Since April 2020, we’ve posted over 20 blogs to help you care for, manage and develop your collection. We hope you’ve found them helpful. Here’s a quick re-cap of what we’ve covered:
Making copies of fragile or popular items reduces handling and the risk of physical damage, the number one cause of deterioration in archives (see blog CC#4 on causes of damage to archives.)
It’s good to keep an eye on how often items are used so you can see which ones are most at risk of damage. Keeping a note with your catalogue or list is a great way to do it – even a simple ‘five bar gate’ tally will do.
Then read on for our top ten handling tips.
“I have never been in an accident of any sort and have never been wrecked, nor was I ever in any predicament that threatened to end in disaster of any sort” E J Smith (SS Titanic)
It can happen to anyone! The best thing we can do is be prepared just in case!
Let me introduce you to our silverfish, a Grey Silverfish (ctenolepisma longicaudata). They are fairly new to the UK, and this is the first one we have found. We will be keeping the traps out and our eyes peeled just in case he has brought friends and relatives! They are more tolerant of dry conditions than regular silverfish.
Gloucestershire Archives 