SOURCES FOR THE BUILDING CONSERVATOR AND HISTORIAN
| Pages | 24-35 |
| Published date | 01 January 1994 |
| Date | 01 January 1994 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026923 |
| Author | D.T. YEOMANS |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
SOURCES FOR THE BUILDING CONSERVATOR
AND HISTORIAN
D.T. YEOMANS
School of
Architecture,
University of
Manchester,
Manchester M13 9PL
The sources of printed information used by building designers are
largely ephemeral and the survival of this material has been rather
haphazard. This presents problems for both historians of modern
building and building conservators, although the two have different
needs.
This paper examines the various kinds of printed material
used in building and the factors affecting its likely survival. It also
notes the extent to which historical material of various kinds has
been collected. The vulnerability of many collections and the poor
survival rate of many of the different kinds of historical printed
material suggest a need for a more positive policy toward its
collection. Some recommendations are outlined.
INTRODUCTION
IN A FOOTNOTE to a paper which considered the difference between
patterns of publication in science and technology, Price [1] suggested that the
equivalent of the scientific paper (the material to which the technologist refers
to find the latest development in his field) is the trade literature produced by
manufacturers. If the two were exactly equivalent then the history of
technology might be traced through such trade literature. However, they differ
in a number of ways, the most important being that trade literature is
ephemeral, discarded once out of date and not systematically saved like
scientific papers by its inclusion in journals. This presents a problem for
historians of any technology, but in building it also presents difficulties for
conservators, the professionals who are concerned with the maintenance or
refurbishment of historic buildings, because there is no simple and reliable
source through which they can identify building materials and products of the
past or, having identified them, know their properties. The intention here is to
consider the various sources of information which have been used by designers,
their rate of survival and thus their availability to both building conservators
and historians, and to consider what policies might be adopted towards the
collection and preservation of such literature.
The problem of finding modern trade literature is a relatively simple matter
and sources have, for example, been discussed by Wall [2]. For historic
information the first issue is to consider what kinds of data are needed for the
historian of building technology and how these differ from those needed by
Journal
of
Documentation,
vol. 50, no. 1, March 1994, pp. 24-35
24
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