How to Handle Record Materials

General

Everyone handling documents should have clean, dry hands
Fully support documents at all times - they should be held with both hands and shouldn't be allowed to drape off the edge of a table, desk, or shelf
Avoid leaning on materials and writing notes or filling out forms on top of them
Food, drink, and smoking must not be permitted in areas where collections materials are present - consumables not only makes a mess when spilled, but attract insects and vermin
Avoid the use of rubber bands, paper clips or other fasteners on any medium - damaged material can be held together with unbleached cotton or linen string
Make use copies (paper, microfilm, cassette tapes, duplicate photographic prints, etc.) for researchers in order to save wear and tear on particularly vulnerable items
Bring damaged materials to the attention of the appropriate staff member

Turn pages carefully, especially if they are brittle
Use acid-free paper slips to mark your place, rather than folding corners, inserting paper clips, or putting in harmful acidic paper or "Post-it" notes
Use bookends to support volumes on shelves
Shelve books spine down if they don't fit upright or horizontally - shelving them spine up (on the fore edge) puts stress on the hinge areas
To remove a volume stored vertically on a shelf, push back the volumes on either side and grasp both sides of the volume you want to pull out - avoid pulling on the top of the spine
To remove a volume stored horizontally, remove any volumes on top of it before pulling it out - avoid tugging it out from underneath other volumes
When reading, use a book cradle or wedge under the covers rather than force a stubborn volume to lie flat

Take folders out of boxes rather than "fingering" through the top edges
Remove oversized items in map cases from the drawer before trying to review or access their contents

Handle prints with both hands, rather than picking them up by an edge or corner
Avoid flexing, creasing, or bending
Wear white, lint-free cotton gloves when handling items - this is especially important when handling negatives or microform masters
Carefully maintain equipment such as microfilm readers and motion picture projectors and use them properly to avoid scratching, stretching, and tearing

Maintain all recording, decoding, and playback equipment in good working condition by cleaning, calibrating, and replacing parts as necessary
Handle items carefully, making sure not to touch the surface or image area - information on these media is so dense, a small area with damage or dirt means a lot of information is lost
Examine items before use - if they are damaged or soiled, they may harm the equipment
Make use copies for these items, if possible, and retire the master and original copies from use

For information and assistance, contact the Archives Records Analysis Section

This page was last updated August 11, 2008.