LBS does not use subcontractors or third party transportation services.  A client’s property never leaves LBS custody.

 All transportation services are provided using LBS vehicles and personnel.  Records are transported in an 18-foot climate-controlled truck.  Vehicles are equipped with custom climate control and security features.  With air-ride suspension, air brakes, and a 4000 lb. lift gate, it can move books palletized between 2500 to 3000 lbs. (or 700 assembled binders).  Security features include back-up cameras and an anti-lock braking system.  LBS can monitor location, warning signals, and environmental conditions during transport.  The climate-controlled cargo area is set at a constant temperature of 68˚F.

During transport, whenever circumstances require overnight stays, LBS hires a security guard to sit with the truck.  We take the responsibility of having your collection in our possession very seriously--security is of the utmost importance.  These conditions are the same for both pick-up and delivery.

Upon arrival at LBS, the collections are always loaded directly into the facility through our docking room. 

At LBS, we carefully reverse the volume’s bindings without cutting the pages.  We guarantee there is never a chance of lost text while a record is undergoing preservation at LBS.  We never attempt any procedure that potentially results in a loss of text or compromises the integrity of the fragile document.  For these purposes, we do not endorse or utilize guillotining.  Original adhesives and threads are removed and discarded by hand.

When possible, tape is removed physically.   A technician uses a microspatula (sometimes heated) to coax threads and old adhesives from the paper.  Any remaining adhesive is treated first with a Magic Rub Eraser, and secondly with solvents.  Solvents are only used by a conservator as a last resort, and only after testing.

Tape’s adhesives accelerate the aging process. To ensure that aging is stopped, technicians apply a deacidification solution onto the reverse side of the document.  If the tape is on both sides of the document’s sheet, the technician will switch from Bookkeeper® Deacidification Spray solution to the more aggressive Wei T’o solution (see Deacidification).  Wei T’o solution has the ability to penetrate the area between the tape portions.

On some occasions, removing tape can cause loss of text.  Since loss of text is never an acceptable practice, the tape is left in place.

Improperly stored, historic papers become inflexible over time.   They retain a memory of the storage position (known as “Hysteresis”).  This stiffness renders volumes hard to open or pull apart.   If a document’s pages must be forcibly pulled apart, then the paper’s fibers are irreversibly damaged.  

Flattening is the term used to describe the process that corrects this problem.  Folds and bends are corrected by gentle Humidification.  Moderate pressure is then applied, and the documents are dried between acid-free blotters.  With this practice, the possibility of unnecessary fractures or breaks is eliminated.

Cleaning the surface of fragile documents requires sensitivity and experience.  To improve the appearance of the document, surface grime, dirt, and soot are removed with a soft brush.  At times, a latex sponge, powdered vinyl eraser, or soft block eraser are also used.  At LBS, we prefer to use the Magic Rub Eraser.

During this phase, rust deposits, insect accretions, and mold growth are removed.  All have serious consequences for long-term storage and can permanently affect paper.  One of the tools used to coax insect deposits from documents is a microspatula.  Removing mold growth requires the use of a museum vacuum aspirator.  While preservation treatments can kill mold and other bacteria, it is often impossible to eliminate mold stains.

With repair, the life span of a document is further lengthened and documents are safer to handle, thus allowing for renewed public access.

After the sheets are cleaned, a technician inspects each for bends and tears.  Sheets are mended with acid-free products as recommended by the Library of Congress.   A sliver of preservation or document-repair tape is applied with tweezers or  utility pliers to mend each tear.  This clear polyethylene tape is backed with a unique archivally safe rubber adhesive.  Mending tears will prevent further document damage.

It is at this phase that damaging fasteners, page markers, and other metal mechanisms are carefully removed.  Fasteners such as binder clips, staples, paper clips, string ties, rubber bands, brads, straight pins, post-it notes, etc. can cause damage in short periods of time.  This includes physical damage (decreased paper strength due to punctures and/or distortion), and chemical damage (rust).  The metal disintegrates and eats the surrounding paper fibers. 

LBS uses a water-free method of deacidification as recommended by the Library of Congress—Bookkeeper® Deacidification Spray.   Please note that deacidification is only performed after careful pH and compatibility testing. 

Each sheet is encapsulated in a custom sized Melinex® 516 archival polyester pocket (or ‘sleeve’)—the Lay Flat Archival Polyester Pocket™.

The inherent static cling of this polyester provides physical support and protection from atmospheric pollutants and daily public use.  The pocket’s design adds a welded-in, spunbond polyester strip at the binding edge.  This allows for a flat book block and reinforces the binding edge for added strength and years of service.  

LBS manufactures all binder requirements in-house. All materials, including the cover boards and adhesives, are acid free. Each binder features durable imitation leather cover boards, available in ten standard colors, with a genuine leather spine with gold imprint or white canvas with black foil imprint. We guarantee our permanent foil will not fade or wear off. 

Unbound documents are sent to the Imaging department in their archival polyester pockets.  The polyester is undetectable and provides physical support while in the scanner.  Imaging technicians are trained to handle fragile documents.

After documents are assembled for flatbed scanning, documents are imaged by hand, not mechanically, and captured via Fujitsu scanners at a specified dpi.  The capture software affords automatic image processing and delivers excellent quality images from documents with various ranges of background densities. 

Second, all images are quality checked for content and skew correction. Images are also post-processed for border removal and negative/positive conversions.  Advanced image enhancements are performed at the same time to deliver the absolute best digital images possible that are a true representation of the original record.  The digital images are formatted in a multi-page or single page Group 4 TIFF file.  Images are saved in duplicate to Kodak Preservation Gold DVD-Rs. 

Records undergo a final inspection to assure that all binders meet LBS standards and the prescribed project requirements.

Quality Control technicians verify image capture. The images are checked, sheet for sheet, for unreadable text or signatures. Image count is cross checked against page count. Finally, volumes are packed for return. 

After LBS executives arrange delivery details  with the client, the transport vehicle leaves LBS and travels directly to the client's facility.  

During transport, volumes are wrapped in plastic and secured on pallets for easy mobility.

The same security precautions and environmental controls are practiced on the return trip.

All materials used in the construction of LBS products are acid free, lab tested, and guaranteed as safe for preservation efforts. All adhesives are acid free and easily reversible. Documents are treated/mended with methods/products recommended by the Library of Congress and the AIC. In no way will an original document ever be cut. There is never a loss of text at LBS.

LBS provides continuous security, fire suppression, and environmental controls (including temperature, relative humidity (RH), UV light, and water controls) at its facility and during transport. LBS does not advise the use of third party carriers. Records are transported with the LBS transportation system.