Able to fix old books in a single bound

Aware of the groundbreaking steps the school was taking, early workers saved virtually everything - from students' composition books to personal memorabilia of 19th-century principals and famous graduates.

In addition to its own records, ASD collected professional publications from France and Germany - some of these journals date back to the 18th century - and reports from its 14 "daughter" institutions - schools founded by ASD graduates.

The NBSS bookbinders will give priority to the ASD's annual reports, which date from 1817, and the American Annal of the Deaf, the oldest professional journal in the field, published since 1847. Because ASD has complete runs of both, the sets have great historical and monetary value.

Using skills learned as part of the regular curriculum, students will pare leather and dye it to match that on existing books. They will take books apart and put them back together, again taking care to match others in the series. They will also wash and de-acidify the paper - essential to the preservation of the volumes.

These conservation measures will extend the life of the books by several hundred years. Mr. Andersson estimates that his students will be able to repair about 36 books in the two years covered by the grant, but says there is enough work to keep his classes busy for at least 10 years.

As part of the project, students have already visited the ASD library. This firsthand look has given them a sense of how the books will be used by future scholars and how much they will be used - information, Andersson points out, that will help them "conform their repairs to meet the needs of the collection."

Ruth Dunnirvine, a second-year student, says the trip gave them a "better appreciation for how people at the school view the collection and how much they care about the books."

The advantage of the grant, Richard Homer - another student - makes clear, is that they have the freedom to give the books the attention they deserve without worrying about cost.

The repair and restoration would normally run about $300 per volume. Because students will donate their labor (the grant covers the cost of supplies and tools, shipping, and insurance), the final value to ASD will be about twice that of the actual monetary award.

The project "gives us an opportunity to do work that is serving the community," says Susan Barney. "We are able to make a contribution that we could not - as professional bookbinders trying to make a living - otherwise afford to make."

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society

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