Hold on to the Memories

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Hold on to the Memories

• Saving Family Treasures
• Prepared for the California Preservation Program
  and the Inland Empire Libraries Disaster Response
  Network by Sheryl Davis
• Version 2.0 - 1/7/04sjd

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What Causes Materials to Break Down

• Inherent Vice External Vice Breakdown

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Causes of Accelerated Aging
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HEAT

• Too high a temperature speeds up chemical
  reactions increasing the decay rate

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Light

• Ultraviolet Radiation (UV) is another bad
  influence

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Humidity

• Too dry is bad
• Too humid is bad

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A Proper Storage Environment Will Slow Down the
Disintegration
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Stability is the KEY
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Protection

• The more barriers between objects and between an
  object and the environment, the better

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Safe Handling

• Clean Hands
• Good Housekeeping

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Do No Harm

• Home Repairs? Control Yourself
• Self-adhesive Tapes Bad Idea
• Stains Learn to Live with Them.
• Lamination Just Say NO

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Damaging Objects
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Abuse
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Dont be an Abuser
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Preserving Papers and Books
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Inherent Vices of Paper

• Most paper is made of ground wood

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Inherent Vices in Paper

• Ground wood contains chemicals that are acidic
• Paper makers add chemicals

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External Vice

• Acid Migrates

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External Vice

• Remember Your Adversaries
• Temperature
• Humidity
• Light
• Careless handling

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Proper Storage for Papers

• Organize and Properly Store Loose Papers

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Proper Storage

• Open up folded papers and store them flat.

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Cleaning and Repair - Books
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Proper Storage

• Shelve Books Vertically

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Handling Books
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Handling continued
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Preserving Photographs
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The Same External Vices

• Store photos and negatives in a DARK, COOL,
  VENTILATED, and DRY place.
• Relative humidity of 20 - 50.

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Internal Vices

• Photographs and negatives are made up of three
  layers
• Image layer
• Binder layer
• The Base (paper or polyester)

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• Store color photographs separately from the black
  and white photographs
• Keep negatives stored separately from photographs

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Labeling

• Only use a 2 Pencil

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Protective Storage

• The more barriers between objects and between an
  object and the environment, the better

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Protective Storage-Layering

• Separate photographs from each other with
  acid-free paper

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Plastic Envelopes

• For photographs that you know youll want to see
  over and over again use a safe plastic like
  Mylar, Hostaphan or Melinex

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Good Bad Plastics

• Beware plastics! Never use acetate or PVC Use
  only polyester, polypropylene, and polyethylene

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Protective Storage Layers

• Folders
• Boxes

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Handling Reminders!!

• Never mark anything you care about with ink.
• Dont store your treasures with damaging objects.

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Photo Albums

• Use PLASTICS made of polyester film as sheet
  protectors
• Use PAPERS made from durable chemically stable
  materials
• Use ADHESIVES that are made from safe paste

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Album Storage

• Shelve them like books

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Slides

• Project it for less than 10 seconds
• Show them a lot use Ektachrome
• Show them a little - Kodachrome

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What about negatives?
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If it is Really, Really Important

• Photograph it in black and white

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Handling Housekeeping
Hold photos on their edge, wear lint free cotton
gloves Keep boxes and albums dust free
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Preserving Scrapbooks and Photo Albums
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• Where an album maker formerly had the choice of
  perhaps a dozen materialsshe now has hundreds,
  many of which being the latest thing, have
  never been tested.
• -1903

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What Makes a Scrapbook or Album Archival?

• Album Construction
• A wide hinge
• D rings
• Easy to shelve or store upright

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Use Archival Pages

• Acid-free
• Color-free?
• Heavy Weight (80 lb.)

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Affixing Things to Pages

• Photo corners
• Adhesives
• Tape Beware the Ooze
• Stickers

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Acidic Paper and Damaging Objects

• Encase/encapsulate/
• isolate
• Mat or mount
• Photocopy

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Marking and Decorating

• Stamp pads and pens should be
• Acid-Free
• Pigment Ink
• Fade Proof
• Waterproof

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In an Emergency

• Store Them in One Place
• Make Copies
• Store Offsite

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Information About This Program

• Prepared for the California Preservation Program
  (cpc.stanford.edu) and the Inland Empire
  Libraries Disaster Response Network
  (www.ieldrn.org).
• Developed by Sheryl Davis (Sheryl.Davis
  _at_ucr.edu) University of California Riverside with
  assistance from and thanks to student interns
  Aida Galbadon, Maura Large, Kim Leaming.
• Slides of photo albums are from the RIT Image
  Permanence Institute Predicting the Permanence
  of Scrapbooks at http//www.rit.edu/661www1/sub_
  pages/FUTSCRAP.pdf
• Version 2 1/07/04sjd