April 30 – May 6, 2023 is Preservation Week, an initiative of the American Library Association, the Library of Congress, the Institute of Library and Museum Services, the American Institute for Conservation, the Society of American Archivists, and Heritage Preservation. Book preservation is as old as libraries; Assyrians included curses in their clay tablets to protect them from vandalism and theft.

Preservation Week is an initiative to inspire action to preserve collections – in libraries, archives, and museums, of course, but especially the items held and loved by individuals, families, and communities. Cultural heritage helps us to celebrate our cultural diversity, and its appreciation develops mutual respect and dialogue amongst people from different walks of life.

Exhibit details

• April 21–May 22
• Reading Room of Special Collections (1510 E. University Boulevard, next to Starbucks at Main Library)
• Free and open to the public
• Monday through Friday, 9am-4pm

Stop by Special Collections to see this pop-up exhibit to learn how we take care of collection materials. Included are examples of materials, preservation enclosures, and some treasures we find in incoming books.

Student curator: Alanna Rivera

"Cursed be the pesty cat that urinated over this book during the night in Deventer and because of it many others [cats] also. And beware well not to leave open books at night where cats can come." (Unknown Deventer scribe, around 1420.Köln, Historisches Archiv, G.B. quarto, 249, fol. 68r.)