»Completion of Mass Deacidification of the Moravian Daily Text Books«

KEK-model project

After an initial preservation project was successfully carried out in the Unity Archives Herrnhut in 2018, half part-funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) and the Office for the Coordination of the Preservation of Written Cultural Heritage (KEK), two further model projects were submitted by the State Commissioner for the Preservation of Holdings in Saxony for the Unity Archives in Herrnhut in 2019 and 2020. From the original mass deacidification project the part of the editions of the Moravian Daily Text Books printed overseas were set aside. These copies were first to be examined for paper materials, inks and binding materials in a model project in 2019. It was possible to clarify the question and develop a concept as to which copies of the Moravian Daily Text Books published abroad are suitable for the mass deacidification method or which undesirable side effects were to be expected. On this basis, the State Commissioner for the Preservation of Holdings in Saxony submitted a further model project in 2020 for the Unity Archives in Herrnhut with the aim of deacidifying the appropriate copies of the foreign Moravian Daily Text Books in the Center for Book Preservation in Leipzig (ZFB).

Project procedure

At the ZFB Leipzig, one copy per year from the editions of the overseas printed Moravian Daily Text Books on acidic paper, which were examined in 2019, was selected for deacidification. For a large number of copies, further preparatory measures had to be taken, such as inserting protective paper between copied pages, paper covers for fragile items and removing plastic or special covers. The copies were deacidified using the ZFB:2 method and an additional alkalinaty was added to acta as a buffer. After the reconditioning was complited the inserted paper and the protective covers were removed and copies were re-covered, and proof of deacidification was stamped on, and the copies were setup in their original order. A total of 1129 copies were able to be deacidified. The deacidified copies, as well as, the corresponding issue series of the foreign Moravian Daily Text Books, were then returned to the Unity Archives on November 5, 2020 and put back in theire original order.