SURVEY THE COLLECTIONS

After the building has been studied, the survey should examine the types of collections owned by the institution and they way in which they are stored or displayed. This information will help you see which materials are most at risk.

Note whether there are boxes of books, office supplies, rolled maps or framed art resting directly on the floor or leaning against the walls. Not only are they a hazard to users but these items are always vulnerable to water damage, both from flooding and from overhead leaks. Water runs along the floor and seeps into any absorbent materials in its path. Make it a rule never to leave anything on the floor, even temporarily. Temporary steps sometimes stretch into long periods.

If you note sagging shelves, books bursting out of shelving, tall piles of boxes, worn-out folders and storage containers, oversized materials sagging off undersized shelves, framed art piled against each other and other signs of crowding or neglect, there probably already is some damage. Glass can break and tear art in the frames, unsupported books become distorted, old photographs and documents can become separated from their enclosures, thus losing identifying information. When collections are stored in such conditions, there is much greater risk in an emergency situation, both for the materials and for the people trying to recover them. Such collections would be good candidates for rehousing projects. 

Not all urgent recommendations entail large capital expenditures. For instance, the survey might point out that a valuable special collection is located directly under a skylight;. This puts the materials at risk from excessive light as well as from water leaks. Relocate the collection to a more secure area to solve the problem.

For less urgent recommendations, the administration can set priority according to the institution's mission, finances, future building plans, upcoming exhibitions, available workers and so on.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS  (written with Ana B. Hofmann)

Almost every institution or archival collection has some photographic materials in its collection. These might be historical 19th century processes such as ambrotypes; or albumen prints; or 20th century microfilms; or silver .i.gelatin prints;. If photographs are an important part of your collection, a photograph conservator should survey the materials to identify different processes and determine if each type is housed correctly. Identification can be tricky in the best of situations, especially with some of the earlier processes. It is impossible in an emergency situation; hence the importance of pre-planning. Uniqueness and value of each photograph should be assessed to aid in setting up salvage priorities. This is especially true with microforms.

Standard archival techniques should be employed when identifying and cataloging photographs: only pencil should be used to mark the photograph and each photograph should be placed in an appropriate enclosure. This is very important in the case of .i.nitrate films; because they are flammable and can be a fire hazard when large numbers are stored together. This is particularly true of nitrate motion picture films because reel storage makes for dense concentrations. When the films deteriorate, they give off gases that will hasten the demise of other films around them. Deteriorated films should be copied and then discarded or put into storage vaults that meet the National Fire Protection Association's standards for nitrate films. Consult your local fire department for regulations concerning disposal of nitrate films.

• Photographic materials made by the following processes are especially vulnerable to water damage:
• daguerreotypes; ambrotypes; tintypes
• glass plate negatives
• lantern slides; glass stereo views
• instant black & white prints (Polaroid) Polaroid photographs;
• carbon prints; gum prints; woodburytypes
• color photographs; including transparencies, slides;  color negatives; negatives
• motion picture materials;
• cellulose nitrate film; cellulose di-acetate film;
• deteriorated or unhardened gelatin photographs

Water tight housing is the safest option, but if this is not possible, conventional storage boxes should be placed in polyethylene bags. In order to increase the chances of an image surviving, store negatives and positives in separate locations, preferably different buildings.

IRIS PRINTS inkjet prints, color;

Although not produced by a true photographic process, color inkjet fine art prints known as Iris or GiclΘe; prints ;are increasingly being found in photograph and print collections. The inks used at present are extremely water soluble; even a drop of water will cause loss of image. So protected storage is important for these prints as well.

MICROFILM

The best way to preserve microfilm is to keep the archival and print masters offsite, in environmentally controlled storage. If the available storage is less than optimal, discuss the polysulfiding option with your vendor when embarking on a new microfilming project. Printing a new service copy is usually cheaper than reprocessing wet film.