Preservation of clippings

Linda Most <most [at] kravis__org> writes

>I have in my collection ten storage boxes of newspaper press
>clippings which date back to the mid 1980s.  Some are mounted on
>bond paper using various types of clear tape and some are filed as
>clipped.  We have made the management decision to begin immediate
>preservation photocopying of this collection and will probably scan
>the copies into digital storage in the near future, but there is a
>part of me that hesitates to discard the originals, brittle and
>yellow as some are becoming.

To respond to this question, we must really go back to the original
reason why you kept the clippings. My guess, as this is usually the
response, is that they were kept for their informational value.  If
this is the case, then there should be no hesitation about
discarding the originals after they have been photocopied. Otherwise
they will just continue to disintegrate in your collection and take
up valuable space.  Having photocopied the originals, you must make
sure that care is taken to make sure that the photocopies are
properly cared for--i.e. in acid-free folders and boxes.  Remember
also, that scanning them does not necessarily, at least at this
juncture, meant preserving them.  Generally, scanning of such
documents is used as an access tool, although this may change in the
future.  At this point, do not discard the photocopies if and when
you scan them.  However, yes, you can and probably should discard
the originals after photocopying them.

Gregor Trinkaus-Randall
Collection Management/Preservation Specialist
Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
648 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02215-2070
617-267-9400, 800-952-7403 (in-state)
Fax: 617-421-9833

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:49
                Distributed: Wednesday, December 2, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-12-49-020
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