Here's a question that I hope some of the conservators and conservation-minded individuals on Museum-L can answer. It was originally posted to Archives and Archivists List and the poster received a few replies there so I volunteered to try here.
Background and question:
" A friend of mine, who is volunteering in Jerusalem to help organize the archives of a small rare-book museum. The building is quite old
with 18-inch thick walls. All of the cabinets and file units are made of
wood. In the rare book case, 1/16-inch acid-free board lines the shelves. She has some concerns about the use of Formica. Following is an excerpt from her e-note:
... the
file drawers (wood) are lined with formica. I hope that it is also
inert because the head honcho wants me to use them for the files, in hanging folders. I know that isn't the best, arrangement. Let me know what you think about the formica. Would lining the bottoms of the drawers with Mylar be beneficial? ... "
Lynne F. Wohleber, Archivist
Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh
900 Oliver Building
535 Smithfield St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
412-325-0087 x138
FAX: 412-471-5591
[log in to unmask]
Here's a portion of the reply I sent to Lynne last week, directing her to some standard online resources:
Off the top of my head, I'd say it will be hard to come up with a definitive answer without lab testing. Formica is one of those product names used by a lot of people to describe a group of composite materials that vary from manufacturer to manufactures (like xerox, kleenex, refrigerator), let alone country to country. I'd hazard a semi-educated guess and say the biggest problem is likely to come from whatever finish is applied to the top surface to seal it.
Meanwhile, you can check the Conservation OnLine (CoOL) web site for information http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/ and do a google search for Formica "Material Safety Data Sheets". Conservators rely on the MSDS
to make judgments about products; since your friend is in Israel, she might want to check there as the product suggested might be made differently for export than it would be for use in the U.S.
Judy ... Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. I was waiting for clarification from my friend in Jerusalem. Her wording in the original e-mail was not clear, but what she needs to know about is the safety of using standard Formica, such as is used for kitchen.
Lynne got back to me last night and she has checked CoOL and looked for
formica related MSDS's but neither helped her in seeking advice to share with her friend. And all she learned from further contact is that the material is the product(s?) used in kitchens.
I was hoping to find out if the material in question was imported from the U.S. or Europe or if it was of local manufacture since I thought that might make a difference. Also, at first reading I thought the mylar lining was a good idea. Then I recalled the problems we had interleaving mylar between bound volumes on open bookshelves during Milwaukee's very dry winters so I have reservations about that step given Israel's dry climate.
Any advice, including contacts with Israeli conservators would be greatly appreciated. If you want to contact Lynne directly, her email
is [log in to unmask]; if you want to post replies here, I'll forward them to her.
Thanks very much.
Judy Turner
Whitefish Bay, WI
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
