Ethics
A relatively new topic in restoration........ Only a few decades ago it was common to re-bind incunabula and throw the old bindings away. Today we try as much as we can to keep what's left. This means for books that the condition a book is in has to be consolidated or conserved. This has a lot of technical implications. Most times it is much easier to renew parts of a book (e.g. worn or damaged end-leaves) but when working with "ethics in mind" these parts have to be reinforced, deacidified, filled up or whatever it takes to get it in a condition that it can withstand (limited) use again.
A very important part of a restoration-process is documentation. First of all the condition of the object has to be described before treatment begins. We useally take pictures of this condition. The general state as well as remarkable details are photographed, especially details that will not be visible anymore after the restoration is finished. The same applies to details that emerge during restoration: sometimes when objects are disassembled important information regarding the construction of the binding or the provenance of the object show up. This has to be documented, again using photographical techniques but more sophisticated as well: Russel- or UV- or IR-photography and digital imaging-techniques. The whole process of conservation will be put in the form of a written report describing the state of the object before and during treatment. Furthermore a listing of all the materials that are used is added.
Our company has strict guidelines concerning the use of commonly accepted ethical codes. We subscribe the Ethical Code of VeRes (this is the Dutch Association of Restorers) and are well-informed of other developments in this field (e.g. The Professional Guidelines of E.C.C.O; the European Confederation of Conservator-Restorers Organisations).