Preservation and Conservation at the University of Illinois Library

In honor of Preservation Week 2026, we are excited to share a project that’s been years in the making: the full conservation treatment of Sir Isaac Newton’s Opus Galli Anonymi Manuscript, documented and recorded on our YouTube channel!

"Opus Galli Anonymi: Newton’s Manuscript and Its Conservation Treatment"
This video explores one of Isaac Newton’s manuscripts, focusing on its history and the conservation treatment of iron-gall ink. Through visual and chemical analysis, we examine the causes of ink corrosion and paper degradation, and follow each step of the conservation process.
https://go.library.illinois.edu/Newton
https://www.library.illinois.edu/preservation/

Come check us out along with some really interesting materials from lots of our colleagues around the county!

The Bizarre Bazaar Archival oddities on display! Step right up for a one-of-a-kind experience at the Bizarre Bazaar! Archives and museums from across Champaign county are coming together to showcase the strange, the creepy, and the downright fascinating treasures hidden in their collections. From oddball artifacts to....

Jill Knappenberger (ACES ’49) served in the American Red Cross during World War II as a clubmobile driver, delivering donuts, coffee, and spirit to troops in Europe. Conservation treatment for the third volume of Mrs. Knappenberger’s WWII-era scrapbook collection is now complete. Treatment for her scrapbook collection has been a keystone project for three conservation lab graduate assistants. Mrs. Knappenberger’s scrapbooks are housed in the University Archives.

From the third volume:
1: In top right photo, Jill Knappenberger (far right) with Red Cross clubmobilers.
2: Page from slide 1 before treatment.
3: On left page, Jill and family members visiting her twin brother’s grave in Belgium. He died in the Battle of the Bulge.
4: Photos, hotel booklet, and pamphlet from Jill’s time in southern France and Monaco, post V-E Day.
5: Photos from Jill’s time in Monaco.
6: Jill’s American Red Cross Overseas Service Certificate.
7: Newspaper clippings and telegrams from the celebration of Jill’s marriage to fellow Red Cross employee, Brad Carroll. Jill and Brad married in France in early 1945 and returned after the war to Jill’s family farm in McLean, IL to celebrate.

For more, visit the link to the conservation lab’s blog in our bio.

yay for the Mellon Foundation!

📣 The Mellon Foundation announces a $15 million emergency funding commitment to the Federation of State Humanities Councils in response to federal funding cuts.

This emergency funding will help provide support to all 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils across the United States. Mellon’s investment comes at a critical moment when $65 million in federal support for the councils has been eliminated as a result of cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Without immediate intervention, state councils face steep reductions—or even closure—jeopardizing vital cultural programming that Americans in states across the country rely on and jobs sustained by the humanities.

Of the total grant, $2.8 million will be allocated as Challenge Grants of up to $50,000 for each council to encourage local funders and individual donors to have their donations matched, thus doubling their support. A list of humanities councils and how to donate to them directly can be found at statehumanities.org/donate-councils

In partnership with the Federation, the Mellon Foundation is committed to sustaining the humanities as a powerful driver for connection, critical thinking, and culture.

Learn more at on.mellon.org/3GIzmcU

The University Library is co-sponsoring the "Preservation for 'Hidden Spaces': Working with LGBTQ+ Elders to Acquire, Process, Digitize, and Showcase Items on Q***r Nightlife" webinar on May 13 from 1-2pm.

Adam Beaty will detail his experiences as an MSLIS student independently leading two archival projects focused on LGBTQ materials: a digital collection named "Q***r Nightlife in Champaign-Urbana, IL: 1973-2000", and a digital exhibit named "LGBTQ Spaces in Champaign County". He will discuss the project's trajectory from archival research, connecting with community members, assessing materials, reformatting loaned items, writing inclusive metadata, and creating publicly accessible collections with limited resources. By discussing his experience, challenges, lessons learned, and implications for the field, Adam aims to highlight the importance of community-centered practices, ethical decision-making, and preservation strategies when working with archival materials from marginalized communities.

Pat Cain, Archives Manager at the Champaign County Historical Archives at The Urbana Free Library, will provide insight about supporting student projects in community archives.

Co-sponsored with the School of Information Sciences at Illinois and the Champaign County Historical Archives at The Urbana Free Library.

Register:
https://go.library.illinois.edu/2025May13Webinar

Happy Preservation Week! Check out this video from Digitization Services on how to edit files for perfect printing. Rachael Johns, Senior Digital Imaging Specialist, takes us through best practices and helpful hints using materials from the library's collections.
https://go.library.illinois.edu/FacsimileFilePreparation

We also have an incredible YouTube playlist featuring step-by-step iron gall ink treatments by Marco Valladares Perez, Exhibits Conservator: https://go.library.illinois.edu/IronGallInkVideo

Sad to say goodbye to this beautiful exhibit! Thank you to Marco Valladares Perez and all the Preservation staff-turned-curators who put so much hard work into making it a memorable exhibit.

See our exhibit before it’s gone! 90 Years of Preservation, on display in the Main Library until April 28, is a chance to peek behind the scenes at the work and history of by Preservation Services. Led by Rachel Miller-Haughton and Marco Valladares Perez (pictured), the exhibit was created entirely by Preservation staff.

Enjoy these exhibit photos by Rachael Johns, Senior Digital Imaging Specialist.

Scrapbook conservation is a big project, and we're glad to see this returned safely home to American Library Association Archives!

This affects many of us at the University Library at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Impact of NEH and IMLS Cancellations on the University of Illinois Library: On March 14, the White House issued an Executive Order calling for the elimination of the non-statutory components and functions of seven agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS); later actions put all staff at the agency on administrative leave. Discontinuation of all funding from IMLS appears imminent, and many grants have already been canceled, including grants to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. The White House also terminated more than 1,000 grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and indicated it intends to significantly reduce the agency’s staffing. The Library has received notification that its two grants from NEH have been canceled. These developments mark a significant time for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and institutions nationwide. The loss of support from IMLS and NEH jeopardizes decades of sustained investment in cultural preservation, scholarly communication, and academic research. Learn more: library.illinois.edu/news/impact-of-neh-and-imls-cancellations-on-the-university-of-illinois-library/