Views and Commentaries: The Emergency Conservation of Waterlogged Bibles from the Memorabilia Assemblage Following the Collapse of the Texas A&M University Bonfire

Four Bibles were recovered from the spontaneous shrines at the site of the bonfire tragedy that claimed the lives of 12 students at Texas A&M University. Having been exposed to rain and wind for several weeks, these books were severely deteriorated. Inscriptions, photographs, and poems included with the Bibles, however, are an important part of the material culture assemblage that folklorists and anthropologists need to preserve and study. As part of an emergency recovery effort, the Bibles were collected and preserved using inexpensive and innovative techniques, using Lysol-treated absorbent paper and freeze-drying techniques.