Conservation actions include treatment and repair of book and paper items in the Libraries' collections. Our approach to treatments follows the American Institute for Conservation Code of Ethics. The primary goal is preservation of cultural property, while striving to meet the highest possible standards in preventive conservation, examination, documentation, treatment, research, and education. Any repairs made to collection items are reversible.

Work performed is tracked and assigned an ARL-defined level according to the time spent actively working:

• Level 1 - less than 15 minutes
  • Examples: page tip-ins, page repairs, hinge tightening
• Level 2 - 15 minutes to two hours
  • Examples: spine replacement, endsheet replacement, recasing
• Level 3 - two hours or longer
  • Examples: flattening, surface cleaning, resewing