Hi Melissa, We have some old computers too. One thing we encountered was that the Styrofoam seems to interact with the computer components, particularly the cords for the mouse, keyboard, power cable, monitor cable, etc. The Styrofoam actually looked a bit melted in places. I discussed this with some people who regularly work with old computers and they said they see this all of the time. We don't have the room to store the computer separate from its box, so we isolated the components from the Styrofoam using acid-free tissue when we could. We also inserted MicroChamber paper into the box to help absorb harmful off-gassing. All of the components (the cardboard box, the Styrofoam, and various computer components) are all likely to off-gas. They are all harmful to themselves as well as to each other. I honestly don't know if separating them would make much difference - the inherent vice of each item is going to accelerate deterioration. However, accessing a computer in its original box is a real pain. Getting those Styrofoam trays to slide out without damaging the box is really tricky. If you have the luxury of enough space to store them separately, you might want to consider it. We have a lot of cardboard items in the collection and they have held up surprisingly well. Good climate control is important. Whenever possible, we isolate cardboard from other items and slip a sheet of MicroChamber paper in with the cardboard items. Pest management is vital - all of those little corrugated spaces are great hiding places for pests. In my experience, cheap cardboard rapidly attracts pests, especially when humidity levels aren't in check. And if corrugated cardboard becomes infested, you'll have to rely on thermal or anoxic treatment because it's impossible to vacuum out the corrugations. I was also advised by some local computer experts NOT to turn our machines on - I'm not well-versed in this at all but it's something to do with a high risk of it just frying it out and totally ruining it (sorry for that extremely technical explanation!) so if firing it up is something you want to do, I'd suggest getting some expert advice first. Hope that helps! Best regards, Amber the warhol: Amber E. Morgan Associate Registrar 117 Sandusky Street Pittsburgh, PA 15212 T 412.237.8306 F 412.237.8340 E [log in to unmask] W www.warhol.org<http://www.warhol.org/> The Andy Warhol Museum One of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh Email newsletter http://members.carnegiemuseums.org/email Membership http://members.carnegiemuseums.org/SupportCMP warhol: facebook<http://www.facebook.com/thewarholmuseum> | warhol: twitter<http://www.twitter.com/thewarholmuseum> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Melissa Jolley Sent: Monday, April 29, 2013 2:35 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Preserving Cardboard I recently received an early computer to accession into our collection. One of the interesting things about this artifact is that it has not been removed from the original packaging. The box has been opened but the computer does not appear to have ever been taken out. The issue with this is that the original packaging is a cardboard box with the computer packed in plastic and styrofoam. I'm considering removing the computer from the box but am not sure how successful storing the cardboard box on its own would be. Any thoughts on preserving cardboard or how detrimental leaving the computer in the box would be? Thanks! Melissa Jolley Curator, New South Associates Inc. ________________________________ To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 The information contained in this message and/or attachments is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any system and destroy any copies. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender. ========================================================= 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).