Sunday, June 23, 2013

Scrapbooks and me


Started a new collection  – scrapbooks. - my least favorite type of collection.  Scrapbooks are a preservation nightmare because they are usually composed of a variety of different materials – newspapers, pamphlets, photographs, ribbons, other textiles and even wood and metal.  Most of the materials are pasted onto acidic papers using very acidic glue.  If the scrapbook is old enough you can see the glue bleeding through the paper.  The old magnetic scrapbooks used for photographs are just as bad. The covers have chemicals that can potentially harm photographs.  The glue holding the photographs in place is acidic and often so strong the pictures are impossible to unstick.  That’s breaking one of the cardinal rules of preservation, which is to do no harm.  In other words, everything that you do to something must be reversible or you don’t do it. 

When dealing with scrapbooks you need to address the preservation issues for each of the different materials on the pages. If I am deconstructing the scrapbook first I photocopy each page onto acid free paper so I have a record of the original. Photographs ideally should be in separate sleeves or envelopes that are chemically inert. (Polypropylene is an inert material)  If I am leaving the scrapbook intact which is what usually happens, I put acid free tissue between the pages of photographs, textiles, and other material.  Many scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings.  Newspaper, because it is a poor quality paper with a high lignin and, therefore, high acid content, deteriorates rather quickly no matter what you do. (The following webpage has a good explanation of acid free and lignin free for scrapbookers.  http://www.scrap-of-time.com/acidligninfree.htm. )  All paper will become yellowed and brittle over time, especially if exposed to light. Newspaper has one of the shortest lifespan.  The best action for clippings is to photograph, scan, or copy the information onto acid free paper to preserve it.  If you are keeping the clippings, you need to separate then from the other material with a piece of bond paper or acid free buffered tissue.  (Buffered paper has added calcium carbonate making it basic, that is a pH above 7, which provides an additional “buffer” to acid migration.)   Bond paper, which is made from rags (cotton fiber usually), will last 100 years and also deters acid migration that can damage adjoining pages.

Today archival materials are available for scrapbookers (Is that a word?)  These new non-acidic or inert (free of harmful chemicals) materials will help preserve your information for the future. Of course, they cost more.  It’s worth it if you really want to preserve your memories for as long as possible.

The other alternative is digitization.  Scanning material theoretically protects the information from decay.  True, but digitization has its own problems - namely the rapid change in technology. Think Betamax, floppy discs, cassette tapes.  If you scan something, you must update your images to keep abreast of the changes in hardware and software. That means upgrading every three to five years – maybe more often.  I love technology, but sometimes it gives me a headache.

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