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Health & Fitness

Taking Care of Scrapbooks

The Duluth Historical Society provides information on how to best take care of scrapbooks.

Some of the most interesting items we have in our collection at the Duluth Historical Society are the scrapbooks. We have some from the early part of the 20th century as well as some from the early part of the 21st century. They detail family life, Duluth businesses, and views of the city. One of the more recent additions to the collection includes a scrapbook describing the early history of the original Joan Glancy Hospital.

Scrapbookers today have more options on how to create a memory book, and most of those options will not damage photographs or other memorabilia. The scrapbooks in the DHS collection, however, do not yet fall into this category. These were created with materials that are inherently unstable and were not manufactured with a long-term preservation view. 

Many people have older scrapbooks in family collections. Some may be oversize photo albums with brittle black paper, rubber-cement glued photographs, and white writing underneath the photographs. Some may be the photo albums that use an adhesive on the page to hold photographs or newspaper clippings in place. Both are damaging to the contents enclosed in the albums. However, you need to know how best to preserve this information.

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A person put together a compilation of family, school, or community history in order to share this information with others. The story gives the reader a sense of the time and place depicted, and often provides much needed context to the photographs. However, when a page is turned, part of it comes off, or the picture is so stuck to the page that trying to remove it would damage it beyond repair. Many archives will microfilm the album so that patrons can use the copy and not damage the original. This is not an option for the home collector, but there are other options available to help preserve the life of a scrapbook.

One option, which will help reduce the use of the original, is to reformat the scrapbook by digitizing the pages. This preserves the original order and content of the scrapbook, and then it can be shared easily with family and friends. If the pages are very brittle or oversize, photographing each page instead of placing it on a scanner is an option. However, be sure not to use a flash when you photograph the pages, as that light will damage the records over time.

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To store the original, the environment where it is kept is most important. The best of books will become moldy if they are stored in a hot, moist area. The Library of Congress, in their pamphlet on Scrapbooks and Albums, noted:

"Conservation scientists have estimated (based on accelerated aging tests) that the useful life span of paper doubles for every 10°F drop in temperature. A temperature range from 65° to 70°F and a relative humidity of 45% with a daily fluctuation of only ±3% are acceptable for a wide variety of materials." (http://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/scrapbk.html)

In other words, this means you should not be storing paper-based materials in a basement or an attic. To find out more details about the factors which can cause damage to photographs or paper, there is an excellent article from the Image Permanence Institute on the "Science of Scrapbooking" at  https://www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/webfm_send/380

If you are creating a scrapbook of your own, please remember this phrase: "Don't do anything that you can't undo." For example, you should never cut up an original photograph or laminate any paper-based records. Cutting an original photograph will damage that irreplaceable item and you will not be able to piece the actual photograph together to make it look untouched. The best option is to crop digitally, or if you need to physically crop the photo, please use a copy. Lamination fuses plastic onto the paper, not only damaging the record in the process, but the paper continues to deteriorate within the enclosure. Mylar sleeves, available through many archives supply companies, house the document to help maintain and prolong its life, but the document is easy to remove later on.

If you have a scrapbook that details Duluth history, we would love to see it. We are also available for consultation if you are unsure as to how best to keep your scrapbook safe for future use. Please contact Pamela Nye at duluthhistorical@gmail.com or visit the Duluth Historical Society on Fridays and Saturdays from noon-3 p.m.

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