Hi Erin,
We too are scanning degrading acetate negatives. We are not, however, destroying the originals. Instead we're packaging them up securely and putting them in cold storage, where the decay and resulting spread of contaminants will be halted. (Unlike nitrate, there's no harm in keeping them.)

If you're intent on destroying the originals, I would recommend the collections committee formally vote on their destruction. If they're largely in the same accession (ours are), this action can easily be referenced in the accession record(s). If they are in a lot of different accessions this is a bigger job, but still worthwhile.

You can set up a custom object name as Digital Photograph or something similar to your liking. Then what I would do is change the object names, and perhaps add a note that the originals were destroyed due to their degradation.

And of course you'll want to have excellent backup and migration procedures in place for the digital surrogates.

Kaia

On Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 11:56 AM, Erin Richardson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hello all:

 

We have discovered some negatives in our collection to be deteriorating (vinegar syndrome). After consulting many conservators we will most likely scan these using archival methods then destroy the acetate analog negative.  My question relates to handling collection managment policy procedures for this process. We are destroying, but not destroying, collection objects. We’re also not deaccessioning the material.  Does anyone have a recommended procedure for recordkeeping regarding this process of essentially transferring format?  I would like the action to appear on some official meeting minutes related to our collections, probably at a board committee level.  Any precedent out there for record keeping in this situation? The only reasonable analogy I can come up with is migrating born –digital material as technology progresses (floppy disk to CD, etc, etc). 

 

Thanks for your feedback!

 

Erin.

 

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Erin Crissman Richardson

Director of Collections

The Fenimore Art Museum/NYSHA  and The Farmers' Museum

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