Professional courtesy would seem to be the guiding principle,
here. A paper item on loan to your archives is the
property of the lender or lending institution, and thus
should be given back to that lender in *exactly* the same
condition as when it arrived to your care -- no marks,
no paper clip indentations, no Post-it note adhesive
residue, etc. Even objects on "permanent loan" can end
up being returned to an estate.
Doesn't the Booth Museum have a borrowing policy, or a
contract for lenders, outlining issues such as insurance,
transportation, display conditions, copyright, and the like?
The care of loaned items should be a matter of policy,
somewhere -- for ethical and legal liability reasons.
From a preservation perspective, pencil beats pen or
marker, but is not foolproof. Graphite pencil
markings might seem to be fully reversible via
erasure, but unless the erasing is done by a trained
technician using conservation products with the proper
technique, the eraser, as well as the pencil, can leave
permanent damage.
1) Pencil points leave indentations in the paper.
2) The graphite itself can become so embedded in
the paper fibers that it may be read even after
erasure using near-infrared photography!
3) Erasing too vigorously can weaken paper or create
holes or tears in it.
4) The stiff rubber-based products used to make common
pencil erasers leave residues in the paper fiber; over
time these residues become hard and degrade, leaving
marks on the paper.
Your registrar is probably not up to reading the various
CCI studies about erasers and dry cleaning methods, but
you could point her to the American Institute for
Conservation's "Caring for your Treasures" website which
your own museum links to (on your Collections & Archives
page). Another good link is on the CoOL (Conservation OnLine)
website, prepared by the Georgia Dept. of Archives & History:
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byorg/georgia/basics.html,
"Preservation Basics for Paper-based Records," gives lots
of practical advice on minimally intrusive, potentially
reversible ways to handle items.
Pencil marks are admittedly an easy way to identify
objects, and the alternatives you could suggest to
your registrar require a tad more work to implement.
Basically, she should be using pencil to label the
*enclosure* for each item, rather than the item itself.
- Paper items can be put into acid-free folders, but
only the folder gets marked.
- Papers and photographs can be slipped into Mylar sleeves;
there are special markers for polyester.
- Artwork can be matted.
- Oversize items can be rolled on (not in) wide, acid-free
tubes, then covered with acid-free paper held on by paper
loops or non-reactive ribbon.
No harm in reiterating that POST-IT NOTES ARE BAD. Even
when removed immediately, they can still leave residue behind.
(Going back to the courtesy argument, perhaps an analogy
would help your registrar understand:
Suppose she lent her favorite vintage cashmere sweater
to a friend, and the friend embroidered her initial onto
the sweater, to make the sweater a bit more distinctive.
A seemingly easy fix, as the stitching could just be
snipped out. BUT, what if the stitches left holes or
snags, or what if a stray snip cut into the knit of the
sweater instead of the embroidery floss? And when the
registrar encountered the "improvement" to her sweater,
she'd be appalled that her friend had had the effrontery
to alter the garment, rather than treating it with the
gentle care she'd expected.)
Lots of explanations; hope one or two of them help you!
--K.A. Bayruns
Seattle, Washington
At 04:34 PM 3/8/05 -0500, you wrote:
>I need to explain to one of our registrars why items on loan to the
>archives should not be physically labeled (even in pencil). She doesn't
>see things the same way as I do. If y'all would email me some
>reasons/explanations for why not to do this it would be very helpful to me
>the next time we meet.
>
>Thanks!
>Liz
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