Vinyl

Marsha Maguire <marsham [at] vnw__com> wrote

>For listing the contents of the storage boxes in our archival
>collection, we are considering the use of a clear vinyl pocket that
>attaches to to the top of an acid-free box.  It's an 8 1/2 x 11"
>pocket made of 6 mil "clear vinyl," and uses a "permanent
>non-yellowing adhesive."  We found it in the Gaylord product
>catalog; there is no similar product included in the Gaylord
>archival products catalog (or any other catalog we've seen).

Gaylord has learned enough about pres/conservation concerns over the
years--and receives good advice from respected folks in the field --
that you should take this as a pretty clear sign that these pockets
really are just vinyl (probably PVC or some such dastardly compound)
and have no place among archival collections.

>If each of several hundred boxes had such a pocket affixed to it, would
>we be creating an offgassing problem in our storage vault?  We
>collect paper materials, as well as photographic and print
>materials, sound recordings of all kinds, and video cassettes.
>We've invested quite a bit in our archival storage containers. Would
>using a product that is not necessarily chemically inert threaten
>that investment (not to mention our collections)?  Not being a
>conservation specialist myself, I don't know how big a problem the
>offgassing and possible acidity of these pockets might create.

I can't provide a technical/scientific answer.  But I would say that
if you've gone to the trouble of trying to use permanent/durable
storage materials, it would not make sense to jeopardize your
collection (some of which are vulnerable media) by exposing the
materials to the "vinyl" and "non-yellowing adhesive."

Seems to me that there's a simple and safe solution.  Buy polyester
(Mylar), polyethylene, or polypropylene sleeves, pockets, or
envelopes.  See, for example, pages 37-38 and the photo storage
section of Gaylord's archival catalog #8; or Light Impressions'
"PolyChron (polyethylene) sleeves" (p. 51 of the Winter '95
catalog).  Then attach them to the box using 3M's #415 double-sided
tape or a PVA glue.

Lisa Fox, Preservation Consultant
840 Rosedale Avenue
Atlanta, GA  30312-3626
404-627-2855

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 9:81
                   Distributed: Friday, May 31, 1996
                        Message Id: cdl-9-81-002
                                  ***