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Re: Friday topic?: Creature comforts and the archival office



Anecdotal info...When I moved into my shop 4 years ago, I inherited a pair
of large plants which lived (and still do) in the corner of the reading area
in front of a massive window.  The closest collection is our photos in metal
file cabinets about 35 feet away.  I was a little bothered at this breach of
archival practice, being a strict sort in this regard, and inquired about
bug spraying services.  We get sprayed and inspected quarterly.  So far no
bad bugs.  We have a good hvac which keeps humidity constant throughout our
storage, public, and work spaces.

What I have learned here is, as long as I monitor and minimize risks (have
not introduced new plants) I should be able to nip any trouble in the bud.
Of course to really minimize risk, I'd lose the plants altogether. BUT
sometimes quality of life and work issues should soften hard conservation
dicta.  A happy environment is a healthy one.

Michael
F. Michael Angelo
Library Director
Independence Seaport Museum
211 S. Columbus Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA  19106
<mangelo@indsm.org>


-----Original Message-----
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU]On
Behalf Of Jacqueline Haun
Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2000 9:16 PM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Friday topic?: Creature comforts and the archival office


Greetings, all --

As a new archivist who is finally starting to feel comfortable in my new
position, I'm also starting to notice that my office, lovely though it is,
is stark.  I have some art on the walls in my little cubby hole, but other
than that, things are pretty spartan.  Since I am in a library building, I
do get to admire everyone else's live plants and other decorative gew-gaws.
My question is this: what can I safely bring into an archival office where
we do our processing that will not adversely affect any materials but might
make it feel less sterile? I assume that real plants would be an open
invitation to bug infestation, to say nothing of the possibilities of dirt
and moisture.  And no coffee maker for us!  (And rightly so.) What do
people allow or disallow in their processing and/or office space?  I'll
probably just end up decorating with a document, but I'd like to know what
my archivally responsible parameters are.

Consider it a Friday topic. (At least it isn't political, unless you
consider plants in the office a Liberal corruption from the feel-good
seventies...)

Jacqueline Haun
Archivist
The Bunn Library
The Lawrenceville School
P.O. Box 6128
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
Tel. (609) 895-2034
Fax (609) 895-2159
jhaun@lawrenceville.org

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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>