Braille documents

Simon Hogg <s.hogg [at] freeuk__com> writes

>Are there any special methods of conservation for braille documents?
>I wonder whether prolonged storage might lead to 'flattened bumps'
>on the pages, and therefore loss of information.

Braille *documents* don't tend to flatten, unless they have heavy
objects placed on top of them.  Storing Braille documents in flat
document cases shouldn't be a problem. Inter-leaving with Holly-tex
would help, if you have been noticing the text flattening.

Storing Braille *books* flat can cause the Braille to flatten on the
outer sheets, both front and back.  Storing Braille books upright
causes the signatures to rip through the binding straps from the
weight of the pages. One can repair torn Braille pages and books,
but keep in mind that one must also re-instate the bumps where
flattened by mending the tears.

The poly-vinyl straps that hold Braille textblocks in place often
crack through usage, or the signatures just tear away.  I found
replacing the "notebook" style Braille books with a traditional
sewn-tape style book worked very well.  The vinyl is replaced by
linen straps, then sew the signatures into textblocks using a sewing
frame.

Dolly Blunt

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:20
               Distributed: Thursday, September 16, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-13-20-003
                                  ***