Aside from the pros and cons of the material itself, and issues like
the debate over punching holes in the bags or not, there are other
things to factor in.  We do use ziplock bags, as well as open top
bags, of "archival" quality, or food grade in a pinch.

Think about what you are storing in them, and where.  They can offer a
measure of protection to the pieces inside, from adjacent artifacts.
Or the bags themselves can get in the way of other things, and can
slither around, messing up your storage drawer.  They never seem to be
the exact size of the artifact, leaving extra bag to deal with.
Individual storage trays can produce a neater looking drawer.  Both
can waste space.  I find it hard to reuse bags, either from the marker
used, or residue on the inside from the artifact, or dust on the
outside, etc.

They can neatly contain messy artifacts, like flaky, moldy, oily
things, toxic material, soil samples, etc.  They are very handy to
contain loose pieces, such as tying a bag of loose hardware to a piece
of furniture.

I have seen sealed ziplock bags protecting the contents from getting
wet in flood water.

They do attract dust, but it is on the outside of the bag, not the
artifact, if dust is a problem.

A conservator told me that Sharpie type markers will eventually bleed
through the plastic, so we either mark above the seal, or insert a
tag.  For those things that can't be tagged or numbered, there is a
measure of security in a ziplock bag with a tag, over a storage tray
with a loose tag.

For things that may get handled a lot, especially by untrained hands,
bags can help. For example, we have badges that are kept in individual
bags, just to prevent problems of handling without gloves.

Think through the whole use of bags at your site, from the material
itself to the final product of artifacts in bags in cabinets (or
whatever).  How does it look?

We use bags, but we use other things, too.  One storage material is
not the answer for all materials, situations, etc.

Randi Smith
DC Booth Fish Hatchery
605-642-7730

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