Preserve Now, Find Later! World of Speed Archive 2017 Archive Month
• Handling Environment Instabilities
• Light • Temperature • Humidity
“The more you handle, the more risk to objects”
• Clean your hands before handling objects • Use gloves when able • Minimize handling • Take care when unfolding and folding paper and textiles • Move object with two hands, have a place ready to land, and transport fragile “flats” in folders or protective sleeves
Light
• All light, not just UV light • Most evasive: textiles, photos, and paper • Store in windowless room or opaque storage containers • At home, frame under UVprotected glass even if does not get direct light from a window - Think about displaying copies of items instead of the original
Humidity & Temperature
• Keep Cool & Dry! • Avoid extremes • Avoid: against exterior walls, attic or basement, outdoor storage units, bathrooms – areas that have a range of temperature and moisture • Keeps away mold and slows “aging” (ie warping) • Simple low cost RH and temperature measure tools
Damage Control
• • • • • •
Water Mold Insects Rodents Office Supplies Tape & Adhesives
Water
• Materials react differently and need to dry differently • If can’t clean before dries, store wet/moist and freeze/cold • If dirty, use clean water to wash away while wet • Use dry high-absorbent materials to pull out water • Use fans (not heaters) to keep air moving • Check for mold…
Mold
• Use Gloves! (try not to touch your face or eyes) • Mold flourishes over 72⁰F especially in high humidity • Wait until item is dry and in ventilated area or outside • Dust off loose mold then use a natural or absorene sponge to gently rub (mold stains) • If severe, see a mold specialist or conservationist!
Not Mold! Blooming: Comes through the leather. Can come back after but can use alcohol and q-tip to remove
Foxing: Spotting on paper from impurity. To remove, find a specialist
Insects
• Smaller or microscopic size • Most likely to burrow into tight areas such as stack/press papers and folded textiles • Cocoons usually on surfaces • Damage can include tunnels, fraying, pinholes, and rips nears seams, levels deep • A clean environment is less interesting to bugs • Ps. Termites like wood
Rodents
• Urine and feces remnants • Common in unsecure boxes kept in “forgotten” areas • Looking for insulation and nesting • Damage can include burrow tunnels, fraying, staining, rips and holes • Good reason to check in on those boxes in the back of garage
Office Supplies
• Metal staples & paperclips • Rust stain, dent, rip
• Rubber bands
• Degrade quickly leaving reside, stain, and bend paper
• Sticky notes
• Leave residue that stain, pull ink, or rip when trying to remove over years
Tapes & Adhesives
• If you need to, use the good (archival) stuff! • Adhesives attach to paper and stain, warp, pull ink and can cause items to rip when trying to remove • Use archival options with low acidity and breakdown • Add to the back or least intrusive surface • Don’t Laminate!
• Storage Easily Find & Remember
• Weeding • Label
• Secure but don’t choke
Storage
• Whatever is locked in will build up with nowhere to go
• Acid-free boxes and folders
• Acid in paper/cardboard can off-gas, quickening degrading
• Unsealed protective sleeves
• Pass chemical reaction PAT test “photographic activity test”
• Keep off shelves 2-14 days after newly stained or painted
Weed Out
• • • • •
Quality, uniqueness, story Why are you keeping this? When was the last time saw it? Do you need all five ________? Which items are most important to you? • How will these be taken care of after your gone? • Why would someone else want it? • Pick a good representation
Label It
• Labels help to easily find items while lower handling • For select items, keep the story, provenance, and importance with the object • Include the 4Ws: • what, when, why, who • Use labels and writing utensils that won’t harm the object or image—micro pen, string tags, etc.
Good Practices
• Handle heirlooms with clean hands • Wear gloves when handling textiles, photos or metal • Avoid tape, sticky notes, paperclips, and rubber bands • Keep letters, paper, etc. unfolded and flat • Use non-sealed PAT plastic sleeves and/or acidfree folders or boxes • Store heirlooms in a clean stable environment, ideally where cool, dry and no direct sunlight • Establish a system of organizing and labeling heirlooms • Display copies and store originals
Digital Records
• Make a list of where you keep all your photos, files, etc. • Determine which you want to keep digital, analog or both • Search for free convertors online • JPEG or TIFF for images • MP4 for video • PDF for scans or office suites
Resources
• AIC: conservation-us.org • NEDCC: nedcc.org • Oregon Heritage: oregon.gov/oprd/HCD/TECH/pages/index.aspx
• Gaylord Bros.: Gaylord.com • Metal Edge: Hollingermetaledge.com • CMI: archivalboxes.com • Talas: talasonline.com
Katrina O’Brien
World of Speed Archive
Archive & Collection Manager Katrina@worldofspeed.org 503.563.6448