Donned in white plastic aprons, their hands got dirty and wet, and their feet walked through puddles on the floor. And while these may seem like less than ideal conditions for workshop participants, laughter and smiles were a big part of the day.

"Disaster Recovery: First Aid for Damaged Materials" was hosted by the NNYLN on June 9, 2005 at Wachmeister Field Station, St. Lawrence University, Canton.

The instructor for the day-long workshop was Donia Conn (above), Rare Book Conservator at Syracuse University Library.

The nearly two dozen librarians and historians who turned out for the workshop were provided with a copy of the Network’s "In the Face of Disaster" manual, as well as first- hand knowledge of what can be done in the event of a small or very large disaster should their library or repository should ever be faced with one.

While everyone in attendance said they hope they never have to put this knowledge to use, they were very grateful to know what to do and where to turn if it is ever necessary.

Participants were told to dress very casually. They got much hands-on experience "squishing" water out of water soaked books, wrapping books, drying books, working with single pieces of damaged materials ranging from single sheets of paper to large maps and hanging them to dry, and working with damaged photographs and record albums.

(Continue to page 2 to see more participants in action!)