A good resource for preservation is Conservation Online at
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/ if you do a search on nitrate you'll
find documents a' plenty.

A document which discusses and describes "vinegar syndrome" on nitrate
based films is
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/messier/negrmcc.html

best of luck,
Cate Cooney
Digital Projects Librarian
University of Wisconsin - Madison

Bethany Rutledge wrote:
>
> Hi everybody,
>
> A component of my organization's collections is a couple of motion picture
> reels produced prior to 1951, hence, on cellulose nitrate film. I opened
> the canisters today to obtain some measurements so that I could look into
> estimates to reproduce the film on a safer substance and destroy the reels.
> As one of the canisters was opened, a distinct vinegary odor was released.
> Is this the smell that everyone talks about as signaling deterioration?
> Suddenly, something that was on my "to-do" list has become top priority.
> Should I isolate these reels immediately? And if so, in what conditions?
> I'm thinking about moving them to an outside shed at a little distance from
> the facility.
>
> Any advice would be a help,
>
> With thanks from me and the rest of my collections,
>
> Bethany S. Rutledge
> Director of Collections and Exhibits
> Thornton W. Burgess Society
> East Sandwich, MA
>
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