Page History

Scope: Guidelines for routine preservation measures such as rehousing into standard-size, acid-free boxes and folders, sleeving, storage and housing of special formats or fragile items, and weeding of duplicates and some printed material.  

Contact:Fredrika Louise   Freddy Loew  

Unit: ATS/RMC

Date last updated: March 2025

Date of next review:  March 2026

Roles: all processing staff

Contents:

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Foldering 

 Whether or not a collection is refoldered is based on the physical condition, value, and age of the collection. 

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Make sure all folders in an upright box are upright and not bowed. If needed, use a box spacer. 

Boxing and re-boxing

When selecting appropriate containers to rebox a collection, always remember that the box size helps mandate the storage location in the vault, mezzanine or Annex, but has nothing to do with the intellectual arrangement of the collection. Efficiency in space management require that items of similar size or format be stored together to maximize storage facility, so different boxes in the same collection will not necessarily be housed together. 

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• When filling out the projected cubic footage of a collection, please see the master list of Box Sizes. This also can be used to complete the extent field in the resource record.  

Handling and arranging different archival formats

All records should be treated with the same arrangement and descriptive principles and incorporated into the processing plan, regardless of their media. However, the physical housing and handling of media materials may require some specialized supplies or handling. 

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Non-textual records vary widely by media and storage conditions. Many decisions whether material is stored off site at the annex or in the vault depends on the type of material in the boxes. 

Paper

Enclosures

Many collections come either in acidic folders or envelopes, plastic binders, or with no enclosures at all. Most original folders (manila folders for example) can be kept unless there is a clear need or funding to refolder. Older acidic or unstable folders should be replaced with acid-free folders, taking care to transfer significant information from the old enclosure to the new, such as folder title, dates, etc. Where there handwritten notes or other extensive information on the original enclosure, either the enclosure itself may be preserved and housed in or near the new folder, separated by sheets of acid-free paper. 

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The retention of news clippings and faxes is made on a collection-by-collection basis depending upon the relevance and context of the material. ALWAYS confer with your supervisor before discarding any material. 

Fasteners 

see section “Attached items” 

Photographic records

In an ideal world all photographic records would be housed and described individually in acid-free envelopes, however, our resources do not allow us to treat most items at such a detailed level nor does much of the material in our collections merit such treatment. 

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• If there are a limited number of 35mm slides in a collection they may be organized in Print Files and descriptive information recorded with a Sharpie pen. If there are many slides in a collection slide boxes may be used. (see Assistant Director for Technical Services or the Technical Services Archivist for details) 

Moving image materials (VHS, films, etc)

RMC has a large holding of films, VHS, and other moving image materials. 16mm and 8mm moving image records still often appear in collections, as do videos and DVDs. (Digital film will be included in Electronic Records.) Each format has a specific housing need, which will be described below. 

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Formats for video tapes: http://tech-notes.tv/Standards-Practices/TVTapeformats.htm 

Films: Motion picture film has the same plastic film base as still photographic film; therefore many of the same handling and storage requirements apply. If you cannot identify the film base, please consult with the DCAPS. 

Helpful resource for identifying motion pictures:  

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• If possible, send to the annex 

Magnetic media:  

Magnetic media includes VHS, Betacam, U-matic, and more. Here is a helpful resource for identifying format: 

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When in doubt, ask DCAPS for help with identification or storage. Note that no media is playable in RMC, either to staff or researchers; to listen or watch media, it must go through digitization and DCAPS. 

Audio recordings 

There are many different formats of sound records, ranging from wire to magnetic tape to digital (see electronic records). Most common in RMC’s holdings are magnetic reel-to-reel tape recordings.  

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• If possible, send to the annex 

Digital media 

All CDs, DVDs, hard drives, etc. must be assigned an appropriate number in the Accession Book. 

 See page on digital media stabilization workflow. 

Discs (vinyl, Shellac, optical) 

Frequently we acquire collections containing Disc sound recordings, such as vinyl LPs.  

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• If possible, send to the annex in an LP box 

Architectural and Cartographic records 

Generally architectural plans and drawings and cartographic material are oversized. It is best practice to store these items in map cases in acid-free folders, however given space and resource limitations and depending on their significance, monetary worth and research value, oversized items may be kept in the condition in which they arrived i.e. folded or rolled in boxes. 

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Materials that are to remain rolled should be stored in archival tube boxes. 

Museum objects  (UNDER REVIEW, Freddy, 2024) 

Over the decades, RMC has had different ways of separating, storing, and describing objects. Legacy collections, such as the Museum Items collection, contains objects that were separated from their original collection and stored together. Many references to this amalgamation of objects exists throughout our records. 

Our current practice is to NOT remove items from their collections. They may be housed separately for preservation purposes, but not removed from the collection* 

What is a museum object? 

This is RMC’s term for anything that does not fit into the definition of paper, photographic, printed, or audiovisual categories. Frequently this includes: awards, memorabilia, figurines, buttons, coins, publicity “swag”, clothing, ribbons, stickers, cups and mugs, and any other object. 

How to process objects: 

The current standard for RMC is to:  

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Pinback button–these are the (usually) circular pins, also referred to as badges, buttons, etc. Please use “pinback button” for these. 

Works of Art 

• Art may come in a variety of formats (including digital) and like formats should be stored together. 
• Items may be interleaved with archival quality bond paper, which is especially recommended for works in crayon, pastel, pen and ink, and paint 

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• Do not unframe any work of art before consulting with your supervisor or the relevant staff specialist

Unopened items 

 Unopened envelopes should be opened carefully during processing to facilitate access. Enclose the envelope and its contents in a piece of acid-free paper annotated with the following text: “This envelope was unopened at the time of acquisition. It was opened by the library, [date].”  

 When a significant quantity of unopened envelopes is present, add a processing note at the collection level. 

Attached items 

Items attached to documents—including items attached with adhesives, staples, and paper clips—are generally left as encountered when collections are processed to a series, box, or file level of control. This is particularly true in collections boasting a large volume of stapled or paper-clipped items in good condition. 

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• entire item may be imaged before attachments are removed 

 Framed items 

 Framed items—including framed photographs—are usually removed from frames and provided with appropriate alternative housing and storage; rehousing provides efficient storage, handling, and retrieval and is recommended in most situations. Before removing items from frames, you may need to consult with your supervisor, the curator, or the Conservation Lab. In certain cases the frame contributes to the aesthetic and monetary value of a work of art, and the curator must be consulted when this could be a factor. In other circumstances, removal from a frame may damage the material, in which case the item is best removed by conservation staff. 

 If the item remains in its frame and is located without an enclosure, it is labeled as “Frame [#]” as the top container in ASpace, and the frame is barcoded. 

 Restricted materials 

TO DO: Revise this section for more detail.

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