Storage of Your Genealogical Research Papers
by Elaine Powell
As genealogists, we collect a lot of information on our ancestors and family members. How we collect, and store that information can determine whether or not it will be of any value for generations to come. Our documents, manuscripts, prints, drawing, pamphlets, magazines, newspapers, and postcards are typically made of paper. Paper is a vulnerable substance. Some paper is particularly vulnerable - for example, the acidic paper that we produced throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries.
If you value your paper objects, you should take steps to preserve them. If you provide an environment that is clean, cool, dark and stable, their life span will be maximized.
If you print information from your computer onto paper for your genealogy files, be sure to use acid-free, lignin-free paper to insure that those papers will last. If you use a copier at a copy store or the library, again check to see that the paper is acid-free and lignin-free. You can request this kind of paper at Kinko's copy store. The library does not provide acid-free, lignin-free paper, so you might want to bring your own and ask the librarian if you can insert your paper in the copier. You can purchase reams of this paper at Office Depot and Office Max for a reasonable price.
How you store your collections of papers is very important to insure that they last. You should NOT use paper clips, rubber bands or cellophane tape on your papers. Paper clips will rust, and rubber bands can dry up, and become "imbedded" in the papers in a very short time. Cellophane tape will dry up, turn yellow and crack or get sticky over time. You should also isolate newsprint because it is highly acidic and will stain adjacent paper. Consider copying newspaper articles onto safe acid-free, lignin-free paper.
There are several archival product companies. They all offer free catalogs where you can select from a variety of archival storage products. You can reach each of them toll-free. They are:
Light Impressions 800-828-6216
University Products 800-628-1912
Gaylord 800-448-6160
Conservation Resources International 800-634-6932
[written by Elaine Powell, Historian/Archivist of the Central Florida Genealogical Society, August 1999. Used with permission of the author]
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