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Re: How to Handle Old, Crumbling Newspapers?



A: Very Carefully


From: "John Q. Barrett" <barrettj@STJOHNS.EDU>
Reply-To: Archives & Archivists <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: How to Handle Old, Crumbling Newspapers?
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 10:32:35 EST

I would appreciate advice on handling private files that contain
crumbling newspapers that are 50-100+ years old.  Many of these
papers are in their original newspaper sections, folded into quarters
or smaller, browned, very brittle and crumbling at their edges.  I
would like to open them and begin reading, but I would bet that
doing so will cause pages to break/disintegrate.  How should I
handle these papers?  If they do break and I use the pieces to
create good photocopies, have I destroyed something of value
(historical or, to the owner, monetary)?  In the end, would an
archival library prefer to get these kinds of papers (1) as they are
now (mostly unbroken, but unread and unusable), or (2) as
originals but read and thus in more pieces, or (3) simply as
photocopies (originals pitched after copying)?

These files also contain single newpaper pages and clipped articles
that I can handle without the same breakage problems.  They are
just very old.  How should I be storing these -- in some kind of
plastic sleeve; loose, separate by sheets of plain white paper; etc.?

Thanks for any thoughts you may have.

JQB


*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
*  John Q. Barrett
*  Associate Professor
*  St. John's University School of Law
*  8000 Utopia Parkway
*  Jamaica, New York  11439
*
*   e-mail:     barrettj@stjohns.edu
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*   faxes:      (718) 990-2199
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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>