the colorado agricultural archive building your personal archive professional development institute...

The Colorado Agricultural Archive

Building Your

Personal

ArchiveProfessional Development

InstituteJanuary 7, 2011

Linda Meyer, archivistColorado State University

LibrariesArchives and Special Collections

Exercise: This is your life…

Question: What materials document your activities?

Selection: What should you keep?

Materials to preserve:

--Legal documents

--Financial papers

--Biographical records

--Memorabilia

Now that you have decided what to keep, how will you preserve it?

--Environment

--Containers

--Separation

--Stabilization

Environment: Keep it stable

--Location: No

attics/basements

--Temperature: 65 to 70

degrees

--Humidity: 35 to 50%

--Light: Less is better

--Pests: Keep it clean


How do we get from this…

… to this?

Organizing your records

Containers: Non-acidic/non-toxic

--Boxes: Paper or plastic?

--Folders

--Oversize enclosures

--Frames

--Scrapbooks

Separation: Protecting the papers

--Photographs/negatives


Some photographs are chemically unstable and acidic, and cause stains on nearby documents over time.


This photograph reacted with the acidic paper next to it, creating a negative image of the photo on the document.



--Acidic papers and dyes


This acidic news clipping discolored the document that accompanied it.


Our modern printer or copy paper is usually acid- free or neutral; 20th century papers tend to be more acidic.

Separation:Bright colors/dyes

This was the first page in a group of documents enclosed by a binder with a bright red cover. When the binder got wet, the color transferred to some of the documents.




--Glue, tape, rubber bands





--Metal and other fasteners


Staples, paper clips, and other metal fasteners sometimes rust, staining the document


Removing staples without damage to the document





--Metal and other fasteners

--Organic material

Stabilization: Support and protection

--Use a folder for a holder

--Encapsulate, don’t

laminate

--Interleaving prevents

grieving

--Carefully unfold stuff

that’s old

--Tubes and trays are better

ways


Unfold letters and other documents for storage.

Folding weakens the paper fibers along the crease, accelerating the deterioration of the document.

Labeling: Keeping the context

--Soft pencil on folder tabs

--Photo marking pencil

--Avoid adhesive labels

--No self-stick notes

Preservation vs.

Sharing/Display

--Duplicate copies

--Digitization

--Enclosures

--Scrapbooks

Digital vs. Hard copy

Digital advantages:--Compact storage--Easy to reproduce and share

Digital concerns:--Machine dependent --Need to migrate--Remember LOCKSS


Preserving audio-visual materials

--Audiotapes--Videotapes--Motion picture film--CDs and DVDs

Digitization is good for access,

but keep the originals…and machines that can play them.


Digitization provides a great way to share photographs from Colorado State with people all over the world.

The images in this online collection were digitized from historic prints and glass plate negatives.

This allows us to look at them without damaging the fragile originals, which are now archived in a carefully controlled environment, in stable, protective enclosures.


Preserving objects

--Protect from dust and light

--Include information about history and significance


Resources and further information

(See handout)

for electronic copy, email me at [email protected]

CSU Libraries booklet online

mailto:[email protected]


Building Your

Personal

ArchiveProfessional Development

InstituteJanuary 7, 2011

Linda Meyer, archivistColorado State University

LibrariesArchives and Special Collections

the colorado agricultural archive building your personal archive professional development institute...

Documents

acidic papers

financial papers

century papers

document19 separation

acidic news clipping

rubber bands

metal fasteners

paper clips