Sketch pads

At the Canadian Centre for Architecture we have acquired a number of
A4 size (29.7cm x 21 cm.) architect's sketch pads dating from as
much as 30 years ago.  They have adhesive bindings which have broken
apart.  The paper itself is in good shape.  A 75 page pad might be
broken up into as many as 20 or 30 small segments.  If the pads are
handled by researchers they are sure to break apart further.  (These
sketch pads haven't been used much in the past, as they had remained
boxed and in the architect's care, but we believe the collection
will be popular with researchers.) We would like to digitize the
sketch pads as a preservation measure them but anticipate that
page-by-page digitisation or photography will result in pages
breaking away from the adhesive binding.

Has anyone else dealt with this sort of problem?   With the sketch
pads already in broken into so many sections, is there any point in
trying to prevent further damage to the adhesive binding?  Should we
simply accept the problem?  Should we peel apart the remaining small
sections ourselves so that the individual sheets that can be easily
digitised, then store the originals from each pad in a stack?  The
digital version for researchers will help ensure that the page order
isn't lost, either.  We don't want to place the pages in polyester
sleeves or any other enclosure that will further distance them from
their origin as a sketchpad, since the format is important to
understanding how the architect worked.

There are also a few sketch pads with a perforated line across the
top (for tearing off a page), an inch below the adhesive binding.
These pads are also stapled just below the adhesive edge.  Typically
the first few pages are partially detached at the perforation but
they remain intact from there on.  Any ideas on how to protect these
from breaking along the perforation during handling and
digitisation?  Thanks.

Karen Potje
Head, Conservation/Preservation
Centre Canadien d'Architecture
1920, rue Baile, Montrse9al, Quebec
Canada H3H 2S6


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 29:47
                    Distributed: Sunday, May 1, 2016
                       Message Id: cdl-29-47-023
                                  ***