Caring for Cultural Material 1

Caring for Cultural Material 2

Damage and Decay

Managing Collections

Managing People

Handling, Transportation, Storage and Display

Glossary

Index

reCollectionsreCollections home spacer Caring for Cultural Material 1
Image montage with navigation elementsHome pageIndexGlossaryHome pageVolume oneVolume twoVolume threeVolume fourVolume fiveVolume six
Printer Print this volume (PDF)
Print this chapter (PDF)

Caring for Cultural Material 1
In this volume:
arrow Paper
– Books
– Photographs
– Paintings
– Electronic Information Media
– Acknowledgments

Paper
In this chapter:
– Objectives
– Introduction
– Paper in collections
– What is paper?
– Ingredients and properties of paper
– What are the most common types of damage?
arrow Common causes of damage
– The do’s and don’ts of handling flat paper
– The do’s and don’ts of repair and labelling
– Guidelines for storing and displaying flat paper
– Materials suitable for the storage and display of paper
– Preparing flat paper for storage
– Housing flat paper
– Mounting/hinging flat paper
– Protective enclosures for flat paper
– Storage boxes for flat paper
– Displaying flat paper
– Framing flat paper items
– Paper items with special needs
– Papyrus and Parchment
– Some miscellaneous information
– Summary of conditions for storage and display
– Paper in Australia’s climatic zones
  MORE ABOUT PAPER
– Cellulose fibres and paper quality
– Acidity and alkalinity
– For further reading
– Self-evaluation quiz
– Answers to self-evaluation quiz

 

Search reCollections

spacer

Paper

Common causes of damage

All the most common types of damage are caused by:

  • poor handling;

  • poor storage methods;

  • inappropriate display methods;

  • wear and tear from repeated use;

  • chemical changes in the paper;

  • chemical changes caused by chemicals that are present in the materials in contact with the paper or that are present as pollutants in the atmosphere; and

  • combinations of any or all of the above.

A great deal of damage to paper can be prevented by care and pre-planning your handling, storage and display of flat paper items. The following sections will outline practical steps you can take to minimise this type of damage.

 

spacer

blueline