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Ask the ArchivistIn this new column we will be talking to a variety of history professionals to answer your questions about history, archives, city records, genealogy, and more!
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Dear Colleen,
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What should I keep?
From an Archivist point of view... When I first started down the archival path, they told me, “your job isn’t to keep everything, it’s to decide what to throw away.” A long time ago, archivists strived to keep nearly everything, but today a theoretical retention of 10% of a donation is bandied about. |
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Theoretical being the operative word. In practice, it’s quite another story and it depends on the institution and the collection. That might be reasonable for a corporate archive when you’re talking redundancy after redundancy but the number is much higher in local history collections. Generally, medium-sized local history archives, such as University of Michigan-Flint, keep closer to 50-100% depending on what comes through the door.
Archivists also theorized, at the dawn of the computer age, that document load would gradually decrease as ones and zeros replaced typewriters and mimeographs. We were wrong. So incredibly wrong. Humanity produces more paper records now than ever before in our history, and the computer has only added to the avalanche by making printing accessible while the digital medium remains impermanent and unreliable. As Google’s recent shut down showed us, everything stored digitally can be wiped away in an instance. We are one good sunburst away to be thrown back into the 1970s.
So how does that translate to what should you keep? When I go through a collection, I eliminate all mass market published items first. Are you keeping that newspaper from the Kennedy assasination or the last time the Tiger’s won the World Series? First thing to go. Why? Well a few reasons:
With those out of the way, look for duplicates. I will keep 2-3 copies of small items, 1-2 of big items, but anything over that will be added to the return pile. Receipts seem like historical records, but a printed quarterly or even yearly budget will do the same thing with less fuss. Things you should absolutely keep include personal journals, letters, fliers/handouts, meeting minutes/notes from organizations you are involved with, and photographs with meaningful information like date, location, and the names of any people photographed attached.
If you have photographs that no longer have any hope of ever being identified do not feel like you need to keep them. It’s sad but they take up valuable space and have little historic value. Personally, I culled over three dozen photos of birthday cakes from my family's photograph collection. If you think who would keep stuff like that? I’ve had people try to donate their drawings from kindergarten. I recently saw a medical device for incontinence from the late 60s donated to a repository. I’m trying to say there is a difference between items of historic importance, family keepsakes...and trash.
If you ever need a second opinion, just ask!
Colleen Marquis
camarqui@umich.edu
810-762-3402
Archivists also theorized, at the dawn of the computer age, that document load would gradually decrease as ones and zeros replaced typewriters and mimeographs. We were wrong. So incredibly wrong. Humanity produces more paper records now than ever before in our history, and the computer has only added to the avalanche by making printing accessible while the digital medium remains impermanent and unreliable. As Google’s recent shut down showed us, everything stored digitally can be wiped away in an instance. We are one good sunburst away to be thrown back into the 1970s.
So how does that translate to what should you keep? When I go through a collection, I eliminate all mass market published items first. Are you keeping that newspaper from the Kennedy assasination or the last time the Tiger’s won the World Series? First thing to go. Why? Well a few reasons:
- Newsprint is terrible and when it degrades over time. It shatters turning into pale yellow confetti that gets everywhere (please check out the historic papers for sale in our gift shop!) and magazines grow mold like crazy (that old stack of National Geographic’s looking a little musty?)
- They take up a lot of shelf space and space is always at a premium in an archive
- These major publications have their own archives. I’m sure The Times has it covered, and if they screw up and need a copy from March of 1968, they probably won’t be running to the University of Michigan-Flint or the Genesee County Historical Society. What has yet to be digitized is already on microfilm which, in ideal conditions, has a shelf life of about 500 years. It’s fine.
With those out of the way, look for duplicates. I will keep 2-3 copies of small items, 1-2 of big items, but anything over that will be added to the return pile. Receipts seem like historical records, but a printed quarterly or even yearly budget will do the same thing with less fuss. Things you should absolutely keep include personal journals, letters, fliers/handouts, meeting minutes/notes from organizations you are involved with, and photographs with meaningful information like date, location, and the names of any people photographed attached.
If you have photographs that no longer have any hope of ever being identified do not feel like you need to keep them. It’s sad but they take up valuable space and have little historic value. Personally, I culled over three dozen photos of birthday cakes from my family's photograph collection. If you think who would keep stuff like that? I’ve had people try to donate their drawings from kindergarten. I recently saw a medical device for incontinence from the late 60s donated to a repository. I’m trying to say there is a difference between items of historic importance, family keepsakes...and trash.
If you ever need a second opinion, just ask!
Colleen Marquis
camarqui@umich.edu
810-762-3402
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How do I take care of my family photos?
Chances are you have a lot of precious memories in photo format somewhere in your house. Negatives long since gone, these photos are all that remain of important moments and people. How you store these photographs will depend on how long these memories last - unless of course you digitize the photos.
First off, get all original prints OUT of frames. Do not display original photos as the constant exposure to light will cause them to fade. Frames also make it difficult for the photo to off-gas properly and can cause yellowing. |
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Photos, like all documents, should be kept at a cool and constant temperature. Extreme fluctuations in temperature adds stress to the medium your photos are printed on and can lead to cracks and peeling on the surface. Keep items cool, not cold, as extreme cold can actually do more harm than good.
Make sure they are stored somewhere dry. Again, consistency is important when it comes to humidity. For example basements and attics are terrible places for photographs, but that is one of the most common places to find hordes of them!
Photos should be individually sleeved in archival sleeves, or at least somehow separated from each other, using an acid and lignin free paper. If the paper the photo is touching is acidic the photo will discolor over time. The benefit of a plastic sleeve is it keeps the photo, front and back, viewable while also safe to handle with bare hands. For older photos or different formats, like daguerreotype or tintype images, you may want to consider an opaque enclosure to further prevent any accidental light exposure.
Do not over wrap your photographs. You may think the more hermetically sealed the better but this is not true! As paper breaks down it produces a variety of gases that can speed up decay. Definitely do not laminate anything! Leave a vent for gas to escape in any enclosure you use. This goes for outer housing as well. Do not store photos in sealed buckets or containers as that will trap the gasses.
Curled photos? You can actually gently and slowly humidify photographs to aid in flattening. First make sure the photos are clean, use a clean medium weight brush to remove any stuck on dirt or grime. To humidify curled photos, I use a clear rubbermaid container with a lid, a cooling rack for baked goods, and enough distilled water to just cover the bottom of the container. Put the small amount of water into the container and set the cooling rack inside - only the feet of the cooling rack should be touching the water. Then place photos on the rack (not directly in the water!) and seal the box for an hour or two. Do not go over four hours as you increase the risk of mold growth.
For most photos you will see them relax pretty quickly. Remove from the humidifier as soon as you notice the photos uncurling. Place them between parchment paper or freezer paper to protect them and press under heavy books for a couple of days. Voila, flat photos! This method also works wonderfully for documents, maps, posters - anything that has been rolled up for years and years.
Old photo albums? If photos are loose in an old paper album see if you can remove them safely. Most paper photo albums from the past are made of extremely cheap, damaging paper. If you are lucky, many old glues dry out and the photos will easily pop off. Sometimes photo holders were used and that also makes removing photos easy. For more modern photo albums remove photos if the album does not adequately provide for ventilation or uses some kind of adhesive backing. If you cannot remove the photos safely do not force it. It is better to wait a few decades to see if the glue dries out further than risk ripping a photo. Simply keep the album clean, cool, and dry.
If you digitize your photos make sure to scan at least 300 dpi (dots per inch) and save the files in a couple of different places to ensure that if one system fails you have a back up. I typically have two copies in a cloud storage system and two hard copies saved to two different drives. Be sure to include as much information with the file as possible - names, dates, and locations are crucial to historic photographs.
Make sure they are stored somewhere dry. Again, consistency is important when it comes to humidity. For example basements and attics are terrible places for photographs, but that is one of the most common places to find hordes of them!
Photos should be individually sleeved in archival sleeves, or at least somehow separated from each other, using an acid and lignin free paper. If the paper the photo is touching is acidic the photo will discolor over time. The benefit of a plastic sleeve is it keeps the photo, front and back, viewable while also safe to handle with bare hands. For older photos or different formats, like daguerreotype or tintype images, you may want to consider an opaque enclosure to further prevent any accidental light exposure.
Do not over wrap your photographs. You may think the more hermetically sealed the better but this is not true! As paper breaks down it produces a variety of gases that can speed up decay. Definitely do not laminate anything! Leave a vent for gas to escape in any enclosure you use. This goes for outer housing as well. Do not store photos in sealed buckets or containers as that will trap the gasses.
Curled photos? You can actually gently and slowly humidify photographs to aid in flattening. First make sure the photos are clean, use a clean medium weight brush to remove any stuck on dirt or grime. To humidify curled photos, I use a clear rubbermaid container with a lid, a cooling rack for baked goods, and enough distilled water to just cover the bottom of the container. Put the small amount of water into the container and set the cooling rack inside - only the feet of the cooling rack should be touching the water. Then place photos on the rack (not directly in the water!) and seal the box for an hour or two. Do not go over four hours as you increase the risk of mold growth.
For most photos you will see them relax pretty quickly. Remove from the humidifier as soon as you notice the photos uncurling. Place them between parchment paper or freezer paper to protect them and press under heavy books for a couple of days. Voila, flat photos! This method also works wonderfully for documents, maps, posters - anything that has been rolled up for years and years.
Old photo albums? If photos are loose in an old paper album see if you can remove them safely. Most paper photo albums from the past are made of extremely cheap, damaging paper. If you are lucky, many old glues dry out and the photos will easily pop off. Sometimes photo holders were used and that also makes removing photos easy. For more modern photo albums remove photos if the album does not adequately provide for ventilation or uses some kind of adhesive backing. If you cannot remove the photos safely do not force it. It is better to wait a few decades to see if the glue dries out further than risk ripping a photo. Simply keep the album clean, cool, and dry.
If you digitize your photos make sure to scan at least 300 dpi (dots per inch) and save the files in a couple of different places to ensure that if one system fails you have a back up. I typically have two copies in a cloud storage system and two hard copies saved to two different drives. Be sure to include as much information with the file as possible - names, dates, and locations are crucial to historic photographs.
Colleen Marquis,
GCHS's Archivist Extraordinaire!
Board member, Historian/Archivist for the Genesee County Historical Society, and University of Michigan archivist, Colleen Marquis answers your most common preservation questions for your family documents and photographs. She is a professional with almost ten years worth of experience in document preservation and works at the Genesee Historical Collections Center at the University of Michigan - Flint.
