Routine housing and preparation includes: routine freezing of newly received collections; removal of most metal staples, clasps, pins, etc.; basic surface cleaning using soft brushes; removal of most organic material (i.e., pressed plants or flowers) with little or no artifactual value (consult the appropriate curator before discarding this material, especially in the case of plants collected as specimens); unframing and removal of acidic mats (items may require reframing); rehousing in appropriately sized archival folders and containers (boxes, broadside cabinets, rolls); measuring for/boxing in commercially produced phase boxes; preservation photocopying of brittle and acidic materials.

In addition, damaged or otherwise vulnerable papers that have significant monetary and/or research value should be flagged for treatment by professional conservators, and brought to the attention of the Manuscript Unit Head and/or curator to help determine appropriate action and treatment priorities. Less important items, or those in better overall condition usually can be handled in the unit in the course of processing.

Anything with an immediate risk of text or image loss if handled is an automatic candidate for conservation action, whether undertaken in-house or through the Conservation Studio. The same is true for fragile bindings and paper-bound volumes; bindings we wish to protect from wear; and bindings that, because of structural features, could be harmful to materials with which they are boxed or shelved.

Folded or rolled items on paper that can be stored flat in broadside or other flat files should be flagged for flattening. Folded items too large to store flat, should be flattened (humidified first if they resist flattening), rolled around archival tubes (image side in), wrapped in a layer of mylar, and tied shut.

IX.B. SENDING MATERIAL TO THE CONSERVATION STUDIO

Detailed instructions for preparing material for transfer to the Conservation Studio or to outside vendors are outlined in Conservation Studio Procedure. General procedural guidelines are outlined below:

1. Beinecke Library charge slips should be completed for anything sent out for treatment. The stack copy of the charge slip should be retained with the material until it is sent to Constu, at which point it will be so annotated and filed in the Constu charge file at the Public Services Desk. Be sure to use a "Manuscript Item(s) Temporarily Removed" flag to mark the place in the collection from which items have been removed, as a reminder to you, and to alert others to the fact that material has been removed for conservation.
2. As early as possible in the processing process, priority should be given to identifying material that requires professional treatment, so that material can be treated and returned before you have to finalize the finding aid, housing, etc.
3. Bound volumes or other items that need simple wrappers (i.e., custom folding wrapper or commercial clam shell) usually don't need to circulate to the Conservation Studio. They are measured in the unit by Manuscript Unit (commercial clam shell) or Constu (custom folding wrapper) staff. Boxes and labels are prepared by the commercial vendor or Constu staff and returned to the unit, where they are reunited with the appropriate volume.
4. The Manuscript Unit Head (or Archives Assistant) handles most transfers of material to the Conservation Studio or outside vendors. Online records are created in the Constu database in DB/TextWorks at the point that material actually leaves the building. Archivists are responsible for preparing the treatment instruction flags, and for filling out the necessary charge slips.
5. The processing archivist is responsible for refiling materials returned from the Conservation Studio, and also for pulling "Manuscript Item(s) Temporarily Removed" flags.
6. Conservation/preservation needs that cannot be addressed at the time a collection is processed are logged into the MSCONSP (Manuscript Conservation Pending) database, for action at some future date. In the meantime, material should be packaged as well as possible to protect it, and should be stamped on the package, "FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARE" or "FRAGILE - RESTRICTED, FOR PERMISSION TO USE, CONSULT THE APPROPRIATE CURATOR."

IX.C.1. Preservation Photocopying

Brittle newspaper clippings, telegrams, copies of correspondence and other documents on acidic paper or deteriorated paper, including documents on FAX paper and other forms of duplication paper, that will flake or from which the text eventually will fade away, should be photocopied onto acid-free bond paper. While many institutions routinely discard acidic originals after preservation photocopying has been completed, Beinecke retains originals. The originals are separately housed as Restricted Fragile. For further information, see the section on packaging and listing Restricted Fragile in Chapter VII.

IX.C.2. Paper/Mylar Sleeves

Fragile or slightly damaged items without exceptional artifactual or research significance should be enclosed in mylar or acid-free paper sleeves. More important items, including some special formats, may require matting. The Manuscript Unit has a mat cutter; mats are also done by the Conservation Studio, or by Manuscript Unit staff.

Mylar or acid-free bond paper sleeves also are used to isolate clippings and photos from adjacent documents, where the different make-up of the materials can cause harmful chemical reactions and interaction (e.g., clippings staining adjacent documents).

Photographic items need special attention and are discussed in Chapter X.