I am currently helping our local police department organize and inventory
materials they have on the history of the department. Part of this
collection includes several boxes full of court papers, city contracts, and
other miscellaneous papers from the 1870s thru early 1900s. For a very long
time these papers were stored in a basement (in a damp climate) and are now
covered in dirt, cobwebs, dead bugs, and in many cases, mildew. All are
folded closed, some are sealed in envelopes, and others tied in bundles with
string. I could really use some advice on
1) how to clean these papers (if at all) so they are no longer a hazard to
handle
2) how best to store them
3) how to determine which are probably beyond help and should be discarded
4) what (if any) handling they can withstand--we have no idea of the
contents aside from a brief description in fading pencil on the outside of
some documents. The paper is yellowed but intact, not brittle, crumbling and
flaking, or tearing.

Thank you. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please reply off-list to
the address given below.

And I should say we are working with a VERY limited budget here (of course!)
so extensive conservation work is not an option right now. Also, the local
history museum is barely keeping the doors open and buried under a backlog
of items to catalog and conserve, so donating them there is not much of an
option either.

Thanks again.
Margaret Bullock
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