[Rhodes22-list] Document Storage

[Robert Skinner]

Brad -

There are several things that cause documents to degrade.

*  Moisture is a killer as it helps activate the acid in 
low-grade paper, and can lead to mildew and rot.  
Small-package desiccants (silica, etc.) are a help if the 
books can be kept in plastic bags.  Dunno if they can be 
reused.

You can build/buy a well-sealed compartment or large 
plastic bin with sealing lid for your books and other 
moisture-sensitive items.  There are large-volume 
desiccant pots and bags available at Home Depot and other 
hardware stores.  Some can be revived after use by heating 
in an oven.

In a compartment, a small incandescent light bulb (10-25 
watts) hooked up to a solar array will have a very 
beneficial effect.  Even a small amount of heat will raise 
the relative humidity.

*  The choice of paper is a factor.  It's a good idea to 
use book-bound acid-free paper (art store) for permanent 
records.

*  Atmosphere - oxygen oxidizes (surprise?!) and helps 
make paper brittle.  Not much you can do about that unless 
you store documents with oxygen-scavenging chemicals, and 
they can be dangerous in their own right.  Nitrogen-filled 
cases are used for archival storage.  Probably not 
something you want to deal with.

*  Light - can cause fading.  No issue here.

Finally - A flash drive can be affected by a nearby current 
surge.  I'd have important records backed up on CD/DVD and 
acid-free paper off site.  Silver-based microfilm is the 
archival medium of choice for images of documents.

/Robert

Brad Haslett wrote:
> 
> The logbooks for my Bo, some almost 6 decades old, were so old and weak that
> they would come apart in your hands if you weren't careful.  I have the same
> issue with manuals I leave on the boat for extended periods but because of
> the moisture - they will deteriorate on the boat over a single season. I put
> the Bo logbooks in a large ziplock bag. The boat stuff would fit in a small
> plastic container.  Question - would it do any good to put those little
> silica packages they pack electronics with inside the container or would
> that just attract moisture.  Secondly, where do you buy those things if they
> would indeed work?
> 
> The better part of the weekend was spent scanning the original logs into a
> MS Word file and then on a flash drive.  I'm going to carry the flash drive
> in the plane along with the parts and mx manuals on the flash drive in case
> I ever need them away from home.
> 
> Brad
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-- 
Robert Skinner  "Squirrel Haven" 
Gorham, Maine         04038-1331
s/v "Little Dipper" & "Edith P."