Workshop 7: Conservation at home & in archives
Friday 1st August
The University of Nottingham Archives
Workshop Leaders: Robert Pearce (University of Nottingham Archives) and
Charlotte Pratley (Culture Syndicates)
Where should I store my items?
It is best to store your items in a place with:
 Stable temperature
 Stable humidity
 Temperate climate (i.e., not freezing cold and not in a hot or humid room)
This is why, generally, museums feel cold: most materials like temperatures at around 16 degrees
Celsius. Therefore, at home, a well-insulated, dry and clean attic may be the best place for your
collection. It’s not ideal, however! There are precise sciences behind what temperature is best to
store different materials at. This is why it may be best to store your items in your local archives, as
they have the safest conditions for your items. If you do store your items at home, try to keep them
away from radiators and damp.
What different conditions can cause:
 Fluctuations in temperature can crack and weaken the material as it expands then shrinks
again
 Damp conditions can allow mould to grow
 Warm conditions can encourage pests that feed on organic material (such as paper and
textiles)
What should I store my collection in?
Plastic sleeves for flat items
Some plastics are bad for your items as they leak chemicals that will degrade paper and textiles.
Plastic sleeves used in offices are an example of bad plastic. Plastic that is safer for your items is
100% polyester and is known as “archival grade.” It is available from suppliers such as Preservation
Equipment Limited (PEL) but it is expensive.
A cheaper, equally good alternative may be to buy polyester pockets for storing photographs from
specialist photography shops, such as Jessops (NB: I could not find archival grade polyester pockets
on their website so it is worth asking in store). As these are for professional photographers, they are
different to the plastic in everyday photo albums, which tend to be “bad” plastic. Warning: specialist
photographer shops often sell everyday photo albums, which are not archival grade so it is worth
checking before you buy.
If you cannot afford to buy archival grade plastic to store your whole collection, try thinking about
what is most precious or vulnerable. If you have protein fabric such as silk (which degrades easily) or
photographs (which tend to be chemically unstable), these might be items you should invest in
proper storage for. If in doubt, your local archives can advise you.
Tupperware for metal items
Tupperware is ok for storing metal items as it is watertight. However, be careful as the nonbreathable nature of Tupperware creates a microclimate inside. This means that condensation might
occur, leading to drips on the inside of the lid. This will damage the item. You can avoid this by
putting a silica pad in the box to soak up the moisture. Silica pads are best used with metal, as
textiles and paper don’t like to be too dry. The silica pad will need replacing though, so it is best to
monitor it regularly.
Rusty items
If you have a rusty or corroded item, separate it from other items as it can damage them.
Paper
Flatten folded paper, as the folds create weaknesses in the fabric. Try not to bend the paper,
especially along the folds.
Paper documents should be stored flat in polyester pockets. Again, it may be cheapest to buy these
from a photographer’s shop such as Jessops, just make sure they are 100% polyester/archive grade.
Newspaper is extremely acidic, which is why it ages so badly, so if possible, keep it separate from the
rest of your collections. If you have a large or whole newspaper that is too big for polyester pockets,
interleave archival grade tissue between each newspaper sheet.
Displaying your items at home
If you want to display your items at home, it is best to make a good copy of them and display this
instead, so the original is kept safely out of sunlight. You can make a good copy using a scanner and
a printer, or a printing service may be able to do this for you (you could try Boots, for example). For
further information on making a digital copy of an image, see Workshop 5 notes.
Useful Links
www.preservationequipment.com – for archive grade storage material (beware of the high delivery
prices though!)
www.jessops.com
www.calphoto.co.uk
These are commercial photographer shops
NB: I could not find archival grade polyester pockets on their website so it is worth asking in store
https://www.gov.uk/search-local-archives - find your local archive here