Braille documents

Simon Hogg <s.hogg [at] freeuk__com>

>Are there any special methods of conservation for braille documents?

I once discussed this very issue with my wife's aunt who translates
books into Braille using the traditional machine  for the CNIB
(Canadian National Institute for the Blind). I gather some of it is
now generated by software programmes. The completed pages appear to
be loosely stacked one on top of another and if I recall correctly,
with a piece of cardboard on the top and bottom.  However, no weight
is applied.

I would think that if there is concern about crushing the raised
surface that each page should be interleaved with an inert foam
material such as Ethafoam or a fine grade foam such as a
cross-linked foam made by Sentinel. I talked to Scott Williams at
CCI who explained that while he has seen no yellowing of Ethafoam,
this is the case with many other foams. What is also happening is
powdering or crumbling.  You should read his article in CooL at:
<URL:http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/williams/foam.html>.
Information on Sentinel's products is available at:
http://sentinel-products.com/product_specs.htm.  Probably something
like the T-cell grade, about 0.5mm thick would be good. It comes in
rolls 1metre wide. One advantage of this material is that even
though it is very thin, it  is very dense and does not compress
easily.

Most Braille papers seem to be a different size to the standard
North American 8 1/2" x 11" or the European A4, so you might need to
get boxes custom-made. Hope this is of some help,

David Tremain
Preventive Conservation Services
Canadian Conservation Institute
1030 Innes Road
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0M5
Canada
613-998-3721
Fax: 613-998-4721

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:19
                 Distributed: Friday, September 3, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-13-19-001
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