Post-it notes

Melanie Wilkinson <mwilkins [at] nla__gov__au> writes

>The collection includes a mixture of ring bound folders and spiral
>bound notebooks with fluoro coloured post-it notes attached to
>individual pages. The post-it notes are an integral part of the
>manuscript collection as they contain content that is particularly
>relevant to individual pages.
>
>The post-it notes also protrude outside of the covers of the folders
>and notebooks, making them susceptible to handling damage and
>accidental removal by staff and the public.
>
>Ultimately, I would like to find a solution that would allow the
>post-it notes to remain with the pages they are currently attached
>to as well as a method that protects the fluoro post-it notes from
>light damage.

I strongly advise you not to attempt to keep the post-it notes in
direct contact with the object.  Whilst I recognise that these
markers can be significant themselves, I have always taken the step
of removing them from the object, housing them in a small pouch and
either using that to hold the place in the record directly or adding
an archival appropriate marker and suitably noting removal.  I have
not had much physical evidence throughout my career to justify this
step, but I recently borrowed a book from a friend that just might
prove that my wariness over leaving post-its in place was not
completely unfounded.

The borrowed book was no more than 6 years old, and the fluoro pink
post-it could not have been in place longer than that.  When I
lifted the note to view the text beneath, there was significant
staining to the page easily attributed to the note (shape and
colour).  Through foliating and packaging the notes in small poly
bags, you can keep the notes with the pages in question.  Inclusion
of photographic evidence would further demonstrate original
positioning.

Frances Cumming
Paper Conservator
Preventive Conservation Officer
Australian War Memorial
GPO Box 345
Canberra ACT 2601
Australia
+61 2 6243 4349


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 23:41
                 Distributed: Saturday, April 24, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-23-41-008
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