[Table of Contents]


[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[PADG:1468] Re: Acetate microfilm duplication



The Connecticut State Library started working on a project last spring.
I sent 16 reels to two different vendors and was not satisfied with the
results. I was unable to find any reports or to receive any replies to
my queries on the quality control for the resulting duplicate negatives
and new service copies. In our experience, we lost text and readability,
in part due to the deterioration of the master (curl along the edges),
and in part because the duplicating process and materials have changed
since the old service copies were created.

This year I am in the process of purchasing a household frost-free
freezer for the master negatives, in order to buy time by slowing their
deterioration. I just began to look at Mark McCormick-Goodheart's notes
on how to package the film for freezing to maintain stable relative
humidity.

I am currently working with one of the vendors on reprinting the
service copies from the new duplicate negatives, using the old service
copy as an example. The density on the old service copy is much higher
than would be acceptable today but it does give more readable text on
poorly filmed pages. The vendor will examine the old service copy and
adjust the settings on the duplicator to try and mimic the density
results on the new service copies. I expect there will still be losses
where the master deteriorated too much, but I hope some of the faint
text in the center of the page will be restored.

Last year, we used the A-D test strips from the Image Permanence
Institute to spot check every 10th reel and one reel from every title
and determine the rate of deterioration. We sent 16 of the most
seriously deteriorated for a test run, with the results described above.
My strategy for this fiscal year is to get the freezer going. For next
fiscal year, I am considering another test run, this time with the less
seriously deteriorated masters, and I will send one of the old service
copies to illustrate what is acceptable.

I referred to the following sites and sources for information:
Preservation microfilming : a guide for librarians and archivists.
Edited by Lisa L. Fox for the Association of Research Libraries. 2nd ed.
Chicago : ALA, 1996

Australian Network for Information on Cellulose Acetate.  
http://www.nla.gov.au/anica/about-anica.html    Assessment
Guidelines. National Library of Australia, May 2001.
http://www.nla.gov.au/anica/assessguide.html 

Keeping the legacy of trust : how to assure the longevity of
earlier-generation microfilm images. [By] Robert Breslawski. Eastman
Kodak, c2003  A-6302 Legacy of Trust.pdf   or  
www.gale.com/archivalsolutions/pdf/Kodak.pdf 

User’s guide for A-D strips : film base deterioration monitors. 2nd
ed. Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology,
c2001

IPI storage guide for acetate film. [by] James M. Reilly. Rochester,
N.Y., Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology,
c1993. Minor rev. 1996. [Consists of booklet, cards for “Time Contours
for Vinegar Syndrome (one for Fahrenheit, one for Celsius) and for
“Time Out of Storage Table,” and a two-sided wheel showing
“Approx. Time to Onset of Vinegar Syndrome”, one side for fresh
film, one side for degrading film.

“Condition survey of master microfilm negatives, University of
Florida Libraries” by Eric J. Kesse. In Abbey Newsletter, v.15:no.3
1991 May p.47-51.

Preservation of microforms in an active environment - guideline.
Technical report for Information and Image Management. ANSI/AIIM
TR13-1998. Revision of ANSI/AIIM TR13-1988. Prepared by Association of
Information and Image Management International. Silver Spring, MD :
Association of Information and Image Management International, c1998.

Australian Network for Information on Cellulose Acetate.  
http://www.nla.gov.au/anica/about-anica.html    Facilities/Storage
Options. National Library of Australia, May 2001.
http://www.nla.gov.au/anica/store_pg7.html 

Australian Networ
k for Information on Cellulose Acetate.  
http://www.nla.gov.au/anica/about-anica.html    Storage of Cellulose
Acetate Collections. National Library of Australia, May 2001.
http://www.nla.gov.au/anica/store_pg3.html#enclosures 

Preserving your collection of film-based photographic negatives [by]
Paul Messier. Rocky Mountain Conservation Center, 1993.
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/messier/negrmcc.html 

“Freezers: chest freezers cost the least to buy and run, but
self-defrost uprights are the winners for convenience. (Kitchen, Bath,
and Laundry)(Market overview).” Consumer reports annual buying guide
(Annual 2006):63(3). InfoTrac OneFile.Thomson Gale. Connecticut State
Library. Accessed 20 June 2006
http://find.galegroup.com/itx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=ITOF&docId=A144212736&source=gale&srcprod=ITOF&userGroupName=20231&version=1.0


“Freezers. (Ratings and Reliability) (Buyers guide).” Consumer
Reports annual buying guide (Annual 2006): 258 (2). InfoTrac OneFile.
Thomson Gale. Connecticut State Library. Accessed 20 June 2006.
http://find.galegroup.com/itx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=ITOF&docID=A144212788&source=gale&srcprod=ITOF&userGroupName=20231&version=1.0.

“On the cold storage of photographic materials in a conventional
freezer using the Critical Moisture Indicator (CMI) packaging method”
Mark H. McCormick-Goodhart. Preface dated July 31, 2003. Written in
(draft) 1994. Accessed March 2007
http://www.wilhelm-research.com/subzero/CMI_Paper_2003_07_31.pdf 

Good luck,
--Jane C.

Jane F. Cullinane
Preservation Librarian, Collection Management Unit
Connecticut State Library
231 Capitol Ave., Hartford,  CT  06106-1537
860-757-6524, fax: 860-757-6683
jcullinane@xxxxxxxxx     http://www.cslib.org

>>> "Wiseman, Christine" <cwiseman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 4/13/07  10:36 am
>>>
Colleagues:

I'd like to hear from anyone who has taken on a large scale project to
duplicate acetate microfilm onto polyester. I'm interested in process
and procedures, whether you kept the original acetate film or discarded
it, if you created a duplicate negative and print master, etc.   Also,
how was deteriorating film handled?  Was the duplication outsourced, and
if so, how was the vendor selected?

Thanks,
Christine Wiseman
Preservation Services Manager
The Georgia Archives



[Subject index] [Index for current month] [Table of Contents]