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The Practical Archivist

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The Practical Archivist

Archiving tips and geeky tidbits for genealogists, keepers of the family photo album, and anyone who loves a beautiful anachronism. Written by an archivist who never met an antique photograph (or a Czech beer) she didn't like.

How to organize pamphlets and protect them at the same time

This article is now located here:
http://practicalarchivist.com/how-to-organize-pamphlets-and-protect-them-at-the-same-time/
The Practical Archivist has MOVED!
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This practicalarchivist.blogspot.com blog, the one you're reading right now, is frozen in time.

It is obsolete.

I should probably nuke it (all the content has been imported into the new site) but this was my very first blog, and I've gotten surprisingly nostalgic about it. ::sniffle::

All Practical Archivist content is now at

PracticalArchivist.com

(click above URL to visit)
Also...
- I get asked all the time by family archivists "What scanner should I buy?" Since it's such a popular question, I've created links to the two scanners I personally own and use (one portable, one that can scan slides & film): Practical Archivist Recommends
How to Organize Photos: Warning! This Advice May Shock You

Contrary to popular belief,

archivists do not keep everything.

Whaaat? An archivist?

Throwing things out?!

Yep.

Ya heard me.

I spent more time learning the art of archival appraisal than any other skill while in grad school. And by appraisal, I mean deciding what to keep and what to toss -- based on what items have enduring value.

But aren't archivists the keepers of our shared history?

Yes, but...

CLICK HERE to read the updated version of my organize photos article. That link will take you to the rest of this article at the NEW Practical Archivist website. (I can't bring myself to delete this old Blogspot one. Sentimental fool that I am.)
Clickety Clack!
I have a weakness for obsolete technology in general, and typewriters in particular.

This is a marvelous video about a small family owned business, remarkable customer service and (of course) clickety clack:

Got a typewriter story or memory you'd like to share? Use the comments section!
Tag! I'm it...

10 Years Ago I..
1. Hand coded my first website.
2. Received my Master's in Library Science with a Specialization in Archives Management.
3. Began my job as Assistant Corporate Archivist / Image Researcher at American Girl.
4. Turned thirty.
5. Married the love of my life.
Five Things on Today's To-Do List
1. Wake up my kids, make them breakfast and pack lunches for them, walk with them to the bus stop.
2. Shower, make myself breakfast, pack my lunch, and catch the city bus to my day job.
3. While waiting for the bus, call my Mom to figure out what we're doing about Thanksgiving since the usual family hosts are escaping to Australia this year.
4. Write this post and (finally) update my Practical Archivist blog.
5. Find an open reel machine that plays 1/4 inch tape -- both 1/2 track and 1/4 track. (Figuring out exactly what that means was on my To Do list earlier this week. So was learning that nobody manufactures machines like this anymore.)
Five Snacks I Enjoy
1. Curry chips
2. (Very) dark chocolate
3. Nicoise olives
4. Salami and cheese
5. Homemade popcorn ...the best thing about not replacing our broken microwave!
Five Places I've Lived
1. Chicago, IL
2. Glencoe, IL
3. Madison, WI
4. Arlington, VA
5. Dublin, Ireland
Five Jobs I've Had
1. Short Order Cook (a.k.a. hamburger flipper)
2. Pasta Maker
3. Staple Puller*
4. Historical Image Researcher
5. Audio Archivist
*Worst. Job. Ever.

Five Blogs I Tag
1. Family Matters (Denise Olson)
2. Family Oral History (Susan Kitchens)
3. Tracing the Tribe (Schelly Talalay Dardashti)
4. Shades of the Departed (footnote Maven)
5. Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing (Sharon Lippincott)
Assuming tag-backs aren't allowed, I want to be sure to mention two of my favorite bloggers, Lisa of Genealogy Gems and Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective. Thanks for tagging me and getting me out of blogging retirement!
Learning to date old photographs
[NOTE: This post originally appeared one year ago, July 30, 2007.]

Last year, Randy over at Genea-Musings found this wonderful photographic treasure in his Aunt Geraldine's papers. He asked for input from readers to help date this pair of cased photographs. Randy's post contains some great resources to help you date old photographs, so be sure to stop by. It's nice to have resources pooled together like that. Thanks, Randy!

Dating old photographs is a very effective way to help identify who is in the photo. If you can narrow it down to a decade and you know your family tree, it's much easier to figure out who is pictured in an unmarked photograph.

Here are two great books that will help you date your photographic treasures.

Uncovering Your Ancestry through Family Photographs
by Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective

As far as I'm concerned, Maureen Taylor is the Supreme Maven of Photo Dating. Lucky for us, she shares her expertise in easy to understand books written with genealogists in mind. This updated version of one of her classics is a must-have for every family archivist.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Every single rating on Amazon.com is 5 out of 5. Here's the first review, click here to read them all.

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A beautiful and useful book, January 5, 2001

By
Mark Howells (Puyallup, Washington State, USA) - See all my reviews

This book is an outstanding way to expand your family history skills through photo research. It provides step-by-step advice on how to identify ancestors in photos using their poses, clothes, studio props, and other information.

After giving a history of photography with emphasis on identifying types of photographs by era, the author provides chapters such as "Looking for Clues", "Identifying Costume", and the very important "Identifying the Photographer". The book also gives detailed information on how to build your own family photograph collection including the use of photograph worksheets and proper labeling.

The photographs used to illustrate the book are simply glorious. It is a visual treat to follow the pictorial examples given to explain the text. Each photo is an exquisite specimen of how our ancestors faced the camera.

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Oh, and don't forget to visit Maureen's Photo Detective blog.

Dressed for the Photographer
By Joan Severa

If you're serious about dating photographs, there's another book that will make your task much easier. You don't need this book if you have an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of costume. What's that? You don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of costume? Yeah, me neither...and I sourced historic photos for over six years. It takes a long time to build that expertise.

Once again, family historians are fortunate that an expert has shared her knowledge with the rest of us. Joan Severa is a former costume curator at the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Joan's book, Dressed for the Photographer, is PACKED with example photographs and arranged chronologically. The images are large enough for you to see the detail, and the book is printed on high quality paper (that's why it's so pricey). Joan points out all the hallmarks to look for when dating a photograph, including clothing, jewelry and hairstyles. She also does a fantastic job including photographs of regular working people, not just the wealthy. Amazing book. Nothing else like it out there.

Purchase these recommended books from Amazon.com:

[Photo Credit: Randy Seaver, Genea-Musings blog]
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Dating British Photos:
Reader Andrew Millard left a helpful tip in the comments section about a web site for dating British photographs:
http://www.cartes.freeuk.com/time/date.htm
Andrew says: "It has a wide range of dated photographs that you can compare to your own undated ones." Thanks again, Andrew!

Other articles you might enjoy:
5 tips for preserving your one-of-a-kind family photographs
Where should I store my family photographs?
What to keep? What to toss?
Flash drives are NOT for long term storage
Why do archivists wear white gloves?
What to do with a moldy photograph
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[Hmmm....let's see if I remember how to do this blogging thing...]

Lately, we've had some terrible flooding here in the American Midwest. The Wisconsin Dells lost Lake Delton. It's completely gone! It was a man made lake, that's true, but it's been there for almost 100 years. I've pumped my basement more times than I care to remember in the last couple months. Fortunately, we don't keep anything as fragile as photographs down there. And everything that's down there is stored on shelves and not on the ground. Phew!

Family Archivists, Take Note:
Where there is moisture and warm temperatures, there will be mold.

I DETEST MOLD. In fact, I hate it so much that just seeing a picture of it gives me the heebie jeebies. Mold is the enemy of every archivist. It destroys books and photographs. It is a serious health hazard, especially for people with respiratory problems. And it takes serious chemicals to kill it.

Prevention is the best cure. Mold loves a warm, moist environment. Do not give mold what it loves! Your best bet is to store materials only in climate controlled areas. That means air conditioning and a dehumidifier during warm, humid weather. Make sure your dehumidifier has a hose so the water drains continuously. Basements, attics and garages are not good locations to store items you value. Fluctuating temperatures and humidity levels are bad even without the threat of mold.

If you find mold. First of all, promise me you'll treat it like the dangerous substance it is. Don't touch it with your bare hands, and don't breathe it in. (NOTE: People with respiratory problems should not go near mold even with a respirator.)

Kill it. There are chemicals that will kill mold spores, but unfortunately these chemicals will also destroy your photographs, books, and papers. You'll need to inactivate the mold with more gentle methods. But be sure to clean shelving and walls with a mold and mildew killing solution such as Lysol, Clorox, or X-14.

De-activate it. If you brush a spot and it smears, it's active. If it's powdery and dry that means it's inactive. Freezing, air drying, and exposure to UV light are all methods that will inactivate mold. But light can also cause fading, so don't leave materials in direct light for more than an hour.

Once it's inactive you need to either vacuum it up or wipe it off. Do not vacuum indoors unless you have a HEPA filter (otherwise you will just spread the spores to other materials inside). If you use cloth rags to wipe off the mold, change them often and be sure to wash them in hot water and bleach after use.

Inactive mold spores will re-bloom as soon as conditions are warm and moist enough.

That's why prevention is so crucial.

Isolate it. As an extra precaution, items that have been infected with mold should be isolated from the rest of your collection. Isolation is a good idea because the spores will literally infect other items. Put them in their own special box (or boxes if we're talking about a large outbreak).

Scan it and dispose of the original. If isolation is too expensive for your budget, make a high resolution scan and create a new print. Do not attempt this if the mold is still active, or if there are inactive spores present. You don't want to spread the spores to your scanner!

Want more info? Here's a detailed article about mold, with a fabulous title:

Invasion of the Giant Mold Spore!
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Photo by Editor B, some rights reserved.
Original caption: "This picture from Xy's 30th birthday party is a little worse for the wear after bobbing around in floodwaters for a couple weeks. Actually the damage gives it some interesting character, but I'm worried the photograph will be slowly consumed by mold."
How to Organize Photos: Avoiding Project Burnout

The curse of the half-finished project.

Photo by Ben Kelly, pope24, some rights reserved

You made your New Year's Resolutions. You started your photo organizing project with tons of enthusiasm. Oh, yes, you told yourself. This year is going to be different.

But now it's February, Valentine's Day has come and gone, and...well...

Here are some tips to keep your photo organizing project from fizzling out before you finish.

1. Set realistic goals.
If you place the bar too high, you're setting yourself up for failure. Pick realistic goals. Remember the baby steps. I've talked about this in more detail before. Here's a link to that article.

2. Make photo organizing as fun as possible.

This technique not only works, it makes the whole project more fun. I call that a win-win situation. One of the simplest ways to increase the fun factor is to play your favorite music. Even better if the music goes with the photos you're working on.

Another win-win is to invite someone to join you. Make it a regular date and you've added an extra layer of "get it done." Just think of it as a quilting bee for photos. You know, like a photo bee! ::grin::

Miriam Midkiff's awesome Scanfest uses this same idea to help folks complete large scanning projects. This completely free event happens once a month. Follow this link to learn more about Scanfest.

3. Hire a photo coach.

I don't talk about this often, but you can hire The Practical Archivist for coaching via phone or email. If you live within driving distance of Madison, Wisconsin, we can arrange one-on-one help in the comfort of your own home. Email me if you'd like to set something up: sally -at- jacobsarchival -dot- com.

But, really...as long as you've got a solid preservation plan for your family photos, any personal organizer or coach can help you stay on track. Just don't rely on a "clutter buster" for safe photo storage boxes, OK?

4. Use tech tools as your personal trainer.

If all you need is a regular reminder to stay on track, there are plenty of free tools to choose from. Here are three to get you started:

Future Me - write yourself a letter to be delivered at a later date.

GottaKeepUp.com - Get reminders at work, home, or on the go.

rminder.com - Enter your reminder and receive a voice or text message to your phone to remind you. You can sync these reminders with iCal, Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar and more.

But be careful! Technology can just as easily enable bad procrastination habits, as I warned you earlier.

Good luck.

Keep at it.

You can do this!

"Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps."
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Keep the Littlest Ones Away from the Family Archives...
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I love this hilarious video of a wee one and the simple joy of tearing paper. It reminds me of the days when my kids were tiny and the wrapping paper was more interesting than the gift. Awww.

But it's also an easy-to-remember lesson about why the smallest members of the family shouldn't be allowed near irreplaceable family treasures.
Paper Vs. Plastic: Which One Is Better?
If you're tackling a family photo project, you'll need to think about what kind of storage supplies will work best for you.

Basically, you have two choices when choosing an album or photo storage box:

1. Paper.
2. Plastic.

The good news is you can find high quality archival storage products made out of either material.

But the bad news is there are plenty of junky materials out there.

A cheap photo storage box can cause more damage than it prevents.

Whether you choose paper or plastic, the safest supplies are the ones that have passed an independent test called the Photographic Activity Test. Click through to learn more about the test and why the term "archival" is meaningless when applied to consumer products.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both plastic and paper.

Plastic is good at protecting your treasures from fingerprints and spills.

Photo and documents that get handled all the time will be well served by putting them clear enclosures such as polypropelene and polyethelene. You (or third cousin who refuses to wear gloves) can see the images without touching them. Encapsulation is a good choice for fragile or torn paper that you can't afford to have repaired by a conservator.

But for storage, I prefer paper. Here's why:

Paper breathes.

Here in America we tend to put a lot of faith in the protective power of plastic. One visit to a grocery store here in the States will illustrate that fact very clearly. Everything from candy to beef to tomatoes is sold shrink-wrapped in plastic. I've traveled enough to know that this isn't the case in the rest of the world.

When it comes to archival storage, the fact that plastic doesn't breathe can actually cause more problems than it prevents.

Now, don't get me wrong -- plastic is great for keeping bad things out like moisture and fingerprints.

But...

Photographs, film and tape are all made from materials that change over time. When these materials change, they can leach chemicals or give off gases that will loop back and inflict self damage if they are "sealed in their own juices" as my preservation instructor used to say.

Here's a striking visual example of what I'm talking about.

If this tape had been stored in plastic instead of cardboard, the acids and offgassing that burned brown stains into the box would have stayed inside and attacked the tape instead.

Photo of paper bags by tanakawho, some rights reserved.
Photo of tape case by Richard Hess.

*Note! That Richard Hess link will take you to his post that explains in more detail what's going on in the photo, and why he thinks tape has escaped the vinegar syndrome that has plagued film.
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