Community
Information Sheets
West Yorkshire
Archive Service has produced a series of Information
Sheets
These are available to download free from our website: www.archives.wyjs.
org.uk
What is a Time Capsule?
A Time Capsule is a miniature archive that aims to encapsulate and represent life in a particular time and place for future generations. Time Capsules were particularly popular at the turn of the millennium, but are still a great way for communities to mark events or simply create a record for posterity.
West Yorkshire
Archive Service educationandoutrea ch@wyjs.org.uk
PO Box 5
Nepshaw Lane
South
Morley
LS27 0Q
What should go in a Time Capsule?
Deciding on what to include can be a problem. Items should accurately reflect the time and people who are creating the capsule, for example a family time capsule should include items of personal interest, while a community time capsule will include more items reflecting aspects of the whole community. Everyday items are important as these may not be so common in the years to come. Your capsule could contain some of the following:

Coins (one of each type)

A map of your local area – it will probably look very different when the capsule is opened

Photographs - people, houses, cars/buses/trains, shops and local area

Shopping bill from a supermarket, listing items and the prices

A popular magazine or national/local newspaper

A letter giving a prediction of what the future will be when the capsule is opened
What container should we use?
Specialist suppliers of conservation and preservation related materials will be able to supply suitable archival boxes. These are only suitable for indoor storage however rather than burial. Boxes should be acid free, strong enough to hold the material and large enough to prevent the need for folding or crushing items. age here
© The contents of this information sheet may be copied for the purposes of training and for personal study only, but the contents remain the copyright of WYAS and must not be altered in any way
Last updated: July 2009/RT

Community Sheet no: 1
Boxes should be acid free, strong enough to hold the material and large enough to prevent the need for folding or crushing items. To enhance the long term preservation prospects of your mini-archive, use boxes or packaging which include molecular scavengers and have a “filtering” effect on some agents of deterioration.
If you are keen to bury your Time Capsule, a marine-grade steel cylinder is best, again these are available from specialist preservation suppliers.
How much will a Time Capsule cost?
A marinegrade steel cylinder can cost around £500. It can be more cost effective to use an archival box and deposit with a local archive. Good quality archival packaging materials will also incur some cost but are well worth the outlay.
Items which require devices
What should not go in a Time Capsule?
Items which require devices to read them, e.g. computer disks,
CDs etc. These will be obsolete when the Time Capsule comes to read them, e.g. computer disks, CDs etc. will be obsolete to be opened.
Creating a capsule may include information about individuals that will be covered by the Data Protection Act 1998. This may when the Time
Capsule comes to be opened.
have implications depending on when the time capsule is opened. For further information go to: www.ico.gov.uk
.
Should we bury the Time Capsule?
For long term preservation of the contents this is not advisable.
The Capsule will be subject to damp and cold which will affect the condition of the material inside. In addition, it is more likely to be lost, built over and will be difficult to pin-point and retrieve.
You can register
However, if you do bury or “entomb” your Time Capsule within a building, ensure that its location is marked with a permanent plaque, as Time Capsules are often damaged when the foundation stone or wall under which they are buried is your Time
Capsule with the
International
Time Capsule
Society at www.oglethorpe.
edu demolished or moved. The container should be sealed or welded shut (not with lead-tin solder), and can even be flushed with an inert gas (such as nitrogen) to provide a non-reactive atmosphere. You could also include some silica gel to mitigate any damp conditions. And finally, wrap in a waterproof membrane prior to burial.
How do we record our Time Capsule?
If you deposit your capsule with your local authority archive or local studies library, it will be listed as part of their collection.
© The contents of this information sheet may be copied for the purposes of training and for personal study only, but the contents remain the copyright of WYAS and must not be altered in any way

Community Sheet no: 1
Why not consider depositing a sister Capsule in an archival box with us at West
Yorkshire
Archive Service?
You can talk to one of our
Archivists at your local office for further information.
The contact details of all five of our offices
(Bradford,
Calderdale,
Leeds, Kirklees and Wakefield) can be found on our website: www.archives.wy
js.org.uk
You can also get in touch with our specialist
Conservation team for advise and guidance on:
01924 305986 conservation@w yjs.org.uk
If you keep it elsewhere, ensure it is secure, dry and in a stable environment. Also retain a separate list of the contents of the capsule (on “permanent” paper) and information regarding its whereabouts.
If you have buried your time capsule, keep a record separately, including a GPS (Global Positioning System) reference if you can. If the capsule is buried on your property, attach information to your deeds; or if you are personally responsible for capsule, keep details with your personal effects or will.
If the Capsule is attached to a collective community group, include its details in your minutes.
Also, get some publicity, a newspaper article is then a secondary record of your Time Capsule.
How should we package the Time Capsule contents?
If you are creating some items for your Time Capsule in addition to collecting material, you have more control over the quality of the paper you use. If you are writing, printing or drawing your own contributions, use “permanent” or “archival” paper made from 100% cotton or linen. This will be more expensive, but will age much better and not discolour or become acidic like poorer quality papers.
It is important to protect and individually wrap the contents of your Time Capsule to buffer them against fluctuations in the environment (temperature and humidity), and also isolate them from each other. Poor quality papers such as newsprint will contaminate neighbouring items as the acidity and discolouration migrate over time.
To package small objects, archival polyethylene zipper bags are a cost effective and flexible option. Food storage bags or similar, are not suitable for long term storage. Alternatively, archival boxes are useful for grouping items together.
© The contents of this information sheet may be copied for the purposes of training and for personal study only, but the contents remain the copyright of WYAS and must not be altered in any way

Community Sheet no: 1
Can the contents be treated to make them last longer?
A conservator will be able to advise you about the specific material in your capsule, paper may be treated with an acidic buffer for example. Consult a conservator at your local museum or archives, or find the nearest one to you via the Conservation Register at www.conservationregister.com
.
How do we label things?
Packaging also enables you to label the items easily. Use pencil for paper or card, and
“permanent” pen for archival polyester, polyethylene or polypropylene enclosures. You can also number paper items themselves and include a contents list with more detailed information.
You should also label the Time Capsule itself. If it is deposited as part of another institution’s collections, the box will be labelled in accordance with their system. If you are using a metal canister as your Capsule, consider getting it engraved with the details of the date, community group, date for opening and any other information you want to include. You will need to budget for this, so get an estimate from an engraver as marine-grade steel is harder than other metals.
How long should we leave the Time Capsule for?
Before sealing your Time Capsule, select a date for opening it again and record this on the Capsule and with any other associated records. A relatively short closure such as
50 years will allow some of the current generation to witness and participate in the opening event. It could then be added to, resealed and left for a further 50 years.
Further Contacts and Information:

The International Time Capsule Society; hosted at Oglethorpe University, Atlanta,
Georgia, USA. www.oglethorpe.edu

BSI – British Standards Institution, www.bsonline.bsi-global.com

The National Preservation Office, www.bl.uk/services/npo

The Conservation Register, www.conservationregister.com

Institute for Conservation, www.icon.org.uk
© The contents of this information sheet may be copied for the purposes of training and for personal study only, but the contents remain the copyright of WYAS and must not be altered in any way