>>I'm having trouble keeping up with newspaper clipping donations in my museum.
>>
>>Please tell me how you handle this type of material.
>>
>--
>Registered ICC User
>check out http://www.usefulware.com/icc.html
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At the majority of museums I have served, context proved the key as to
whether to accept newspaper clippings. IF the clippings were in some sort of
order (scrap book, ordered file, etc.) that had a cognative scheme (basic
anthropology premise) associated with the donor or creator then we would
give consideration to accepting them. We do not turn such donations down
flat because of the possibility of missing some scheme the creator had
reveled in their organization (a basic archival arrangement principal I
believe.) However, the donor was told that the originals would be
photocopied on 100% cotton rag paper and then either destroyed or returned
since conservation was not cost effective. The sole exception was if the
clippings had margin notes of value. That way the information and appearance
was preserved while minimizing the losing conservation battle.

As another list member said, many states or areas have all the newspapers on
microfilm and a great many (Arizona, Oklahoma, etc.) have indexes. It simply
is not worth the cost or the time to deal with bucket loads of disorganized
clippings which have no context or relationship to each other. Again, we
review the materials item by item and may photocopy individual items (such
as those from out-of-state newspapers or unindexed areas.

Another similar problem is that of photos in the infamous black paper
albums. Because of the insidious nature of the paper, and the fact that many
items are rubber-cemented to such albums, what we usually do was to
photocopy the album on acid free paper for reference (it is now possible to
do so in color with a high resolution photocopy/scanning process) and then
dismount and deal with the photos separately. This way we have the original
organization and appearance, but we can manage the conservation issues.

Basic rules: (1) preserve the cognative scheme if present, (2) record the
original order, (3) don't commit to unnecessary conservation.

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Byron Johnson, Director
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum
P.O. Box 2570
Waco, Texas 76702-2570
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Phone: 817-750-8631
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"...Unless a people are educated and enlightened it is idle
to expect the continuance of civil liberty or the capacity
for self-government."   - Texas Declaration of Independence,  March 2, 1836.