Truthfully, more damage is usually done removing photographs from hostile environments than is done to them by leaving them in said environments, unless you are a professionally trained conservator, for example, especially when removing them from those nasty 1970-80s sticky magnetic ones. And, those very acidic photoalbums with the black paper actually offer the images some great protection, acid aside. You might want to put some interleaving tissue in between the pages. And what Cynthia said about the album being an artifact is very, very, very important! If one is ever in doubt in how to treat any type of artifact, paper of 3-D, and you don't want to hire or speak to a conservator -- which is again is the advice I recommend if it is an item you really care about, then call the Northest Document Conservation Center (www.nedcc.org) before you do anything and get their advice and they will give it happily. Their website also has much useful information. I can not say it enough ... if you are not a trained conservator you should never do anything to anything if what you do is not reversible, unless you really don't care what happens to the item in the long run, unless you really, really investigate the situation and do a lot of research. ************************* Mary K. Mannix., M.A., M.L.S. Maryland Room Manager C. Burr Artz Public Library Frederick County Public Libraries Frederick, MD www.fcpl.org Home of the Linton-Holdcraft Obituary Collection Mary Mannix <mm0028@mail.pratt.lib.md.us>