[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":157},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news/tule-lake-japanese-language-library-collection-preservation-repairs-through-time":3},{"entry":4},{"postDate":5,"id":6,"slug":7,"uri":8,"sectionHandle":9,"title":10,"text":11,"externalResourceUrl":12,"dateCreated":13,"heroImage":14,"category":28,"contributors":33,"locations":37,"associatedStaffMember":38,"blocks":39,"articleCategory":28},"2026-04-29T10:00:00-07:00","10238996","tule-lake-japanese-language-library-collection-preservation-repairs-through-time","about/news/tule-lake-japanese-language-library-collection-preservation-repairs-through-time","article","Tule Lake Japanese Language Library Collection: Preservation repairs through time","\u003Cp>Book & Paper Conservator Nicole Alvarado describes the treatment of books from the Tule Lake collection, preserving improvised repairs that reflect their use in a World War II incarceration camp\u003C/p>",null,"2026-04-22T16:12:43-07:00",[15],{"id":16,"image":17},"10239263",[18],{"id":19,"src":20,"height":21,"width":22,"srcset":23,"alt":24,"focalPoint":25},"10239262","https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_fullscreen/Tule-Lake-Japanese-Language-Library-Collection-books2.jpg",1063,2560,"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_375xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Tule-Lake-Japanese-Language-Library-Collection-books2.jpg 375w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_960xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Tule-Lake-Japanese-Language-Library-Collection-books2.jpg 960w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_1280xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Tule-Lake-Japanese-Language-Library-Collection-books2.jpg 1280w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_1920xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Tule-Lake-Japanese-Language-Library-Collection-books2.jpg 1920w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_2560xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Tule-Lake-Japanese-Language-Library-Collection-books2.jpg 2560w","four books from the Tule Lake Japanese Language Library Collection",[26,27],0.4323,0.2457,[29],{"id":30,"title":31,"uri":32},"34268","Collections","article-categories/collections",[34],{"byline":35,"title":36},"Written by","Nicole Alvarado, book & paper conservator, with input from Kim Mc Nelly, former East Asian Library project manager and assistant director, UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies",[],[],[40,45,49,53,57,61,65],{"id":41,"typeHandle":42,"richText":43,"sectionTitle":44},"10239440","richText","\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Tucked away at the Systemwide Library Facility - South (SLF-S), located at UCLA, is a collection of nearly 2,000 volumes. These materials were found among acquisitions from The Japanese Language School Unified System, established in 1911, as well as individual books that came through personal donations to the Richard E. Rudolph East Asian Library from Japanese Americans who were incarcerated at the Tule Lake Relocation Center during World War II. \u003C/p>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">It wasn’t until recently that these books were rediscovered as part of the Tule Lake Japanese Language Library, based on library labels, call numbering systems and checkout cards with signatures. \u003Cbr />\u003C/p>","The Tule Lake Japanese Language Library Collection",{"id":46,"typeHandle":42,"richText":47,"sectionTitle":48},"10239441","\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Kim Mc Nelly, former East Asian Library project manager and current assistant director for the Center for Buddhist Studies, brought these books to the attention of the Preservation & Conservation Department in July of 2024 while working on a\u003Ca href=\"https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/z1qv83mc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> partial digitization project of Tule Lake materials\u003C/a>, now accessible via the UCLA Digital Library. \u003C/p>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">In the process of examining the collection, Kim flagged books with a range of condition issues associated with the historic repairs and overall poor quality of materials used in book production, and contacted our team for triage repairs at SLF-S. Issues included lifting cloth tape on spines, broken hinges or joints barely holding book covers together, detached or torn book pockets, and failing pressure-sensitive adhesive tape used to mend tears and losses.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Some books needed to be sent to the Preservation & Conservation Lab for more in-depth treatments. Four are highlighted below. \u003C/p>\n\u003Cfigure class=\"image--full\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/AA0014399976_BT_title-page.jpg\" alt=\"Nichiren Daishi genkōroku / Adachi Ritsuen cho. 日蓮大士言行錄 / 足立栗園著 with tears at the center of the pages.\" />\u003Cfigcaption>Nichiren Daishi genkōroku / Adachi Ritsuen cho. 日蓮大士言行錄 / 足立栗園著 with tears at the center of the pages.\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">\u003Cbr />\u003C/p>","From Discovery to Treatment",{"id":50,"typeHandle":42,"richText":51,"sectionTitle":52},"10239442","\u003Cp>As one might imagine, these books can tell quite the story. Many came to Tule Lake as personal possessions brought in by incarcerated Japanese Americans. Given the restrictions on what could be brought into the camps, these books would have been invaluable to the communities formed there. \u003Cbr />\u003Cbr />Many of the books were rebound at the Tule Lake Library using available materials. Many covers were repurposed from discarded volumes from the Klamath Falls public library system, which would have been the geographically closest public library to Tule Lake. Others had stamps from other library systems or original covers that were repaired and sometimes repurposed for different books. \u003Cbr />\u003Cbr />The discarded covers, considered non-recyclable for World War II paper drives, were wrapped with plain paper likely glued with a starch paste to cover the original English titles. This technique was an ingenious use of unwanted materials under conditions of scarcity.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cfigure class=\"image--full\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/PL834-I8-K34-1939_BT_english-cover.jpg\" alt=\"“Common Cause” cover on Kaeranu chūtai and “STRONG” cover on Fāburu konchūki / Hayashi Tatsuo, Yamada Yoshihiko yaku.ファーブル昆蟲記 / 林達夫, 山田吉彥譯. legible under white paper covers.\" />\u003Cfigcaption>“Common Cause” cover on Kaeranu chūtai and “STRONG” cover on Fāburu konchūki / Hayashi Tatsuo, Yamada Yoshihiko yaku.ファーブル昆蟲記 / 林達夫, 山田吉彥譯. legible under white paper covers.\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003Cp>Cloth tape was used to recreate spines with handwritten titles and call numbers added to complete the covers. This tape may have been an early version sold by Demco®.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cfigure class=\"image--full\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/v22_AA0010860047_BT_spine.jpeg\" alt=\"Cloth spine tape with handwritten title, call number, SLF-S barcode, and broken joint from Shakai hōshi no shikata / Nishikawa Kōjirō cho.社會奉仕の仕方 / 西川光二郎著.\" />\u003Cfigcaption>Cloth spine tape with handwritten title, call number, SLF-S barcode and broken joint from Shakai hōshi no shikata / Nishikawa Kōjirō cho.社會奉仕の仕方 / 西川光二郎著.\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003Cp>Founded in 1905 as part of the Democrat Printing Co., Demco® was purchased in 1931 by Norman D. \"Smiley” Bassett and grew into one of the top suppliers of library materials in the United States. Vinyl-coated cloth tape is still used by libraries today, although updated with different adhesives, pigments/dyes and coatings than the kinds found in the first half of the 20th century.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cfigure class=\"image--full\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/Demco®-Cloth-tape-Single-stitch-binder-tape-Book-pocket-and-Checkout-cards.png\" alt=\"Demco® Cloth tape, Single-stitch binder tape, Book pocket, and Checkout cards\" />\u003Cfigcaption>Demco® Cloth tape, Single-stitch binder tape, Book pocket, and Checkout cards\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003Cp>In addition to this spine repair tape, books with repurposed or detached covers often included double- and single-stitched binder tape used to reattach the text block to the covers. This repair uses a spool of repair tape consisting of a specific thickness for the spine attachment and one or two sides sewn flanges that are adhered to the fly leaf of the text block and then to the board pastedown, recreating the inner hinge and closing the exposed spine.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cfigure class=\"image--full\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/v22_AA0010860047_BT_tear.jpg\" alt=\"Binder tape inside of the cover attaching the text block to the cover in Namiroku zenshū.浪六全集 (left) with Demco examples(right)\" />\u003Cfigcaption>Binder tape inside of the cover attaching the text block to the cover in Namiroku zenshū.浪六全集 (left) with Demco examples(right)\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">For especially important texts, an additional paper cover was used to protect the original Japanese text cover from the gummed adhesive of the binder tape.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Other prefabricated items used in the collection include book pockets, due date slips and checkout cards, although not all volumes retain them. Uniquely, the books from Tule Lake also include a note from the library to handle with care. Together, these elements supported a functioning library, helping to ensure minimal damage and return of collection items to the library in one piece.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cfigure class=\"image--full\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/PL834-I8-K34-1939_BT_book-pocket.jpg\" alt=\"Book pocket, Due Date slips, and care note from Kaeranu chūtai\" />\u003Cfigcaption>Book pocket, Due Date slips, and care note from Kaeranu chūtai\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003Cp>It is common to see rubber-based pressure-sensitive adhesive tape throughout the books in this collection. Tape was heavily used for mending tears in pages and has since discolored the paper. In some cases, the adhesive from the tape has caused pages to stick together, posing challenges to access. Because there are so many pages with tape throughout the collection, it is not feasible to remove all of it at this time. However, as the adhesive continues to degrade and dry out, the tape carriers eventually detach, allowing for the pages to be accessed again more safely.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cfigure class=\"image--full\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/PL834-I8-K34-1939_BT_tape.jpg\" alt=\"Pressure sensitive adhesive tape in Kaeranu chūtai and Namiroku zenshū.浪六全集.\" />\u003Cfigcaption>Pressure sensitive adhesive tape in Kaeranu chūtai and Namiroku zenshū.浪六全集.\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">I plan to revisit these books in the coming years to see how the adhesive degradation progresses and how my repairs are holding up, and will then treat accordingly. \u003C/p>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Once treatment is completed, the more fragile books will be housed in archival enclosures to reduce the possibility for further damage.\u003Cbr />\u003C/p>","Improvised Book Repairs at Tule Lake",{"id":54,"typeHandle":42,"richText":55,"sectionTitle":56},"10249903","\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">While these materials used to repair books at Tule Lake were meant to give a book a second life, they were also meant to be replaced over time, whether it was with new repair tapes or a new binding. However, because the Tule Lake Japanese Language Library Collection is so unique, the repairs done while they were in circulation are now seen as evidence of care as well as part of each book’s provenance. \u003C/p>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Rather than removing these repairs, I focused on stabilizing them with minimal change to their appearance while improving the overall handleability. \u003C/p>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">In treating these volumes, I used a mixture of wheat starch paste and methylcellulose to adhere toned Japanese paper mends underneath lifting spine tape and binder tape hinges, reattach lifting binder tape flanges and repair tears in the text block and reinforce areas with failing tape. \u003C/p>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Below are before and after images of the four books highlighted in this article.\u003C/p>\u003Cfigure class=\"image--full\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/v22_AA0010860047_BT_spine.jpg\" alt=\"\" />\u003Cfigcaption>Before and after treatment of the spine cloth on Namiroku zenshū.浪六全集.\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"image--full\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/PL834-I8-K34-1939_AT_book-pocket.jpg\" alt=\"Before and after treatment of the Double-stitched Binder Tape on Kaeranu chūtai.\" />\u003Cfigcaption>Before and after treatment of the Double-stitched Binder Tape on Kaeranu chūtai.\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003Cfigure class=\"image--full\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/AA0014399976_AT_title-page.jpg\" alt=\"Before and after treatment of the torn pages in Nichiren Daishi genkōroku / Adachi Ritsuen cho. 日蓮大士言行錄 / 足立栗園著\" />\u003Cfigcaption>Before and after treatment of the torn pages in Nichiren Daishi genkōroku / Adachi Ritsuen cho. 日蓮大士言行錄 / 足立栗園著\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cbr />\u003C/p>","Conservation Approach and Treatment Process",{"id":58,"typeHandle":42,"richText":59,"sectionTitle":60},"10249904","\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">This is a non-circulating collection. Researchers can locate materials through UC Library Search and can request access through the Charles E. Young Research Library (YRL) circulation desk, with materials paged for review in the East Asian Library Reading Room. \u003C/p>\n\u003Col>\u003Cli>Use UC Search to find the specific titles from the collection.\u003C/li>\u003Cli>Send an email to the YRL Circ Desk \u003Ca href=\"mailto:yrl-circ@library.ucla.edu\">yrl-circ@library.ucla.edu\u003C/a> with a request to page the specific items with the barcode information and copy it to the EAL Japanese Librarian \u003Ca href=\"mailto:tbialock@library.ucla.edu\">tbialock@library.ucla.edu\u003C/a> to reserve the reading room with the specific dates.\u003C/li>\u003Cli>You will be notified by the EAL Librarian when the requested items are available to access in the EAL Reading Room (it takes approximately two days to process requests).\u003C/li>\u003C/ol>","Access the Collection",{"id":62,"typeHandle":42,"richText":63,"sectionTitle":64},"10249905","\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">\u003Cstrong>World War II Paper Drives\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.sarahsundin.com/make-it-do-scrap-drives-in-world-war-ii-2/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Make It Do: Scrap Drives in World War II | Sarah Sundin\u003C/a> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TNWjQLj9Cw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Save Your Scrap; WW2 Recycling Campaign, 1940s - Film 1006210 | Huntley Film Archives\u003C/a> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/world-war-ii-era-library-books-from-tule-lake-relocation-center-digitized-at-ucla/article_f0069ec4-cd0b-11ee-aba3-6ffbc169a17d.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> World War II-era library books from Tule Lake Relocation Center digitized at UCLA | Herald and News\u003C/a> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">\u003Cstrong>Demco®\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https://librarytechnology.org/document/22593#:~:text=When%20the%201970s%20arrived%2C%20DEMCO,the%20facility%20in%20DeForest%2C%20Wisconsin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Demco History | Library Technology Guides\u003C/a>\u003C/p>","Resources and Further Reading",{"id":66,"typeHandle":67,"sectionTitle":68,"sectionSummary":12,"highlight":69},"10269477","highlight","Associated Content",[70,93,115,130],{"id":71,"typeHandle":72,"contentLink":73},"10269478","internalContent",[74],{"id":75,"contentType":76,"to":77,"title":78,"text":79,"articleByline2":80,"heroImage":81},"542936","generalContentPage","collections/preservation-conservation","Preservation & Conservation","\u003Cp>The UCLA Library Preservation & Conservation Department provides expert care to library materials so they are accessible now and into the future.\u003C/p>","2023-01-27T17:07:00-08:00",[82],{"id":83,"image":84},"542954",[85],{"id":86,"src":87,"height":88,"width":22,"srcset":89,"alt":90,"focalPoint":91},"1239184","https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_fullscreen/IMG_6267.JPG",1920,"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_375xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/IMG_6267.JPG 375w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_960xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/IMG_6267.JPG 960w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_1280xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/IMG_6267.JPG 1280w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_1920xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/IMG_6267.JPG 1920w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_2560xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/IMG_6267.JPG 2560w","Close-up of an illuminated manuscript page",[92,92],0.5,{"id":94,"typeHandle":72,"contentLink":95},"10269479",[96],{"id":97,"contentType":98,"to":99,"title":100,"text":101,"articleByline2":102,"heroImage":103},"2206690","collection","collections/explore/tule-lake-japanese-language-library-collection","Tule Lake Japanese Language Library Collection","\u003Cp>Over 1,900 volumes from a library created by wrongfully incarcerated Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants during WWII, including notes, checkout cards and ephemera in Japanese and English.\u003C/p>","2023-09-07T10:40:00-07:00",[104],{"id":105,"image":106},"2206802",[107],{"id":108,"src":109,"height":110,"width":22,"srcset":111,"alt":112,"focalPoint":113},"2206801","https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_fullscreen/Image-1-Teruye-Takahashi.jpeg",1024,"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_375xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Image-1-Teruye-Takahashi.jpeg 375w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_960xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Image-1-Teruye-Takahashi.jpeg 960w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_1280xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Image-1-Teruye-Takahashi.jpeg 1280w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_1920xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Image-1-Teruye-Takahashi.jpeg 1920w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_2560xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Image-1-Teruye-Takahashi.jpeg 2560w","Letter to Teruye Takahashi at the Barracks in the Tanforan Assembly Center",[92,114],0.5469,{"id":116,"typeHandle":117,"title":118,"image":119,"byline1":12,"byline2":12,"category":127,"text":128,"to":129},"10269480","externalContent","Tule Lake Japanese Language Library Online Exhibit",[120],{"id":121,"src":122,"height":123,"width":22,"srcset":124,"alt":125,"focalPoint":126},"10269249","https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_fullscreen/Shōjo-kurabu_Girls-club.jpeg",4124,"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_375xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Shōjo-kurabu_Girls-club.jpeg 375w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_960xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Shōjo-kurabu_Girls-club.jpeg 960w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_1280xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Shōjo-kurabu_Girls-club.jpeg 1280w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_1920xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Shōjo-kurabu_Girls-club.jpeg 1920w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_2560xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Shōjo-kurabu_Girls-club.jpeg 2560w","Shōjo kurabu Girls club book",[92,92],"Online Exhibit","\u003Cp>This curated online exhibit uses representative examples to describe and contextualize the collection's material culture traces.\u003C/p>","https://exhibit.so/exhibits/PfE9MrNEYSrMWC6JDy4R",{"id":131,"typeHandle":72,"contentLink":132},"10269481",[133],{"id":134,"contentType":9,"to":135,"title":136,"text":137,"articleCategory":138,"articleByline2":140,"associatedLocations":141,"heroImage":146},"2315516","about/news/video-the-tule-lake-library-collection","Video: The Tule Lake Library Collection","\u003Cp>Hear UCLA Library experts discuss the historical and cultural significance of the collection, as well as the digitization process.\u003Cbr />\u003C/p>",[139],{"title":31},"2023-09-20T16:33:00-07:00",[142],{"id":143,"title":144,"to":145,"uri":145},"11497","Richard C. Rudolph East Asian Library","visit/locations/east-asian-library",[147],{"id":148,"image":149},"10269987",[150],{"id":151,"src":152,"height":153,"width":22,"srcset":154,"alt":155,"focalPoint":156},"10269986","https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_fullscreen/Shinsen-Uno-Kōji-shū-card.jpeg",3951,"https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_375xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Shinsen-Uno-Kōji-shū-card.jpeg 375w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_960xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Shinsen-Uno-Kōji-shū-card.jpeg 960w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_1280xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Shinsen-Uno-Kōji-shū-card.jpeg 1280w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_1920xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Shinsen-Uno-Kōji-shū-card.jpeg 1920w, https://static.library.ucla.edu/craftassetsprod/images/_2560xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Shinsen-Uno-Kōji-shū-card.jpeg 2560w","library check out card with dates Shinsen Uno Kōji shū",[92,92],1777538740696]