I'm struggling quite a bit right now and looking for advice.  What would you do with about 100 glass plate negatives that:
feature very poor quality images (likely an amateur photographer),
are unidentified (and probably unidentifiable),
have cracking emulsions,
and have severe mold issues;
knowing that:
you don't have high tech equipment for scanning negatives (and so any image you capture now might pale in comparison to what could be captured by the institution at a future date),
you don't have resources to invest in proper conservation efforts (and the plates may not be worth the investment anyway),
and your institution doesn't have any cold storage to slow mold growth.
Thoughts?  The volunteer working with them wants to just throw them away.  And perhaps that is ultimately the best decision considering the mold growth.  But scan now and throw?  Or try to hang on to them until better digitizing equipment comes along (at some undetermined date)?  Does the mold represent too great a risk for prolonged storage?  What would you do?
 
~Liz Thrond
 

=========================================================
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).