Books

Books & pamphlets    

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.  

Handling Precautions: Do not open or close, do not separate covers.       

Packing Method: Separate with freezer paper, pack spine down in milk crate or cardboard box 1 layer deep.        

Drying Method: Air, vacuum, or freeze dry.

Leather & Vellum bindings    

Priority: Immediately dry; or freeze if many books.  

Handling Precautions: Do not open or close, do not separate covers.       

Packing Method: Separate with freezer paper, pack spine down in milk crate or cardboard box 1 layer deep.        

Drying Method: Air dry.

Books & Periodicals with Coated Papers    

Priority: Immediately freeze or dry.  

Handling Precautions: Do not open or close, do not separate covers.       

Packing Method: Keep wet; pack spine down in containers lined with garbage bags.        

Drying Method: Freeze drying preferred. Air dry by fanning pages and interleaving.

Black & White Prints

Albumen prints

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Do not touch binder with bare hands.

Packing Method: Interleave between groups of photographs.

Drying Method: Air dry; thaw & air dry.

Matte & glossy collodion prints

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Avoid abrasion. Do not touch binder with bare hands.

Packing Method:  

Drying Method: Air dry; thaw & air dry; or freeze dry.

Silver gelatin printing out & developing out papers.

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Do not touch emulsion with bare hands.

Packing Method: Keep wet. Pack in plastic bags inside boxes.

Drying Method: Order of preference: 1) Air dry, 2) thaw and air dry, 3) freeze dry. Do not vacuum dry.

Carbon prints & Woodburytypes

Priority: Immediately freeze or dry.

Handling Precautions: Handle carefully - swelling of binder.

Packing Method: Horizontally.

Drying Method: Air dry or thaw & air dry.

Photomechanical prints (i.e., collotypes, photogravures) Cyanotypes

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Do not separate single sheets.

Packing Method: Interleave every 2" and pack in boxes or crates.

Drying Method: Air dry or freeze dry.

Color Photographs

Dye transfer prints

Priority: Package to prevent damage - recovery rate is poor. Immediately dry.

Handling Precautions: Do not touch emulsion.

Packing Method: Transport horizontally.

Drying Method: Air dry face up.

Chromogenic prints & negatives

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Do not touch binder with bare hands.

Packing Method: Keep wet. Pack in plastic bags inside boxes.  

Drying Method: Order of preference: 1) Air dry, 2) thaw & air dry, 3) freeze dry. Do not vacuum dry.

Color Transparencies

Additive color transparencies (most are glass) Autochromes, Agfacolor, Dufaycolor

Priority: Package to prevent damage - recovery rate is very poor. Immediately dry

Handling Precautions: Handle with care - loose binding tapes & glass.

Packing Method: Horizontally in a padded container.

Drying Method: Air dry. Never Freeze

Chromogenic color transparencies Mounted color slides & sheet films

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Handle by mounts or edges.

Packing Method: Keep wet. Pack in plastic bags inside box.  

Drying Method: Order of preference: 1) Air dry in mounts, if possible, 2) thaw & air dry, 3) freeze dry. Do not vacuum dry.

Cased Photographs

Ambrotypes Pannotypes

Priority: Recovery rate is low. Immediately dry.

Handling Precautions: Handle with care - glass supports & extremely fragile binder.

Packing Method: Horizontally in a padded container.

Drying Method: Air dry face up. Never freeze.

Daguerreotypes

Priority: Immediately dry.

Handling Precautions: Handle with care - fragile surface, cover glass.

Packing Method: Horizontally in a padded container.  

Drying Method: Air dry face up. Never freeze.

Tintypes

Priority: Immediately dry.

Handling Precautions: Handle with care - fragile binder.

Packing Method: Horizontally.  

Drying Method: Air dry. Never freeze.

Computer Media

Tapes

Priority: Immediately rinse off tapes soaked by dirty water. Dry within 48 hours if paper boxes & labels; otherwise, tapes can stay wet for several days. Do not freeze.

Handling Precautions: Do not touch magnetic media with bare hands. Handle open reel tapes by hubs or reel.

Packing Method: Keep tapes wet in plastic bags. Pack vertically in plastic crate or tub.

Drying Method: Air dry or test vacuum drying without heat.

Floppy Disks

Priority: Immediately pack. Do not freeze.

Handling Precautions: Do not touch disk surface with bare hands.

Packing Method: Keep wet. Pack vertically in plastic bags or tubs of cold water. 

Drying Method: Air dry.

Compact Discs & CD ROMs

Compact Discs & CD ROMs

Priority: Immediately dry discs. Dry paper enclosures within 48 hours

Handling Precautions: Do not scratch the surface.

Packing Method: Pack vertically in crates or cardboard cartons.

Drying Method: Air dry.

Maps & Plans

Stable media

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Use extra caution if folded or rolled.

Packing Method: Pack in map drawers, bread trays, flat boxes, on heavy cardboard or poly covered plywood.

Drying Method: Air or freeze dry.

Soluble media Maps & plans by photoreproductive processes Hand colored maps

Priority: Immediately freeze or dry.

Handling Precautions: Do not blot.

Packing Method: Interleave between folders and pack as above.  

Drying Method: Air or freeze dry.

Drafting linens

Priority: Immediately freeze or dry.

Handling Precautions: Avoid pressure - inks can smear away.

Packing Method: Pack like maps in containers lined with plastic.

Drying Method:

Maps on coated papers

Priority: Immediately freeze or dry.

Handling Precautions:

Packing Method: Pack like maps in containers lined with plastic.

Drying Method: Freeze drying preferred.

Microforms

Microfilm rolls

Priority: Rewash & dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Do not remove from boxes; hold carton together with rubber bands.

Packing Method: Keep wet. Pack (in blocks of 5) in a cardboard box lined with garbage bags.

Drying Method: Arrange with a microfilm processor to rewash and dry.

Aperture cards

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions:

Packing Method: Keep wet. Pack in plastic bags inside boxes. 

Drying Method: Air dry, or thaw & air dry.

Jacketed microfilm

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions:

Packing Method: Keep wet. Pack in plastic bags inside pail or box.

Drying Method: Air dry, or freeze, thaw and air dry.

Diazo & vesicular microfiche

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions:

Packing Method: Interleave between envelopes & pack in milk crates or cartons.

Drying Method: Air dry, or freeze, thaw & air dry.

Motion Pictures

Motion Pictures

Priority: Rewash & dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions:

Packing Method: Keep wet. Pack in plastic pails or cardboard cartons lined with garbage bags.

Drying Method: Arrange with a film processor to rewash & dry.

Negatives

Wet collodion glass plates

Priority: Recovery rate is low. Immediately dry.

Handling Precautions: Handle with care - glass supports and fragile binder.

Packing Method: Horizontally in a padded container.

Drying Method: Air dry face up. Never freeze.

Gelatin dry plate glass negatives

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Handle with care - glass.

Packing Method: Keep wet. Pack in plastic bags, vertically in a padded container. 

Drying Method: Air drying preferred; or thaw & air dry; freeze dry.

Deteriorated nitrates with soluble binders

Priority: Immediately freeze or dry. Recovery rate may be low.

Handling Precautions: Do not blot.

Packing Method: Horizontally.

Drying Method: Air dry; thaw & air dry; test freeze drying.

Deteriorated acetates

Priority: Immediately freeze or dry. Recovery rate is low.

Handling Precautions: Handle carefully - swelling of emulsion.

Packing Method: Horizontally.

Drying Method: Air dry; thaw & air dry; test freeze drying.

Polyester based film, nitrates & acetates in good condition

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Do not touch emulsion with bare hands.

Packing Method: Keep wet. Pack in small plastic bags inside boxes.

Drying Method: Order of preference: 1) Air dry, 2) thaw & air dry, 3) freeze dry. Do not vacuum dry.

Paper Documents & Manuscripts

Stable media

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Don't separate single sheets.

Packing Method: Interleave between folders & pack in milk crates or cartons.

Drying Method: Air, vacuum, or freeze dry.

Soluble inks (felt pens, colored pens, ball point pens)

Priority: Immediately freeze or dry.

Handling Precautions: Do not blot.

Packing Method: Interleave between folders & pack in milk crates or cartons. 

Drying Method: Air or freeze dry.

Parchment & Vellum Manuscripts

Parchment & Vellum Manuscripts

Priority: Immediately freeze or dry.

Handling Precautions:

Packing Method: Interleave between folders. Pack oversize materials flat.

Drying Method: Air or freeze dry. Do not freeze dry gilded or illuminated manuscripts.

Paintings

Paintings

Priority: Immediately dry.

Handling Precautions: Drain and carry horizontally.

Packing Method: Face up without touching paint layer

Drying Method: Air dry. See Instructions.

Sound and Video Recordings

Sound & Videotapes

Priority: Immediately rinse off tapes soaked by dirty water. Dry within 48 hours if paper boxes and labels; otherwise, tapes can stay wet for several days. Do not freeze.

Handling Precautions: Do not touch magnetic media with bare hands.

Packing Method: Keep tapes wet in plastic bags. Pack vertically in plastic crate or tub.

Drying Method: Air dry or test vacuum drying without heat.

Shellac & Acetate Discs

Priority: Immediately dry. Dry enclosures within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Discs are very fragile. Hold discs by their edges. Avoid shocks.

Packing Method: Pack vertically in ethafoam-padded crates.  

Drying Method: Air dry, preferably with a record cleaning machine.

Vinyl Discs

Priority: Dry within 48 hours. Freezing is untested; if it is necessary, freeze at above -18° C (0° F). Freeze or dry enclosures within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Hold discs by their edges. Avoid shocks.

Packing Method: Pack vertically in ethafoam-padded crates.

Drying Method: Air dry, preferably with a record cleaning machine.

Transparencies

Lantern slides, silver gelatin

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Handle with care - loose binding tapes & glass.

Packing Method: Vertically in a padded container.

Drying Method: Air drying preferred; thaw, & air dry.

Works of Art on Paper

Prints & drawings with stable media

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Don't separate single sheets.

Packing Method: Interleave between folders & pack in milk crates or cartons.

Drying Method: Air, vacuum, or freeze dry.

Oversize prints & drawings

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Use extra caution if folded or rolled.

Packing Method: Pack in map drawers, bread trays, flat boxes, on heavy cardboard or poly covered plywood.  

Drying Method: Damp - air or freeze dry. Wet - freeze drying preferred.

Framed prints & drawings

Priority: Freeze or dry within 48 hours.

Handling Precautions: Handle with care - glass.

Packing Method: Unframe if possible, then pack as above.

Drying Method: Once unframed & unmatted, air or freeze dry.

Soluble Media Watercolors, soluble inks, & hand-colored prints

Priority: Immediately freeze or dry.

Handling Precautions: Do not blot.

Packing Method: Interleave between folders & pack in milk crates or cartons.

Drying Method: Air or freeze dry.

Coated papers (i.e., posters)

Priority: Immediately freeze or dry.

Handling Precautions:

Packing Method: Keep wet in containers lined with garbage bags.

Drying Method: Freeze drying preferred. Air dry by separating pages & interleaving.