More than thirty years of continuing research into the preservation of photographic collections have led to a better understanding of the fragility of these images and the means by which to preserve them. A useful resource for the photographic conservator, conservation scientist, curator, as well as professional collector, A Guide to the Preventive Conservation of Photograph Collections synthesizes both the enormous amount of research that has been completed to date and the international standards that have been established on the subject.

The book opens with a description of the principal forms of deterioration that photographs may undergo. It surveys the variety of containers used to house photographs and the environmental conditions each is meant to improve. The book then discusses the maintenance of photographic collections and the precautions that must be taken in exhibiting them. Special attention is given to digital technology and the innovative techniques available to manage a photographic collection and ensure its longevity.

• Foreword to the English-Language Edition
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Part One: Understanding
  • Chapter 1. The Vulnerability of Photographs
    • Image Degradation
    • Binder Degradation
    • Base Degradation
  • Chapter 2. Standards
    • Processing and Preserving Photographs
    • Evaluating the Permanence of Materials
    • Preservation Practice Standards for Collections
• Part Two: Protection
  • Chapter 3. Enclosures
    • Contact Materials (Level 1)
    • Proximity Materials (Level II)
    • Storage Facilities (Level III)
  • Chapter 4. Environment
    • Relative Humidity and Temperature
    • Air Pollution
  • Chapter 5. Monitoring Collections
    • Setting Conservation Priorities
    • Disaster Response
• Part Three: Exhibition
  • Chapter 6. Light
    • Qualifying Light
    • Quantifying Light
    • Artificial Light
  • Chapter 7. Mounting and Exhibition
    • Lighting Recommendations
    • Exhibition Spaces
    • Monitoring Devices
    • Filtering Light
    • Mounting for Exhibition
• Part Four: Dissemination and Access
  • Chapter 8. Analog Reformatting
    • Duplicating Photographs
    • Micrography
  • Chapter 9. Digitization
    • Preserving Access to Information
    • Digital Image Acquisition
    • Storage on Magnetic Tape
    • Storage on Optical Disks
    • Micrography versus Digitization
• Part Five: Technical and Practical Information
  • Chapter 10. Processing Photographs for Permanence
    • Black-and-White Photographs
    • Color Photographs (Chromogenic Processes)
    • Computer Output Printing
• Appendixes
• Basic Vocabulary
• Notes
• Index

Bertrand Lavédrine works at the Centre de Recherches sur la Conservation des Documents Graphiques (CRCDG), a research center in Paris, France, dedicated to the preservation of paper documents, prints, films, and photographs.