SAVE YOUR ARCHIVE / ACHUBWCH EICH ARCHIFDY

We are concerned to hear that proposed job losses are threatening the future of one of our long-standing members, Bangor University Archives and Special Collections.

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Preventive Conservator Catt had a fantastic time at the Museums + Heritage show last week with our friends Conservation Resources and Jamie Briggs Removals & Storage Ltd. It was great to speak to so many new people about all the ways NCS might be of service.

Lead Conservator Marie has recently enjoyed seeing a long term project come to fruition. These are the first boxes of negs from @commonwealthwargraves going into freezer storage. We are happy to see this collection receiving perfect storage conditions @jamiebriggsremovals @conservation_resources

Here is that board re-attachment in action. This volume from @thercn collections can now be consulted safely and used as originally intended without the risk of further damage occurring.

Check out this beautiful board re-attachment Conservator Maddy recently completed on this volume from @thercn collections. Maddy has skilfully toned aerolinen to create this repair.

Director Chris had the pleasure of joining the recent conference panel @heritagecouncil.ie "It was great to join the panel and to hear about the steps being taken in Eire to develop the heritage sector..."

Most conservators enjoy surface cleaning, and we are no exception. Here, built up dirt is carefully removed from this frame by Conservator Zuraida. Isn't it amazing what a few damp swabs and lots of patience can achieve? This item is currently on loan to @hartlepoolartgallery from the MMMT.

Conservator Zuraida can be seen here cleaning paintings from the 'Under Steam' collection owned by the Mercantile Marine Memorial Trust. These are currently part of an exhibition @hartlepoolartgallery 'Charting the Course: Hartlepool's Maritime Heritage'

Remember the beautiful illuminated address from yesterday? Here it is after treatment re-housed in an acid free folder with an aperture to protect the delicate media.

Check out this beautiful address on parchment from the Ethical Society. Here Conservator Maddie is consolidating the delicate media with isinglass.

Did you know we offer a pest monitoring service for our members? This includes several changes of traps per year and an annual report full of advice on how to ensure your stores are as pest free as possible.

This is why we think it's important to check and clean every leaf of a volume! This squashed fly was found by Conservator Maddy at our Hackney studio while cleaning through some items from the Barings collection.

Lead Conservator Marie and Preventive Conservator Catt recently visited @thebritishacademy to re-start their pest monitoring service after a refurbishment break. It was also a great opportunity to discuss and advise on disaster planning as well as appreciate the beautiful architecture.

Conservator Maddie staying safe in full PPE cleaning a mould damaged item from Lewisham Council.

During a recent visit to @britishdentalassociation Lead Conservator Marie posed the question how do we best package decomposing toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste?

Here is Lead Conservator Rachael de-framing drawings for Lloyds Register Archives. Once free of their frames this collection will be surveyed to identify potential conservation treatments ahead of storage.

We're taking a moment to appreciate the beauty of these exposed spine linings and sewing: A semi naked book if you will! This lovely ledger was found during a recent survey at Barclays Group Archives

Have you been enjoying the Spring warmth recently? We wish we could say the same for Lead Conservator Marie who has been busy working in our freezer storage at Upper Heyford @jamiebriggsremovals @conservation_resources

We are delighted to be a sponsor for this years OxCam Conference. Here is Lead Conservator Marie giving a brief NCS overview to delegates earlier.

What do we do when a volume is missing one of its boards? Well we make a new one of course so the book can be used as originally intended. Here's a volume that Conservator Maddie fished recently at our Hackney studio.

Something big has been happening at our Upper Heyford studio! We will have exciting news to share really soon! @jamiebriggsremovals @conservation_resources

Associate Director Sharon has been collecting insect blunder traps from one of our Members. This members historic stores tend to be rather spidery, and so each trap is placed in a sealable bag to ensure the contents stay put during their journey back to Sharon's studio. Bags are washed and reused.

This time next week we'll be @oxcamconference We are excited to be sponsoring this event this year and are looking very much forward to meeting delegates.

We are privileged to visit some beautiful buildings in the course of our work. During a recent installation @somersethouse Conservators Maddie and Jolanta enjoyed seeing the fabulous 'Salt Staircase' restored through grant funding and now open to the public.