Hi Colleen, Newspaper is very cheaply made paper, as it was only designed to last until the next issue. It is full of acid and lignin and WILL deteriorate fairly rapidly. It is possible to "treat" the newspaper to remove the acid, but I don't know how effective it is. It would certainly be a lot of work to treat (and then dry) each piece of paper. The decision of the Historical Society of which I am a committee member (after advice from the National Library), is to make photocopies of the papers onto archival paper. The originals are then packed away. With any such material it is essential to pack it away to avoid any cross-contamination with other parts of your collection. This (or scanning) is also our procedure for "valuable" originals, which we don't want to be handled more than necessary. There are a number of web sites that have lots of really good advice about preservation. There are also grants available to groups like yours to get materials and training in preservation techniques. Regards Jenny Joyce Ku-ring-gai Historical Society o anyone on the list. I have joined a local, fairly new, Heritage Group. We have a collection of old newpapers, and clippings. They have that very musty smell common to newspapers that have not been ared for. Does anyone have any clues of what we should do to their storage box/boxes o eradicate this odour. Any advise will be gratefully accepted. Colleen. ----------------------------- Message: 2 ate: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:02:22 +1030 rom: "Lyndell Horbury" <troy26@bigpond.com> ubject: Re: [GEELONG] Storage old newspaper clippings o: <aus-vic-geelong-district@rootsweb.com> essage-ID: <3A0FBB5F7AC14016A0158B5B3224B704@acer067e3bcefd> ontent-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Colleen, you could try putting carb soda in a container in the boxes, it eems to absorb most smells. egards, Lyndell. ---- Original Message ----- rom: "Colleen Robinson" <ceedeed@dodo.com.au> o: <aus-vic-geelong-district@rootsweb.com> ent: Thursday, March 18, 2010 10:09 AM ubject: Re: [GEELONG] Storage old newspaper clippings To anyone on the list. I have joined a local, fairly new, Heritage Group. We have a collection of old newpapers, and clippings. They have that very musty smell common to newspapers that have not been cared for. Does anyone have any clues of what we should do to their storage box/boxes to eradicate this odour. Any advise will be gratefully accepted. Colleen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For on-line indexes and information on Geelong and District http://zades.com.au ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-VIC-GEELONG-DISTRICT-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. hecked by AVG - www.avg.com ersion: 9.0.791 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2751 - Release Date: 03/17/10 6:03:00 ------------------------------ Message: 3 ate: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:16:01 +1100 rom: "Stan & Linda Edwards" <edwslsj@iprimus.com.au> ubject: Re: [GEELONG] Storage old newspaper clippings o: <aus-vic-geelong-district@rootsweb.com> essage-ID: <16B6BEAAA84F479394F1128C46A82D80@familyPC> ontent-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original The problem with using anything on the paper is it may affect its reservation of course. Personally, I have found sometimes using soemthing else masks the odour, ie avender nearby, febreeze sprayed near but not on paper, spray onto a paper owle and place nearby, or nilodour on similar. fresh air and circulation is est i think, I use white vinegar on musty clothes in the wash which works eally well. i carb certainly helps absorb damp and commercial preparations are also vailable such as the sachets you find packed in electrical goods. have seen a website which suggested calcium chloride chips which are used n pool maintenance works apparently well but havent tried it. ope it helps. that musty smell is overpowering at times. inda ---- Original Message ----- "Colleen Robinson" <ceedeed@dodo.com.au> o: <aus-vic-geelong-district@rootsweb.com> ent: Thursday, March 18, 2010 10:39 AM ubject: Re: [GEELONG] Storage old newspaper clippings To anyone on the list. I have joined a local, fairly new, Heritage Group. We have a collection of old newpapers, and clippings. They have that very musty smell common to newspapers that have not been cared for. Does anyone have any clues of what we should do to their storage box/boxes to eradicate this odour. Any advise will be gratefully accepted. Colleen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For on-line indexes and information on Geelong and District http://zades.com.au ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-VIC-GEELONG-DISTRICT-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------ Message: 4 ate: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:27:56 +1100 rom: "Colleen Robinson" <ceedeed@dodo.com.au> ubject: Re: [GEELONG] Storage old newspaper clippings o: <aus-vic-geelong-district@rootsweb.com> essage-ID: <000a01cac65b$c4577530$de9b027b@LAPTOP1> ontent-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Thanks Linda, I'll pass on these tips. Might suggest we try bicarb as it may be more economical than the sachets. Colleen. ----------------------------- Message: 5 ate: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:38:39 +1100 rom: Ada Ackerly <aackers@alphalink.com.au> ubject: Re: [GEELONG] Storage old newspaper clippings o: aus-vic-geelong-district@rootsweb.com essage-ID: <4BA1CA6F.7040300@alphalink.com.au> ontent-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Collen, might I suggest one step at a time, small amounts at a time. If you can find a metal box a little bigger than one group of your apers, start with just one small group.Alternatively, a sealable cupboard. First, to remove any absorbtion of humid air, put a small number of our papers or books on small blocks to lift them above the flat base. hen get some silica gel in little gauze bags (so you can see the rystals and the silica gel can absorb any moisture) the silica changes rom blue to pink. Pink crystals may be reconstituted by heating in an ven, when it again turns blue, and can be used again. Keep using the ilica gel (reconstituted) until it no longer absorbs water and stays pink. Of course, your metal box/cupboard needs to be sealed from the air by sing masking tape or similar around the lid/door, etc. After a few re-treatments with silica gel, probably taking several days, he second step would be replacing the silica gel bags with bicarb soda n similar gauze bags, very loosely half-filled. Make sure the bags are ever in contact with the paper being treated Step 1. should take away threats from humidity and reduce some of the ustiness. tep 2. should absorb smells After that, it is best to store the materials in cupboards which would e treated for humidity and continue to have silica gel bags replaced egularly within. Hope that helps. Regards Ada Colleen Robinson wrote: To anyone on the list. I have joined a local, fairly new, Heritage Group. We have a collection of old newpapers, and clippings. They have that very musty smell common to newspapers that have not been cared for. Does anyone have any clues of what we should do to their storage box/boxes to eradicate this odour. ----------------------------- To contact the AUS-VIC-GEELONG-DISTRICT list administrator, send an email to US-VIC-GEELONG-DISTRICT-admin@rootsweb.com. To post a message to the AUS-VIC-GEELONG-DISTRICT mailing list, send an email to US-VIC-GEELONG-DISTRICT@rootsweb.com. __________________________________________________________ o unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-VIC-GEELONG-DISTRICT-request@rootsweb.com ith the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of he mail with no additional text. nd of AUS-VIC-GEELONG-DISTRICT Digest, Vol 5, Issue 38 ******************************************************