Sara P. Kelley" <[log in to unmask]> asks:
 
>>One of our volunteers found a recipe in Yankee magazine for preserving
>>newspaper clippings (de-acidification, I presume).  Has anyone heard
>>of this?  Can you comment on its efficacy/dangers?  Thanks.
 
>>"Dissolve a milk-of-magnesia tablet in 1 qt. club soda overnight.
>>Pour into a pan large enough to hold the clippings (flattened).
>>Let it soak for one hour.  Carefully remove and pat dry.  Do not move
>>until completely dry."
 
  I've heard of it, but not with favor. Aside from the dangers of
  washing/immersing paper (especially fragile paper) without any supports, the
  "deacidification" solution itself isn't a particularly efficacious one. So the
  danger the paper would be exposed to in the treatment process really isn't
  worth the amount of good it would do the paper.
  I'm not sure, but I believe this treatment was one of the ones cited in an
  article on "Kitchen Chemistry" by Margeret Hey in the Abbey Newsletter a few
  years back.
 
Maggie Young
University Herbarium
UC Berkeley