storeing magazines newspapers and magazines

[Radcollector]

Hello,

does anyone know of a good way to store my magazine collection?The newspapers were allready folded to begin with so i have them in binders in comic book sleaves(which are suppose to be acid free)however my magazines(especially Die Wermacht)are to big to fit in these.any ideas??


Yancy

[Dez H]

G'day Yancy

Down here in Australia in most discount stores you can buy large storage crates made of some type of hard plastic. The lids snap down on ether end making them air tight. Kind of like an esky just bigger. These come in al colours, shapes and sizes. They are stackable. These are what I have in my garage for my magazine collections. Seems to work well. I stack about 50 in each one on top of each other. Not sure if this is the type of thing you are after or a more easily viewable method. Anything that is airtight and keeps the creepy crawlies out and moisture is going to be the way to go. Although my garage is just dusty not moist, this method of storage has worked well for over 5 years no problems.
I have also seen in photograph/frame shops large A3 size archive type binders with a sleeve made out of two sheets of acid free card, you can then slip papers and magazines down between them. These are rather chunky and are way to big to fit onto most bookcases. Although they have the advantage of sticking a label down the side so you know what is in what binder. I recommend if you are after something like this or similar go talk to a photograph/frame/printing/paper type place, if they don’t have what you are after they will probably be able to point you in the right direction. Down here they are quite knowledgeable and often if you just go in with a vague idea of what you are after they can point you to just the right product.


Cheers

Dez

[Radcollector]

good point!

Hello Dez,

While I was looking for something more viewable,you brought up a very good point about moisture that I had not considered when I was thinking of ways to store them.I live about 10 minutes from the ocean so it is very damp/humid here,maybe I should store them in big airtight plastic bins.thanks for your input.

Yancy

[Richard]

When dealing with plastic, watch out for any that contains pvc. I know it can be extremely harmful to metal and have heard that is not good for paper items either.
Richard V

[Dez H]

Gentlemen
Yes I learnt that lesson about moisture as a young tacker dealing with computers. “It’s not the dust that hurts them it’s the moisture.” Which I guess for MOST things is true, being airtight here is the key point I believe. Something that the multiple laggard creatures can’t eat though. Richard I have never heard of that before? Do all plastics contain PVC? I would be interested in more info on that as my books and magazines are in plastic air tight containers. They don’t seem to have been affected over 5 years at all.



Dez

[Radcollector]

newspaper storeage

the other day i was watching an episode of "the antiques roadshow" on BBC-they were showing /talking about a newspaper from washington dc in 1865 the day after lincoln was shot(worth around $2,000 if you ever come across one!)the lady that brought it had it in a plastic sleeve-the "paper items expert"them went on to explain that putting old papers in plastic sleeves/holders is bad because it traps any moisture in!!!I have all of my newspapers/magazinesin 2 gallon freezer bags becuase they fit without folding them-I thought it was a good idea ,now im not so sure.


Yancy

[werner geier]

hi guys,
check this http://www.clir.org/pubs/cpanews/cpanews.html
"The Commission on Preservation and Access was established in 1986 to foster and support collaboration among libraries and allied organizations in order to ensure the preservation of the published and documentary record in all formats and to provide enhanced access to scholarly information."
they should be able to give you the ultimate answers regarding all archival matters...

[ramon]

This is an interesting topic...

I have complete runs of Die Wehrmacht, Der Adler, Signal, and a near complete of Die Kriegsmarine. I have goodly amounts of Der Volkischer Beobachter, Das Reich, Das Schwarze Korps and Der Stuermer.

The sad truth is that regardless of the the container you place many of these items in, time and the nature of the material these items are made of are already advancing the eventual self destruction of the item. In the case of the Das Schwarze Korps and Der Stuermer I have already microfilmed my collection and thus have a permanent copy of these scarce materials.

Paper made of wood pulp generally contain the seeds of their destruction as the acid content is casuing embrittlement of the paper. Short of going through a deacidification process on paper that shows no signs of embrittlement at this time, there is no stopping the destruction process.

You can stay it of course for some time, but items that already show flaking of paper and severe yellowing are well on their way to being history in the very sad sense.

I suggest minimum handling of the paper with your bare hands. instill habits of very careful handling of the items in your possession. Handle items using a table with enough cleared space where the item can be resting on the table top and not in your hands where the pages can flop over and be stressed. This is especially the case in newspapers and magazine the size of Signal and Die Wehrmacht etc.

Avoid smoking around these items. Paper absorbs not only moisture but odor. Paper over the years will naturally take on the familiar musty odor, but smoke is not helpful. Avoid sunlight.
I know this seems self evident, but overt awareness to avoid this will stop or, at least, retard deterioration by UV rays.

Many of my stacks of materials that are in single magazine form, as opposed to bound volumes, are kept in storage binds made of High Density Polyethylene plastic. I ensure that there is circulation of air. I am fortunate that I have a purpose built room for my collection of firearms, publications and philatelic/propaganda items where the humidity and temperature are reasonably constant. Summers here in NC can be sticky and hot, to say the least.

Lastly, books are paper items that need to be looked after as well. If you have wooden bookcases, it's a good idea to ensure that the wood in the shelving as well as the materials used to provide the finish are compatible with paper. You can see foxing or brown spotting begin to appear on the pages and along the edges exposed to the air.

The Library of Congress has a great deal of information on conservation of paper materials that is of interest.

Collecting these things for as long as I have, I have become more acutely aware of the temporary caretaker status I enjoy. Many of the things I own should last far longer than me because I have tried to ensure their preservation though careful handling, storage and simple care.

[ramon]

storage of books

It occurs to me that I had forgotten to mention another storage option. I purchased the vacuum sealer, the FoodSaver. You've probably seen the infomercials on TV.

I find that books, pamphlets and the like lend themselves to this type of storage rather niftily. I usually put my Reibert military training manuals in the storage bag and draw a vacuum and then seal in. No air, bugs, or humidity can get in to harm the contents. Further, on the soft back books, covers and pages cannot be bent.

This mode of storage is super if you have to send the item so enclosed through the mails.
The book becomes as dense as wood and can easily be packed in the shipping parcel and is good to go.

The FoodSaver is available at Walmart, BJs Warehouse and similiar stores.