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The Clean Sweep

Monday, 11 July 2011
Softly, softly, catchee dustee

Softly, softly, catchee dustee

Softly, softly, catchee dustee

by Nikki Ralston, Conservation

Regular visitors may have wondered about what's been going on in our Trustees' Room in recent weeks - that's the room to the left of our main hall. Comings, goings and that funny noise... Well, from 2 to 4.30 this afternoon, and every weekday afternoon, you can see for yourself. Our Trustees' Room has become home to The Clean Sweep, a major project to clean and protect our +50,000 rare books in preparation for transfer to a newly upgraded on-site store.

Over 1,000 books are cleaned, measured and surveyed each week by our Rare Book Team: Fiona, Giada, Glen and Jamie. Data recorded by the team is downloaded to our box-making machine and some nifty software allows it all to be converted into lovely boxes that will protect the collection during the move, and for decades to come.

Just some of the beautiful works that our Rare Book Team have worked on over the last week...

Just some of the beautiful works that our Rare Book Team have worked on over the last week...

Just some of the beautiful works that our Rare Book Team have worked on over the last week...

There's a small display explaining the project and the processes involved, but expect to see regular posts from The Clean Sweep team here, updating you on our progress and sharing some of the fantastic books we're coming across.