Estudiantes de la ULL se forman en Restauración Documental de La Laguna
The City Council of La Laguna and the University of La Laguna (ULL) have renewed their agreement for educational cooperation to carry out external internships for students from different undergraduate and master’s degrees. One of the municipal departments benefiting from this agreement is the Document Restoration Laboratory, under the Presidency area, which will have three fourth-year students from the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage degree program completing internships until mid-April.
The Councilor for the Presidency, Carla Cabrera, explains that «the collaboration agreement with ULL provides students with the opportunity to access more comprehensive training in real-world work environments related to their studies. The City Council has been collaborating for over ten years, offering valuable exposure to a reference center in paper treatment and restoration, the only municipal facility of its kind in the entire archipelago, as is the case with the Document Restoration Laboratory.»
Students Fabián Cubas Ávila, Laura Díaz Rodríguez, and Sara González Acuña will need to complete a total of 210 hours of training under the supervision and guidance of restoration technician Rafael Martín Cantos. During this period, they will carry out various steps in the restoration process of materials from the Municipal Archive of La Laguna or from the ULL library.
The work has begun with the treatment of the book ‘Relaciones Universales del mundo’, dating back to 1603, from the Municipal Archive collection. This volume had a non-original and defective binding that needs to be replaced with a new one more suitable for its characteristics. Additionally, the book includes a folded world map that is in poor condition with various tears, also undergoing treatment. Work has also started on the restoration of the Lercaro family genealogical tree from the University Library’s collection, intended for display once restored.
Rafael Martín Cantos explains that the tasks the interns will perform include identifying damages in the documents, classification, photographic documentation, preparation of a practice report, and the application of a methodology based on damage diagnosis. This may involve reintegration, lamination, stain removal, and, if necessary, binding and conservation mounting in folders or encapsulation between acetates. «The goal of these internships is for students to become familiar with the entire document restoration process and assess the effectiveness and suitability of various products for different pathologies,» he explains.
About the Laboratory
The Document Restoration Laboratory was established in the late 1980s as a technical support facility for preserving the archives and documentary collections of the La Laguna City Council, one of the best-preserved in the Canary Islands. Its work extends throughout the archipelago through various collaboration agreements.
The laboratory is equipped with necessary technological resources and environmental control instruments for storage areas and exhibition rooms, photography equipment, restoration workshop, bookbinding and assembly facilities, washing equipment, lamination, and mechanical reintegration. The space is divided into a dry processing area (for receiving, classifying, mechanically cleaning, and disassembling documents) and a wet processing area (where aqueous treatments are applied, solvent-based treatments for stain removal or pH stabilization, or reintegration of lost areas of the document).
It has the technical capacity to restore works of small and large formats (books, blueprints, drawings, engravings, posters, etc.) and to conduct conservation studies and provide technical advice to public and private entities. Additionally, it offers information on framing, artwork assembly, and appropriate measures for their custody and exhibition.
