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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