Glass plate negatives

I was glad to see the recent exchange about glass plate negatives!
Lately, glass plate negatives have been on my mind:  at Syracuse, we
have a collection of 100,000+ glass plates and this particular
collection is emerging as one of our preservation priorities.  This
collection is housed in a warehouse facility a few miles from campus;
until recently, there was no environmental control; and, it's one of our
most heavily used special collections.  These factors add up to a real
preservation headache!  I have a few questions to ask and advice to seek
and would appreciate those of you who have collections and/or know a bit
about this type of material to indulge me with any anwers and/or
observations you are willing to share.  I am quickly trying to get up to
speed on the subject and appreciate any help you can give me!

1.  Do any of you out there have glass plate negative collections???

2.  Of those of you who do, how do researchers use them?  Do they seem
    interested in researching the technology itself? Do they appear to
    be using them primarily for the information they contain? Both?

3.  How do you balance meeting the research needs of your patrons with
    the preservation issues associated with handling this material?

    a.  Do you make available "service copies?"  If so, what processes
        have you found most (and least) desirable?

    b.  What are some of the major issues you have come across in
        servicing your collection?  I would assume providing reasonable
        access balanced with the attempt to reduce handling of the
        originals would be a big one.

I look forward to reading your responses!  Thank you!

Marty Hanson
Preservation Administrator
Syracuse University Library

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 5:20
               Distributed: Thursday, September 19, 1991
                        Message Id: cdl-5-20-004
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