Hello collegues Forgive me for those to whom I have cross posted but I wanted to reach as many as possible for advice. My very small local history museum has the negatives from a studio which existed here from 1897 to 1951 or so. Up to this point I have been accessioning 8 X 10 and 5 X 7 glass negatives and we are out to 3500+ items in the Hays Studio Collection. Now we are encountering 5 X 7 film negatives some of which are very badly damaged from standing in water when stored in the basement of our courthouse before this museum existed. I have been wrapping the glass negatives in 4-fold folder especially if they had mildew damage from when they were on that courthouse floor. Usually the mold only ate 1/8 to 1/4 inch away, sometimes up to 1 inch on which ever was the bottom side was damaged. With the "newer" negatives from 1938-1940 which absorbed water, they apparently separated into two layers and then when they dried sealed together unevenly. When they dried, some became almost like bubble-wrap with trapped air pockets and with deep ripples (?), folds (?) in some portions of the portraits were often there is a deep dark almost cordoroy effect over the face(s). At this point I have not assigned accession numbers to the most badly damaged ones, but I have not thrown them out either. I see how a few could be useful educationally in a care of items workshop, but should I accession them? Even if they cannot be printed or scanned? I await your expertise. Mary Kirby Historic Upshur Museum Gilmer TX ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com ========================================================= 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).