Thanks Peter for your input as it puts me to shame that I did not clarify my earlier, rushed statements about newspapers... Certainly I wouldn't toss an 18th century newspaper if it was discovered in my archives!!! I would isolate it, encapsulate it. Even so, I would probably reproduce it in several formats (photocopy, transcribe, scan) so as to account for almost inevitable future problems with the reproductions. It would be the reproduction I would make available for study.

20th Century newspapers are more problematic for the reasons Peter cited. Ultimately Nancy, like all of us, have to weigh all the information and make the best decision for her organization. While we have ideal procedures, inevitably we can't do it all right all of the time. All we can do is try our best to do what's right one case at a time.

Best,

Ware