Cornell University Library has upgraded the conservation lab in Olin Library, where staff prepare and preserve rare books, manuscripts, photographs and other materials used by researchers.
The university said alumni donations helped pay for the work. Jim Irish and Andrea Glanz, both members of Cornell's Class of 1974, provided the lead gift. The couple previously established an endowment for library conservation during their 50th class reunion in 2024.
The lab handles materials from across the library's collections, including a handwritten copy of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, an early Shakespeare folio and a 15th-century encyclopedia from China. Conservators stabilize items so they can be exhibited, digitized and studied without unnecessary damage.
The renovation replaced the lab's original floor tiles with a more resilient surface that is easier to clean. Workers repainted the walls and ceiling, installed power outlets above work areas and added dimmable LED lighting at each workstation, according to Jon Ladley, the library's facilities director.
The doors also received a card-access security system. The university did not provide a project cost or say that the lab's public access policies had changed.
More space for varied materials
Haven Hawley, an associate university librarian overseeing special collections and interim director of digitization and conservation services, said reorganized work surfaces allow conservators to handle both smaller manuscripts and photographs and larger prints and maps.
“When we bring in materials, we make a very long-term commitment, and conservation is at the heart of our ability to fulfill that commitment,” Hawley said in the university announcement.
Irish and Glanz also supported Cornell's Caribbean studies collection in 2009. Irish said the newest gift targets work that is largely out of public view but essential to maintaining the university's holdings.
The Conservation Lab is on the lower level of Olin Library in Ithaca. Cornell did not announce a new exhibition tied to the upgrades.
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