Preserving Architectural Heritage

The Transition of Diazo Prints to Digital Archives

  • Mark Coulbourne University of Maryland, Libraries
  • Bryan Draper
  • Alexandra Trim
  • Cindy Frank
  • Kirsten Elliott
  • Charlotte Conant
Keywords: plans, sections, elevations, photography, digital file, paper, conservation, preservation, repair

Abstract

Architectural drawings are seldom held onto for more than fifty years and even fewer are digitized for use in architectural classes.  A set of architectural drawings from 1970 that were kept in a series of offices over a fifty year period required extensive paper conservation before they could be digitized.  A team that consisted of individuals from three different departments on campus worked together to overcome the unique challenges presented by these drawings. This set of drawings was humidified, flattened, and repaired using paper conservation methods that could be reversed at any time in the future.  They were then digitized using a unique set up that was designed for oversized materials without the need to "stitch" the drawings together after the fact.  Finally, these drawings are now available to be used for any number of architecture classes without the need of using the paper copies.

Author Biographies

Mark Coulbourne, University of Maryland, Libraries

Mark Coulbourne is the Head of Preservation, at the University of Maryland, College Park.  Mark has a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Bachelor of Science from Towson University.  Mark has authored a number of articles that are centered on practical applications in paper conservation.

Bryan Draper

Bryan L.W. Draper entered the field of preservation at the University of Delaware Library, 1990.  He received bench training at the Etherington Conservation Center in North Carolina.  Draper developed his conservation skills by treating rare books, maps, photographs, documents on paper and parchment.  Since 2007 Draper has been the conservator for Special Collections at the University of Maryland Libraries’ Preservation Department.  In an academic library with limited resources, he has focused on practical & efficient approaches to conservation & preservation.  His other interests include history of papermaking,  toolmaking & the challenges of removing pressure-sensitive tape.

Alexandra Trim

Alexandra Trim is the Digitization Services Coordinator at the University of Maryland, College Park. Alexandra manages the Hornbake Digitization Center and oversees all in-house projects and digitization requests. Alexandra has a Masters in Library and Information Science and a Bachelors in History from the University of South Carolina. Her interests include conducting outreach for digital collections and researching digital accessibility.

Cindy Frank

Cindy Frank is the Head of the Art and Architecture branch libraries at the University of Maryland, and a licensed architect. She started her career at Maryland as the assistant curator of slides at the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. She advanced to become Co-Director of the Elizabeth D. Alley Visual Resources Collection as part of a unique job-sharing position, and later Director.  In 2013, she (and the image collection) joined the University Libraries' as architecture subject librarian and image collection director. In 2022, she was named to the position she has now.

Kirsten Elliott

Kirsten Elliott is the Preservation Graduate Assistant at the University of Maryland and will graduate from UMD's MLIS program in May 2025. She was introduced to the field of book preservation at the University of Virginia's Preservation Department and found a passion for the work of physical preservation.

Charlotte Conant

Charlotte Conant is an Archives Technician with the National Archives and Records Administration at College Park. She has a Masters in Library and Information Science and a Masters in Medieval History from University of Maryland, College Park. Her History Master's thesis focused on the medieval Scottish ballad of Tam Lin. Charlotte's Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is from George Mason University, Fairfax. Prior to working at National Archives, Charlotte worked as a Digitization Technician for University of Maryland’s Hornbake Digitization Center.

Published
2025-06-20
Issue
Vol. 52 No. 1 (2025): Spring/Summer
Section
Feature Articles

Copyright (c) 2025 Mark Coulbourne, Bryan Draper, Alexandra Trim, Cindy Frank, Kirsten Elliott, Charlotte Conant

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