We just received a box of records of the League of
Catholic Women (time span during the depression). I feel the material is
important to keep, but the condition of the papers is lousy at best. The box was
found in the attic of a house and the materials had water damage and are very
dirty.
As a lone arranger, I do not have the staff to
"clean" the materials, if they can even BE cleaned. But I do feel the
collection is important historically and should be saved. We do not have
microfilm access, but do have a scanner and a copy machine. I do have
volunteers that could photocopy, and could possibly scan
the materials (although I'm not sure I have the disk space, and don't have CD
writing capabilities). I do know that it is possible to photograph with
black and white film and process as microfilm, but have never tried this
myself.
What is the recommendation
on papers such as these? Are any of the above options, and if so, I am
hesitant to throw the originals out, although I am also hesitant to spend the
time and money to process the collection as is with acid-free, etc. Any
suggestions out there?
Thanks in advance!
Leslie S. Edwards
Administrative Director Oakland County Pioneer & Historical Society 405 Oakland Ave. Pontiac, MI 48342 http://wwnet.net/~ocphs/index.html |