Latex allergies aside -- I've been told that
there's another type of plastic glove for people with latex allergies (I think
it's polyurethane, but don't quote me) . . .
I've long been concerned that ill-fitting cotton
gloves reduce individual's dexterity so much that there may be as much physical
damage as any resulting from skin oils. Gloves are a bit of false security,
in my mind. Think of the times you've seen someone wearing gloves scratch
an itch or brush there hair; after which the gloves transfer the oils to the
photograph.
I've used latex gloves myself for the increased
sensitivity. (To quote the old ad, 'So thin, you can pick up a dime!') The
flip side is that I find them miserably uncomfortable because they become little
hothouses for your hands, trapping every bit of sweat.
Ultimately, I think you have to find another
solution. Because the collections I was responsible for were heavily used
by patrons, I put the photos in Mylar sleeves. It's an expensive solution,
and I understand there are problems with microenvironments within Mylar
sleeves. However, photographs don't have to be removed from Mylar sleeves
to be viewed (hence, skin oils are somewhat moot); paper enclosures don't offer
any protection from skin oils, sneezes, or worse. Heavy Mylar also offers
some physical support for fragile images.
Because we seldom retrieved negatives for patrons
to handle, those could be stored in paper enclosures to save money.
Scanning the images so that patrons view a
surrogate while the original remains untouched is a superb solution, now that
the costs are dropping. However, it's important to remember that the
photographic document is more than the image. For cabinet cards and
cartes-de-visite, the characteristics of the border may offer significant clues
about the date of the image. The backs of photographs often have notes or
other information that provides context. (Transcription is not necessarily
sufficient; the hand, the ink, and other factors not captured by a scan may call
into question the trustworthiness of the information.) Hence, a scanning
project should include borders and backs (or a note indicating the absence of
information on the back).
I'm comfortable that staff can be trained to wash
their hands frequently, avoid touching the emulsion, and handle images gently
without gloves. One technique I've seen is the use of long, thin wooden
spatulas to slide under images and support them while turning or moving. I
liked the idea in principle; but I never actually tried it. Other
techniques include sliding a thin board or heavy Mylar under the
print.
rpm9@mindspring.com |