Preserving Archives and Electronic Records Encouraging the Use of Archives

1. Preserving Archives and Electronic RecordsEncouraging the Use of Archives Martha Lund Smalley Yale University Divinity School Library Martha.Smalley@yale.edu

2. The Preservation of Archival Records • Part of the archivist’s 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.

3. The ideal storage area for records: • Amenable to consistent environmental control (temperature and humidity) • No risk of water damage • Little or no natural light

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

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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

8. Light control • Cover windows with shades or drapes or blinds • Don’t exhibit materials in direct light for long periods.

9. 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

10. Water protection • Detective work: find potential water dangers • Don’t 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

11. Fire protection • Install fire detectors • Have fire extinguishers available • Sprinkler systems/ gas systems

12. 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

13. 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.

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

15. 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.

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

17. Repairing materials: • NEVER use cellophane tape • Get some basic supplies: • archival repair tape • wipe cloths • acid free paper

18. 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.

19. Photographs, cont’d: • 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.

20. 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

21. Audio tapes are not permanently viable • Transcripts are the archival record of oral history

22. Monitoring and re-formatting • Do you have the necessary machinery to play your films and tapes? • Re-format if necessary

23. Electronic formats • Word processed documents • Email • Videos • Audiotapes • CD-ROMs • Databases

24. 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. Don’t count on them lasting long.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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

28. 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.

29. 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.

30. Good things about the electronic age: • Won’t 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

31. 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

32. Promoting Use of the Archives Who are your users?

33. 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

34. Make the archives a place that people feel welcome • Define your access policy and procedures • Prepare an appropriate reading area

35. Outreach efforts take time, but it’s worth it: • Exhibits • Publications • Speaking engagements • “Marketing”