We have a space problem here, so my standard method has been to photocopy the clipping on acid-free paper and discard the original, except where the original has some intrinsic value of its own, such as being in color.   In those cases, after I have photocopied the piece, I spray the original with Bookkeepers and either wrap the original in acid-free tissue or encapsulate it in a Mylar sleeve, including it in the file with the copy.

 

 

 

Dear List Members,

Please indulge my professional curiosity about how you actually process newspaper clippings in archival collections. 

  For many of our employees the thought of throwing away a eighty year old newspaper clipping just seems wrong.  However, we all know that newspaper clippings can be nasty and cause many problems in archival collections.  Here at the University of Utah, our standard procedure is to photocopy newspaper clippings return or discard newspaper clippings (except in unusual circumstances, scrapbooks, entire volumes of newspapers, etc.).  Despite efforts to return newspaper clippings or give them away, most end up in the memory hole.

How do you process newspaper clippings?  Is any effort made to preserve the original item?  I am interested in learning about your standard practices when it comes to our acidic friends.

Feel free to reply privately or on the list.
Thanks,

_______________________________
Sam Passey
Senior Library Specialist
Manuscripts Division / Marriott Library
University of Utah