Storage of posters and maps

I'm a graduate student at UMD looking into storage of large format
materials, namely posters and maps.  The collection I'm looking at,
while not enormous, consists of materials from all over the world, so
there are a variety of papers and conditions represented. Most of this
is World War II era and later.

The flat file cabinets being used to house this collection are basic
government warehouse issue, with a kind of canvas cover that pulls over
the top. I'm curious if it is possible to create a more damaging
environment by storing too many posters/maps in a single drawer,
especially those that are beginning to deteriorate. Does the 'canvas'
cover help or hinder?  In particular, is it possible to create a
micro-climate, a more acidic environment in storage?  And is there any
literature on this? Thanks,

Kurt Kuss

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 8:71
                   Distributed: Monday, March 6, 1995
                        Message Id: cdl-8-71-006
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