Though it might sound tedious and even boring, I have been tremendously intrigued by the work involved with measuring all of the books held by Special Collections at Irwin Library that date prior to 1700. In order to purchase protective storage, each book had to be precisely measured in an exact manner as set forth by the storage manufacturer.

Learning this procedure and measuring each book allowed me to handle almost 100 books dated from the 1470s to 1700. Many of the books are in original or early bindings. The chance to examine each book and learn about how the book was printed and constructed provided a great learning experience.

Now that the measuring is all complete, I notified my mentor to discuss the ordering of these enclosures. Initially, we assumed that phaseboxes would be the most affordable and would be possible within our budget constraints. Of course, we wanted clamshell boxes, but it seemed unlikely that clamshell boxes would work with our budget.

The sales representative for the manufacturer provided an estimate that indicated we could afford the clamshell boxes and that we could purchase heavier-weight boxes for the largest folio and oversized items, as well! This turned out to be an unexpected and happy result. Still, it was useful to have a detailed discussion about balancing protection with budgeting when considering what to order. We had considered several options including ordering the sturdier clamshell boxes only for the oldest and most fragile items, while obtaining phaseboxes for everything else. We also considered limiting the order by books printed before 1600, leaving the others to be ordered as funds allowed at a later date.

Fortunately, we are able to order everything at once. Still, the conversations about conservation needs vs. budget demands proved very useful.