PRESERVING YOUR VALUABLE AND TREASURED HEIRLOOMS
Colleen Nunn, MLS, Denver Public Library
In caring for your treasured items at home, there are three basic areas of concern:
-- the nature of the materials that touch your item;
-- the environment where you store your items;
-- your own level of cleanliness and carefulness when touching your items.
For example, you want to use acid-free, lignin-free papers, folders, boxes and scrapbooks for your paper items. For your photo albums, you want to use archivally-safe, chemically-inert plastic enclosures (polyvinyl chloride-free). You want to store items in the most environmentally stable, low-light areas of your house, which are usually the interior spaces. And you want to have clean, unlotioned hands when you work with your items.
The National Archives and Records Administration is the ‘momma’ archive of us all, and they have assisted us on their web site with many great tips about archiving our personal items. Their web address is www.archives.gov/preservation/caring_for_your_family_archives.html and they leave no stone unturned in explaining the details of preserving paper products, photographs, audio and video tapes, digital media, and monitoring storage environments. You won’t buy that tempting, convenient self-stick photo album from the drugstore when you’re done reading their photo tips.
Also, NARA’s “At-A-Glance Guide” to touching and handling your items is a good quick start to getting in the conservation mood. Their address is www.archives.gov/preservation/storage/document_handling_and_holding_maintenance.html. After you’re done with this site, you’ll be properly chastised against ever wetting your fingers again when turning pages!
Locally, the Colorado Preservation Alliance at www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/cpa/coservices.htm has helped folks with a web site that lists lots of local and national resources. The organization has also written some quick tips on different archival topics from storing large paper artifacts to drying out family albums and records, to creating and preserving scrapbooks. These tips are scattered throughout their website.
For our own short list of resources available to you, click here.
Denver Bookbinding
2715 17th Street
Denver, CO
303-455-5521
This local company does binding for libraries and they do a great job. If you have one item that needs re-binding, their charge is $45. The price goes down as the number of items goes up. If you have a Bible that needs hand repair work, the price starts at $75. The time frame for restoring a Bible is one month. Binding time for a non-handwork item is less.
Micrographics, Inc.
4910 Iris Street
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
303-425-7407
If you want to preserve your items for a hundred years or more, consider microfilming. This process is always black and white, and you need to put your items in order and take out staples and clips before you give it to them. Company does a good job.
Light Impressions
P.O. Box 22708
Rochester, NY 14692-2708
800-828-6216
www.lightimpressionsdirect.com
This company specializes in archival photo and slide and framing products. Call them for a catalog or visit their web site.
Metal Edge, Inc.
6340 Bandini Blvd.
Commerce, CA 90040
800-862-2228
This company specializes in archival boxes. You won’t believe the numerous shapes and sizes available.
Gaylord Brothers
P.O. Box 4901
Syracuse, NY 13221-4901
800-448-6160
This company has a huge catalog for all kinds of office supplies, so you might want to visit their web site instead of ordering their large catalog. They have an archival section of their catalog that perhaps you could obtain separate from the rest.