I agree with David, that archival boxes are best.  Ones made with
micro-chamber board (with charcoal inner layers) can help absorb any
atmospheric pollutants.  A couple of additional points:

1. The open-and-close action of cabinet drawers can be especially rough on
delicate glass plates.

2. If you house them in boxes and on shelves, consider the sheer weight of
them when the boxes are packed.  For this reason, look into smaller rather
than bigger boxes, and try to store them on lower shelves.

Paul Eisloeffel
Curator of Visual & Audio Collections
Nebraska State Historical Society
1500 R Street
Box 82554
Lincoln, NE 68501
Voice: 402.471.4750
Fax: 402.471.8922
[log in to unmask]
www.nebraskahistory.org

----- Original Message -----
From: "David E. Haberstich" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2004 1:38 AM
Subject: Re: Storage of glass plate negatives


> In a message dated 6/2/2004 6:39:48 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> << Can anyone
>  recommend an appropriate modern cabinet? I'm having trouble finding a
metal
>  cabinet with small drawers (the plates are 5"x4"). What are the
> alternatives? >>
>
> Tiffany, I think the basic alternative is archival "shoe boxes" (adding
> prominent "glass" warning labels).  I used to use metal cabinets for glass
plates
> (don't recall the brand, but the drawers were suitable, if a little too
big);
> however, we eventually switched to boxes because we've standardized on
open
> shelving for nearly everything.  Although metal cabinets seemed
appropriate at
> first, I'm now much happier using small boxes.  Each plate is housed in an
> acid-free four-flap enclosure.
>
> David Haberstich
>
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