Preserving Archives and Electronic Records Encouraging the Use of Archives

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Preserving Archives and Electronic
RecordsEncouraging the Use of Archives
Martha Lund Smalley Yale University Divinity
School Library Martha.Smalley_at_yale.edu
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The Preservation of Archival Records

• Part of the archivists responsibility to see
  that the records that have been collected are
  preserved.
• Some funding may be required
• There will always be an ideal, and a reality.
• Try to do the best that you can under your
  particular circumstances.

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The ideal storage area for records

• Amenable to consistent environmental control
  (temperature and humidity)
• No risk of water damage
• Little or no natural light

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Your building

• Formal responsibility for building maintenance
  and supervision should be assigned to someone.
• Check roof, windows, gutters, etc. on a regular
  basis

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Climate control

• Monitor temperature and humidity
• Temperature should ideally be around 60-68
  degrees F 16-20 degrees C
• Humidity at 45-60
• Add a dehumidifier air conditioning
• TRY TO KEEP LEVELS CONSISTENT

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Why does paper deteriorate?

• Wood pulp acid content slow burn
• Any paper manufactured since the mid-19th
  century, unless it is of the type designated
  permanent/durable or acid-free, has an expected
  useful life of less than fifty years.

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What is the best defense against paper
deterioration?

• Environmental controls
• A chemical reaction is taking place in acidic
  paper, and this reaction is accelerated by high
  temperatures and high humidity
• Ideal temperature 16-20 degrees C 60-68 degrees
  F
• Ideal relative humidity level 45-60
• If ideal conditions cannot be
• reached, try to maintain
• CONSISTENT conditions

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Light control

• Cover windows with shades or drapes or blinds
• Dont exhibit materials in direct light for long
  periods.

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Pest control

• Prohibit food in storage and research areas
• Keep storage areas clean
• Monitor presence of pests
• Call in an exterminator
• May need special storage containers in certain
  climates - e.g. metal boxes

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Water protection

• Detective work find potential water dangers
• Dont store materials on the floor.
• Install a water alarm
• Salvage techniques
• Spread wet materials out to get air circulation
  and prevent mold
• Be particularly aware of coated paper
• Freeze-drying

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Fire protection

• Install fire detectors
• Have fire extinguishers available
• Sprinkler systems/ gas systems

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General risk reduction

• Do a monthly check of your storage areas
• Have an emergency plan and telephone notification
  tree set up
• Have collection descriptions backed up

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Disaster preparedness

• A disaster plan in the event of fire or flood
  should be an integral part of any repository's
  program.
• It is important to have the plan in written form
  because of potential chaos and confusion at the
  height of the emergency
• If there should be water damage, it is best to
  rescue photographs, microfilm, and any materials
  with coated paper first.

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Preservation actions

• Remove hardware (paper clips, etc.)
• Remove rubber bands
• Keep materials in acid- folders and boxes
• Have oversized storage available
• Encapsulation

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Preservation common sense

• Some records are valuable as physical artifacts
  while others are valuable primarily for the
  information they contain.
• For some deteriorating items, photocopying them
  onto acid-free paper and discarding the originals
  makes more sense than spending money to
  deacidify, repair, or encapsulate them.

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Storage

• Documents should be in containers that prevent
  dust from entering
• Large items should be
• stored flat.
• Files should fit snugly in container.

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Repairing materials

• NEVER use cellophane tape
• Get some basic supplies
• archival repair tape
• wipe cloths
• acid free paper

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Special needs for photographs

• Never label photographs on their reverse with
  ballpoint pen. The ink may bleed through to the
  front. Reference numbers on mounts should be
  written discreetly in light-resistant ink.
  Reference numbers on the back of photographs that
  have not been mounted can be written with a soft
  pencil that leaves a clear mark.
• If possible, put photographs in chemically stable
  polyester or paper sleeves (e.g., made of a
  material such as Mylar, or acid-free paper.) Such
  sleeves help prevent curling of photographs and
  reduce physical contact with the photos. It is
  also possible to label the sleeves with
  identifying information or to insert a separate
  written label inside the sleeve.
• If it is not feasible for you to use sleeves, be
  sure to store the photographs in such a way that
  they will not curl over time and will not be
  subject to excessive handling.

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Photographs, contd

• Photographs should be handled with cotton gloves,
  or held by the edges to avoid skin contact with
  the image.
• Photographs are very susceptible to water damage
  and should not be stored near sources of water.
  If you ever have a flood situation in the
  archives, be sure to rescue the photographs
  first.
• Photographs are susceptible to insect damage, so
  may be best stored in a metal container if
  insects are likely to be a major problem.
• Photographs should not be scanned or photocopied
  repeatedly.

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Special needs for films and videos

• Be aware of the dangers of nitrate film
• Make a video cassette use copy for films
• Store videos upright with tape on bottom.
• Rewind films and videos periodically

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Audio tapes are not permanently viable

• Transcripts are the archival record of oral
  history

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Monitoring and re-formatting

• Do you have the necessary machinery to play your
  films and tapes?
• Re-format if necessary

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Electronic formats

• Word processed documents
• Email
• Videos
• Audiotapes
• CD-ROMs
• Databases

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How long will they last?

• Have they been backed-up??
• Will the software change?
• Will the hardware become obsolete?
• CD-ROMs and many other electronic media are not
  very stable. Dont count on them lasting long.

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Electronic formats are always evolving

• We have two choices right now
• Keep paper records of important documents
• Keep up with evolving electronic formats through
  constant monitoring refreshing the data on a
  regular basis.
• Eventually there will be more sophisticated
  storage systems.

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• The conservative stance for a repository to take
  regarding electronic records is to require that
  all records be deposited in hard copy.
• This stance will be increasingly untenable as
  organizations and individuals wholeheartedly
  enter the electronic age.
• Even now, there is a danger in requesting hard
  copy printouts of records to be saved. The extra
  steps of selecting and printing records to be
  saved will inevitably limit the number and
  variety of records saved.

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Basic strategies for preserving electronic data

• Medium refreshing copying data from one physical
  carrier to another of the same type, e.g. backing
  up a hard drive, diskette, or CD ROM.
• Medium conversion transferring electronic data
  from one medium to another this might mean
  transferring to a non-digital medium.
• High quality acid neutral paper can last a
  century or longer and archival quality microfilm
  is projected to last 300 years or more. Paper and
  microfilm have the additional advantage of
  requiring no special hardware or software for
  retrieval or viewing

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• Format conversion converting the data format in
  order to reduce the number of different formats
  being used in a particular setting, e.g.
  converting WordPerfect word processing files to a
  Word format.
• Migration converting the data so that it can
  operate with different hardware and software than
  originally intended. This could involve
  transferring data to a central server or computer
  housed in the archives.

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Repositories need to reformat electronic records
at intervals to avoid obsolescent formats and
the need for obsolete hardware. A schedule
should be put in place, and a particular person
made responsible, to intentionally verify at
specific intervals that the following types of
electronic data are still readable      
Email       Word processing and web
documents       Databases.
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Good things about the electronic age

• Wont have to deal with deterioration of paper as
  much.
• Increased intentionality about keeping records
• Increased accessibility of records
• Finding aids and full documents online
• Keyword searchable

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The best approach for preserving electronic
records

• It may be best to take a wait and see approach
• Even many sophisticated institutions are still
  insisting on paper as the copy of record

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Promoting Use of the Archives
Who are your users?
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Spread the news

• Make a repository guide provides an overview of
  materials available
• Can be printed form or online preferably both.
• Distribute it at conferences and meetings

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Make the archives a place that people feel
welcome

• Define your access policy and procedures
• Prepare an appropriate reading area

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Outreach efforts take time, but its worth it

• Exhibits
• Publications
• Speaking engagements
• Marketing