In the case of books in good condition, the book cover may be considered as appropriate housing, and no extra boxing is needed. Boxes are used for books whose covers are historically important or for books that are rarely used but cannot self-contain due to damage. Extra housing--like boxes--are typically not created for circulating materials as boxes tend to be displaced from circulating items quickly and repair is the best course of action.
Boxes are important for special collection items in terms of preserving the whole object and its unique values (which may be the cover). These four-flap boxes should have a clear, inert polyester (i.e. Mylar) spine so all employees can see if the item is still in the box on the shelf for security reasons. Books will most often be housed in a four-flap tuxedo box as these do not create micro-climates and do not cause abrasion damage. For large items or extra sensitive items, corrugated board may also be used. Always make sure that the top flap is set over top of everything else to avoid water pooling into the book during any water incident.
Bespoke boxes, of various designs for objects, can be created by conservation to fit the needs of the curator. If conservation can house items in banker's boxes, conservation can create internal supports to best support items inside these boxes. All objects should be in boxes or at least covered. Depending on object type, buffered or un-buffered tissue is appropriate so please contact conservation to know which to use for each specific object. Never use plastic packing material for long-term housing solutions.
Conservation will use archival (chemically safe) materials that are P.A.T. certified (pass the Photograph Activity Test) and will not damage the book in any way. If you are unsure about the chemical composition of an old housing, consult a conservator.
Researchers using items with a box should be informed that they are responsible for the item and the box and that both need to be returned in good order when checking the item back to the libraries.
Items that are so damaged they are falling apart may be tied with a wide, cotton twill tape during transit to conservation for repair. See the section Transporting Items to Other Buildings for more information.
Avoid any sort of elastic bands, red tape/string, or thin string to tie up a book and keep all its parts together. The red string bleeds and disintegrates in light. Elastic damages the binding and will also disintegrate. Always request a box from conservation with items that are rarely used but falling apart. If you need to transport the item to conservation, you can tie up the book with wide cotton twill tape. Make sure the tie is on the fore edge when you do so.
At the current time, dust jackets are removed from circulating items as they tend to be immediately damaged on use and end up disassociated from its book. Dust jackets also cause barcode placement issues.
Dust Jackets are always kept for Special and Area Studies collections and any other instance in which a librarian can request that a particularly important dust jacket be retained as part of the item. In this case, contact conservation. Conservation will place an inert polyester (Mylar) sleeve over the dust jacket and attach the dust jacket to the book so that it will not be disassociated easily. For many valuable books, the greatest value may be its original dust jacket so care should be taken when handling these items.
Archival items should be stored in Hollinger Boxes and be organized using archival folders, archival paper folder inserts, and archival inert-polyester (Mylar) l-sleeves. Folders and sleeves should always fit the size of the box, not the size of the item. This ensures that small things do not slip out of their folder and become displaced and damaged somewhere in the box.
Archival objects should be stored in document boxes or bespoke boxes made in the preservation/conservation lab. Boxes should never be stacked more than four boxes high.
Items in good condition with no preservation issues can be placed directly in a 10-point sized archival folder. Make sure that these folders are not over-filled. Utilize the creased lines on the bottom of the folder to correctly fill large groups of items without them slumping and/or ballooning out. Do not crease multiple lines on a folder as this will cause slumping as well.
Inert polyester (Mylar) l-sleeves are for single items only that are fragile or need extra attention. Photographs in good condition with no cracked emulsion should be placed in an l-sleeve so researchers do not need to wear gloves to handle the item. Often items placed in l-sleeves are used regularly by researchers as people can handle the polyester and not the item directly.
Once an item is stored in an l-sleeve it should not be pulled out of the l-sleeve again as static electricity can cause damage. For this reason, photographs and other pages should not be placed back to back in an l-sleeve. L-sleeves should never be used in a book, nor should they ever be used if they are smaller than the item itself.
The open edges of l-sleeves are quite sharp so l-sleeves should be stored in folders with the open edges along the top and open side of the folder.
Paper folder inserts are not folded pieces of Permalife or other archival-safe paper. Folded pieces of paper should be avoided as they often do not fit the size of the box that is being filled. Paper folder inserts are for a few situations. These include:
Fasteners of all sorts are found in archival items. The only time fasteners should be removed is when they are causing damage and/or hiding unique information. Only then should you consider removing the fastener. Keep in mind that anything with an official wax seal should never be removed as the seal is often linked to the legality of the document.
Fasteners like staples can be removed carefully using a micro spatula. If the staple is difficult and/or rusting contact conservation for assistance.
Paperclips can be removed using pieces of inert polyester (Mylar) to help you slide the paperclip off the document grouping.
When in doubt, contact conservation for assistance.
Runs of magazine and journals may be placed in open magazine holders for storage on the shelf. These are typically made of board or plastic. These containers should be regularly checked as they may decay overtime and cause damage to the items they are holding.
Plastic magazine holders with open-weave structures can cause damage when placing items inside them--take caution when using them. This open weave can also cause damage if over-filled. If concerned, contact conservation for archival-safe boards that can be placed on the inside ends of these holders to prevent damage.
Avoid over-stuffing and under-filling these holders and all other containers. Bad fill will warp the items inside any container and cause irreparable damage. People should be able to pull items out of storage containers without other items moving. If you have an under-filled holder/container, contact a conservator and they can provide a spacer that can fill out the rest of the container and keep all collection items upright.
Items that cannot stand up alone on a shelf, especially when their covers are made of paper, are highly susceptible to damage. Contact conservation and put in a conservation work order request for a hard cover to be added to the collection item.
When collection items have mixed media (photographs, CDs, etc.) the storage should strive to meet the needs of the most fragile medium present.
Conservation can create pockets or other containers for CDs or other types of media--contact them for assistance.
Storage furniture for mixed media items needs to be checked regularly. Off-gassing from mixed media can affect other media close-by and increase the rate of degradation. Mixed media housed in drawers are particularly sensitive to micro-climates, off-gassing and mold growth. Contact preservation for assistance with proper storage.
Photograph negatives and/or slides should be placed in sleeves.
Film should be stored flat in their original containers. Video and audio tapes should be stored in their original containers but stored upright on their bottom edges. Mixed media can sometimes speed up the degradation of other media around it. Make sure that objects/artifacts get separate housing from paper items.
Microfilm should be stored in microfilm boxes on the reel's edge as opposed to flat. Make sure that after research use, the microfilm is re-wound properly. Microfilm is particularly sensitive to temperature and humidity. If you smell a vinegar smell around microfilm, contact conservation. This is known as vinegar syndrome. It cannot be reversed, and it spreads to other microfilm around it.
Large posters, maps, etc. should be kept flat in flat-file cabinets. These cabinets should not be overfilled; meaning, an item can be removed from the cabinet without any tearing or any other item impeding the removal or the return. Fragile and/or rare items can be encapsulated between inert polyester for further support.
Objects range widely in terms of their needs for storage. A bespoke box can be made by conservation and would be the best option. If items are not to be housed, they need to at least have a dust cover made from 100% cotton fabric. Dust is acidic and particularly devasting to certain objects in library and museum settings. Consider always have items covered in storage.
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