What
are the factors that cause paper, or anything else organic for that matter, to
deteriorate? It’s pretty obvious if you just think about it. Light, dirt, changes in temperature and
humidity, pests, pollution. Consider the smog in Singapore that was in the news recently. Trying to protect paper in that environment would be tough unless you had special
facilities. In West Texas, the
dust storms are a way of life and it is impossible to keep the fine silt from
filtering in through the smallest crack.
You could go crazy trying to keep your house dust free. Archives must address these enemies to
collections every day. To do it
right can be very costly. If you
doubt me check out the steps taken by Library of Congress to protect the United
States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence
Let’s consider each of the
conditions leading to deterioration one at a time over several blogs. Since we started talking about pollutants
and dirt, let’s begin there. Did
you note what the National Archives has the Declaration of Independence in an
oxygen free encasement filled with inert argon gas? Well, most places can’t do that with their fragile
items. Next best is to try to control
the dust and dirt.
1.
Store all materials in archival enclosures. The
type of enclosure depends on the composition of the item. Photographs have different requirements
than paper, for example. All of
the archival supply houses have enclosures by material type. You want something that is inert – i.e.
no chemicals. Just housingdocuments in
archival boxes is a huge step to decreasing dust.
2.
Keep the storage area clean and dust free as
possible. Microfiber cloths are
great for cleaning in home or in the archives. They have no nasty chemicals to cause damage.
3.
Hepa filters for the vacuum!!!! Using them at
home is also a good idea, especially with the rise in allergy related illnesses like asthma.
4.
Storage areas should not be near anything that
produces possible pollutants like a copy machine in an office.
5.
Change the filters for the heating and air
conditioning system frequently. You should do that at home as well as in the
archives. It will keep the air cleaner and extend the life of your heating and
cooling system too. Win, win.
There has been lots and lots
written on line about the topic of protecting paper and photographs and
whatever. Here’s a short
list. Conserv-o-grams by the National Park Service are great. They are aimed at museums, but the
information is relevant for anyone.
They have several publications about paper and photographs. (http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/cons_toc.html)
An additional resource is the Canadian
Conservation Institute CCI notes.
Again these were written for museums, but like the National Park Service
they have articles about the care of paper as well as general preservation
information. http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/publications/notes/index-eng.aspx
A few others of many, many more are:
Check out what the experts
recommend. Being a good housekeeper is the best approach to protecting paper documents from dust and dirt at home or in an archive. More on preservation next time.
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