http://library.brooklyn.cuny.edu/about_library/speccoll/slava
In the first year of his employment, our conservator Slava Polishchuk performed work whose value was many times the price of his salary, work that would have cost the Library a minimum of $231,160 had we sent these materials out for treatment. We could never afford to send all the materials needing treatment to an outside conservation center for repair: the cost would be prohibitive; furthermore, an in-house conservator saves the College the costs of insuring valuable materials for shipment, and the worry about their safety and security. Mr. Polishchuk is also a key player in the minor in Curatorial Studies: the conservation of archival materials is an important part of the required course work, a subject he is highly qualified to teach.
Repair of 257 books from the circulating collection $ 10,280 Building 100 phase boxes for very fragile materials $ 12,500 Restoration of 302 rare books (@ an average of $690) $208,380
Among the Library's holdings are several rare and valuable collections. These include the materials of former president Robert L. Hess, humorist Sam Levenson, Harvard professor William Alfred, and alumnus and attorney Alan M. Dershowitz. Each of these collections has conservation needs. Furthermore, having an in-house conservator is a major selling point, in terms of attracting new collections for the College Archives. Certainly this was key to our receipt of the Dershowitz collection.
Further to preservation, emergency preparedness team leaders Miriam Deutch and Sally Bowdoin updated the Library's disaster manual during 2003-2004 and distributed it to Security, Facilities, and key Library units. Emergency supply cabinets were equipped with plastic sheeting and other necessary supplies for use in the event of an emergency and Security was informed about the cabinets' contents and locations.