Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) is a nonprofit, regional conservation center, specializing in the preservation of paper-based materials for libraries, archives, museums, and other collection-holding institutions as well as private collections. NEDCC was founded in 1973 with a threefold mission: to improve the preservation programs of cultural institutions; to provide the highest quality conservation and reformatting services to institutions that do not have in-house conservation facilities or that require specialized expertise; and to provide leadership within the preservation and conservation fields.

To accomplish its mission, NEDCC maintains four distinct departments: paper conservation, book conservation, reprographic services, and field services. Paper and book conservation, preservation microfilming, and duplication and reformatting of photographic materials are provided on a fee-for-service basis. Through its field services, NEDCC provides consultation, educational programs, and disaster planning and assistance.

Since its founding, NEDCC has served thousands of nonprofit institutions and private collectors through its laboratory services; it has reached many thousands more through its consulting and educational programs. Clients range from large organizations such as the National Archives, New York Public Library, and Brown University to small public libraries, town clerk's offices, and local historical societies. Examples of projects undertaken include the conservation of antiquarian volumes for the National Library of Medicine, the Harvard Law School Library, and the Cleveland Public Library; the microfilming of first edition sheet music by Franz Liszt for the Julliard School Library; and the preparation for exhibition of Connecticut's copy of the Bill of Rights. Others include the delamination of the Emancipation Proclamation for the National Archives, the stabilization of Spanish Civil War posters housed at Brandeis University, and preservation planning surveys for institutions throughout the region.

The Center's reputation for excellence in conservation treatment comes from the skills of its professional conservators and the variety of materials that it can treat. Its experience includes conservation of books, documents, maps, photographs, parchment, architectural and other oversized drawings, wallpaper, and works of art on paper, including drawings and paintings in all media, prints, collage, and contemporary works. The paper conservation laboratory is staffed by professional conservators including specialists in the conservation treatment of photographs and oversized works on paper. It offers all the standard paper conservation procedures, as well as highly specialized work. NEDCC also treats works with unusual formats such as globes and composite materials with paper components. A range of treatment options are offered from basic stabilization to total restoration.

The book conservation laboratory staff of professional conservators includes specialists in leather binding and gold tooling. It has experience treating volumes bound in a variety of materials including leather, cloth, vellum, and paper and offers a full range of treatment options for pages. Binding options include repair of original bindings and rebinding in various structures including laced-in, split-board, and case structures; as well as post binding of encapsulated pages. Conservation standards are employed, and the materials used are permanent and of appropriate durability.

NEDCC's reprographic services department specializes in preservation microfilming and duplication of photographic negatives and prints. Microfilming is a cost-effective alternative for preserving information. NEDCC's preservation microfilming department is one of very few service-providing facilities that can cope with the technical difficulties of filming historical materials in deteriorated condition, such as scrapbooks, manuscripts, and newspapers. Microfilming staff is trained to handle problems related to brittle paper, oversized originals, poor contrast due to fading or other decay, colored papers, manuscripts with multiple inks, foldouts, and other problem materials. In addition, continuous-tone microfilming is available for photographs and for illustrations with text. NEDCC can arrange for the production of microfiche and long-term archival storage of film masters. NEDCC's microfilming adheres to the preservation standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Association for Information and Image Management (AAIM), as well as guidelines of the Library of Congress and the Research Libraries Group (RLG).

The reprographic services department also maintains a photoduplication service for copying photographs and early photographic negatives, such as cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate film, glass plate negatives, lantern slides, autochromes, and stereoviews, onto modern polyester safety film. Photographic prints can be made from original or duplicate negatives. Copy negatives can also be made from unique prints for which the original negative has been lost.

NEDCC's field service department is concerned with preservation of collections as a whole via collections care and preservation planning. The department conducts general preservation surveys which include a site visit followed by a report. Preservation survey reports offer practical recommendations for improving environmental and storage conditions, which can provide the foundation for a long-term preservation plan. A survey can help ensure that limited funds are allocated according to carefully identified priorities and increases the likelihood that treated objects will be returned to a suitable storage environment, including a controlled climate with appropriate levels of humidity and light and in proper protective storage enclosures. NEDCC also provides detailed condition surveys of specific collections or objects. In addition, the field service office presents educational programs, answers technical inquiries, maintains NEDCC's Website, and provides free 24-hour disaster assistance. The field service department is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and specific educational programs are funded by other granting agencies.

NEDCC's headquarters include a state-of-the-art conservation facility that provides ample space for treating large projects. Sophisticated climate control and security systems offer protection for clients' materials. The Northeast Document Conservation Center is located at 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, Massachusetts, 01810-1494 and can be reached by phone at (978) 470-1010; fax (978) 475-6021. Additional information including staff e-mail addresses is available at NEDCC's Website.

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Updated June 19, 2000