Preserving Your Important Papers
Most damage and deterioration to personal books and papers can be avoided with the following guidelines:
- Provide a proper environment where the temperature will remain steady, no higher than 72 degrees F., and the humidity low, between 40-55%. The best areas in a home to place papers are main rooms -- where the temperature is monitored and kept stable for your comfort -- and internal closets, not against outside walls. Avoid the attic and basement; these spots are most likely to be cold in winter and hot or damp in the summer.
- Lighting should be kept to a minimum, and when items are not being viewed, they should be stored in boxes out of direct sunlight. Direct sunlight and unfiltered ultraviolet rays are very harmful to paper, causing fading, yellowing, brittleness, and weakening of paper fibers.
- Dust can abrade paper and photographs, and it usually holds inactive mold spores. If the humidity rises, the mold on the materials can become active and grow. Materials should be placed in boxes with lids to protect them from accumulated dust or in rooms where the air circulates with fans or air-conditioning.
- Chemical composition is a principal factor contributing to the deterioration of paper. Prior to the mid-1850s, paper was made from cotton and other stable fibers. After this period, paper was printed on wood pulp. The chemical process used to turn wood pulp into paper adds acids and other chemical impurities that cause brittleness and yellowing in a short time. Newsprint is a very cheap and acidic paper, so it is best to photocopy news clippings that you treasure. If you want to keep a full newspaper, place it in a flat box (preferably acid-free) big enough to allow the paper to be completely unfolded. Acid-free and archival quality folders and boxes are available through suppliers such as Light Impressions (1-800-828-6216) and Gaylord Brothers (1-800-448-8160) Call to ask for a free catalog.
- Remove all paper clips, staples, and pins from your documents. Metal will rust and eat through paper.
- Remove rubber bands. They will dry and crack and often leave stains on books and papers.
- Unfold all documents as completely as possible. Creases and folds will deepen and split paper. Do not keep letters folded in their original envelopes.
- Use only archival quality tape to repair a tear in paper. Never use Scotch or masking tape. Regular tape will dry, yellow, and flake. The adhesive also attracts bugs. It is best not to attempt repairs without expert advice. Interleave original documents with acid-free paper to prevent the acidsin one document from affecting another.
- Encapsulate your most treasured papers in polyester film or Mylar enclosures. Never use regular plastic or vinyl or laminate papers. Laminating accelerates the chemical aging of documents and uses harmful adhesives and heat. An encapsulated document is well protected, entirely visible, and can be handled safely. A word of warning: Do not encapsulate papers with powdery materials such as charcoal, soft pencil, or chalk on the surface since the static of the polyester will strip these media from the paper. Contact with regular plastic will damage paper, so never enclose materials in Zip-lock bags or any plastic that you are not sure is archival quality.
Helpful books about caring for your personal collections:
- Restoration of Leather Bindings by Bernard Middleton (Z 271 .M53)
- Bookbinding and the Care of Books by Douglas Cockerell (Z 271 .C66 1971)
- Cleaning and Preserving Bindings and Related Materials by Carolyn Horton (Z 701 .H79 1969)
- Library Materials Preservation Manual by Heidi Kyle (Z 701 .K94 1983)
Patricia Selinger is the Preservation Librarian for VCU Libraries.