Sender: Rare Books and Special Collections Forum <EXLIBRIS@RUTVM1.BITNET>
Here is the promised propaganda for the Conservation DistList. Hope
you will join the fun.
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Conservation DistList
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Since 1987, a steadily growing group of conservation people, including
bench conservators, curators, scientists, and administrators, have been
meeting on the Internet to share technical information, news,
rumour-control etc. Because it happens that libraries, having been
involved in computer operations for several decades, joined the Net
earlier than museums, the bulk of the group consists of people from the
library world, but as the group grows, and more institutions and
individuals find their way to the Net, the scope of participation will
broaden to include all spheres of conservation. As it is, our numbers
include more than 400 people from 7 countries, including conservators
from several specialities, scientists, curators, archivists,
librarians, and academics from a number of disciplines.
There are currently three main initiatives:
1) An online forum, known as the Cons DistList. A moderated digest,
this is issued as often as participants send in material to be
distributed. It is open to anyone who is professionally involved--and
this is interpreted very liberally--with the conservation of cultural
materials. Students in library, archives, and museum studies, or
conservation science are also welcome. Typical topics include queries
and answers about technical issues, attempts to clear up rumors,
announcements of events of interest to the participants, etc. It is
extremely informal and geared toward quick dissemination / discussion,
rather than carefully developed argument. We think of it as something
along the lines of a conference-call or passing around stacks of
postcards, rather than as a publication. Back instances of the DistList
are available to participants.
2) A directory of email addresses for conservation professionals.
It is updated regularly and distributed via email. In order to
receive the directory you must a) fill out a very short
questionnaire so that I can add your address to the listing and
b) send me a message via email, so that I can be sure that your
address works.
3) The FileList: This is a list of text files that are available by
sending a message to this account (consdist-request@lindy.stanford.edu).
Topics include information on using the networks, preservation survey
techniques, disaster planning, etc. This is a great way for you to pass
around something you've written that you'd like to share, but that you
don't have time to work up into something publishable (are a great
chance to run your soon-to-be-submitted draft by your colleagues for
friendly comments before the editor rips it to shreds).
I hope you will join us in what has been a most enjoyable and
fruitful experiment. The value of the networks increase as the
community of users grows.
These activities are taking place on the Internet, a world-wide
Network of Networks (Bitnet, UUCP, etc.). If you have an account
on any machine on the Net, please get in touch with me at
whenry@lindy.stanford.edu. If you are not sure how to do this,
please feel free to phone me and I'll do what I can to get you
going.
If you are on Compuserve or MCImail, instructions for getting to
me are given below. If you are on one of the other commercial
services, call or write and I will be happy to show you how to
send and receive Internet mail (alas, there are several
commercial services that do not connect to the Net).
Walter Henry
Conservation Lab
Stanford University Libraries
consdist-request@lindy.stanford.edu <Internet>
xb.k98@stanford <Bitnet>
415-725-1140 <NetOfLastResort>
>From Compuserve:
send to ">INTERNET:whenry@lindy.stanford.edu"
>From MCIMail
at the "To:" prompt type "Walter Henry (EMS)"
at the "EMS:" prompt type "internet"
at the "Mbx:" prompt type "whenry@lindy.stanford.edu"
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