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Heritage and archives
About the archives service
Preservation and conservation
Basic conservation
Related content
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Preservation and conservation overview
Basic conservation
Conservation work
Guidance for storage of archives
In this section:
About the archives service
Preservation and conservation
Preservation and conservation overview
Basic conservation
Conservation work
Guidance for storage of archives
Basic conservation
Some dos and dont's for the basic preservation of archives
Don't
use self-adhesive photograph albums. Traditional photograph corners or polyester pocket albums are recommended
use newspaper to wrap documents or to line shelves and boxes as it can become highly acidic
use ordinary envelopes, files, folders, tissue paper, or corrugated card. These are often of poor and unknown quality
use wooden boxes. The oils and adhesives in these can be acidic
use photographic paper or print boxes, cardboard boxes, shoeboxes etc.
Don't use polythene or plastic bags, PVC, plastic envelopes and files. These all contain plasticizers and chlorine, which release harmful chemicals as they degrade
use frames that have poor quality mount board or are backed with wood
never under any circumstance use any form of pressure sensitive tape, even so-called safe tape on archival material
Do
keep newspaper cuttings separate from all other material. Ideally they should be stored in separate acid free envelopes
always remove any rusty paper clips or staples from collections
store documents and photos flat, this will help prevent distortion
consider rolling large items around the outside of an archival quality tube
store items individually in acid free envelopes or folders
use sleeves made from archival grade polyester. Polyester is ideal for single unfolded sheets as the item can be viewed without removal from the protective sleeve
store books in acid free boxes or wrap them in acid free dust jackets to prevent further damage
use acid free tissue paper to interleave between pages of volumes with colour plates to prevent off-setting or blocking
protect prints and drawings in their frames by placing a sheet of UV filter material over the face of the glass (not the drawing). Filter sleeves can also be placed over lamps/lights used to illuminate objects
keep prints, drawings and water colours in individual acid free folders, and store them flat in a box
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