"We've had quite a bit of success so far," said conservation photographer Graeme Simpson, one of two New Zealanders who arrived earlier this week along with conservation experts from California, Utah and Connecticut. "We're working, one at a time, with the different types of paper and images."

Scattered on long counters and tables are maps that have already gone through a gentle tap-water bath, been gently scrubbed of dirt with soft sponge brushes, and then laid out to dry on white polyester sheets. So far all of the documents cleaned have been test cases to see what techniques work best on which paper, and to develop a set of protocols and steps for each type of document.

"There's a cascading group of people coming in and you need their expertise when you look at all the different kinds of paper we're dealing with," said Lynn Davis, head of Hamilton's preservation department and one of those responsible for keeping the damaged documents almost entirely free of mold, a critical component for a disaster of this magnitude.

Despite being cleaned, preservationists say these maps will always be discolored and stained. Many of the 32,000 flood-damaged maps, photos and other documents at UH were found "washing around campus." Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

When the testing is done, the cleaning will begin in earnest in Hamilton's four-year-old conservation lab. Davis hopes to set up a second lab with the help of Belfor, a Fort Worth company the library has hired to clean half the documents, or about 16,000 pieces, in its Texas labs.

Belfor's work could be done by fall, but Davis estimated that work here on the more valuable 19th-century maps from around the Pacific could take several years.

In the sink, a 2-by-4-foot map of Borneo's Kalimandan, encrusted with dirt, is slowly regaining its white appearance as conservators brush it with a constant delicate stream of water. The water pressure can't be too strong or the scrubbing too harsh, explains Belfor's technical services director Kirk Lively, or the paper could break down.

In each of dozens of boxes in freezer containers are plastic bags containing large cubes of frozen documents. The conservators carefully peel the items away from each other as they warm up in room temperature, much as they'd peel a sticky postage stamp off its backing.

"As long as they're frozen before they start to dry, you can peel photos apart," said Lively.

Once conservators know the best technique for each, they'll set up a production line to move documents through steadily. Even then, hidden problems could slow the work.

Davis picks up an aerial photo of the Solomon Islands that has already been cleaned, and turns it over to reveal a footprint. "Someone walked on this," she said. "These were some of the things washing around campus. We had lovely people finding them in their yards (and returning them.)"

Davis pointed to dark stains dotting one area. "This is a leaf," she said. "And a grass stain. The grass stain you can't get out."

As soon as the $11,000 microscope arrives, conservators will be able to get closer looks at persistent stains or discoloration.

The most difficult maps to clean will be those on paper with a clay surface. Because of the clay content, the paper sticks to others when it's wet, and is harder to separate.

Above the sink the conservators have rigged additional lights and a blower system to disperse fumes if they require chemicals to remove discoloration.

With all this help, Davis hopes to train more library staff and volunteers in cleaning procedures so Hawai'i will have a larger retinue of expertise for the future.

"And we're going to hire a paper conservator," she said adamantly. "There's only one in the Islands now and that's not enough."