Thu, May 1, 2014 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM IRVING K. BARBER LEARNING CENTRE. free. “Meet the Microbe: Why water and books don’t mix”
Bio-sketch by Karen Bartlett, MSc. PhD.
“One of the many challenges for museums and libraries is the long term preservation of fragile materials. As professionals, curators are fully aware that microbes and insects find all organic materials such as paper, leather, fabric, wood, etc. to be an irresistible food source. However, what might be new to librarians is that there may be health hazards to themselves lurking in mouldy materials. We will discuss why the control of moisture is such a critical element to controlling growth of microbes on organic materials. In addition, we’ll explore the identities (with pictures!) of some of the common microbes that may be present, and how they can be problematic if handling mouldy materials create exposure to fungal spores.”
Dr. Bartlett is a Professor in the School of Population & Public Health, Occupational and Environmental Health Theme, in the Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia. She holds a Masters degree in Occupational Hygiene and a doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of British Columbia. She received post doctoral training in inhalation toxicology at the University of Iowa, School of Public Health. In addition to being an author on over 90 peer reviewed publications, she is the executive producer of an animated video on tick protective behaviours for school children, and has appeared in Discovery Channel, CBC and PBS documentaries.
She was a British Columbia Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar from 2002 – 2007, and was awarded a Killam graduate teaching prize in 2012.
Lillooet Room, Level 3, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 E Mall
This presentation forms part of the Library's Preservation Week (April 27 to May 3). Preservation Week aims to unite our communities through events and exhibits that highlight what we can do – individually and together – to preserve our personal and shared collections.