Sorry to keep everyone waiting, but I have had a major problem with my
computer, which has only just been fixed, I have received everyone's
emails, but been unable to send any. As there were so many requests it
seems simpler to put this on the list so here goes: the general consensus
was that collections of cuttings do have a value for searchers, and that
earlier cuttings in particular can be hard to find elsewhere. The
suggestions for dealing with collections of loose cuttings ranged from
microfilming or digitising, followed by restricting access to originals, to
pasting or photocopying onto archival paper/card and post binding,. The
latter solution was also suggested for dealing with modern cuttings for
organizations that still maintain cutting collections. Another suggestion
was to sort loose cuttings and store in archival envelopes. Most still
recommended maintaining current collections, although one suggestion was to
limit this to local and specialist publications rather than the national
press. I received differing advice on the question of copyright and many
are wary of copying cuttings in any form because of this issue. For what
it's worth I think I may suggest that here at the Halle we look at the
pasting/copying method here for the modern cuttings, and the envelopes for
the large numbers of loose cuttings - although I wish I had a team of
volunteers to help!
I hope others find this helpful, thankyou again to all those who took the
trouble to reply to my initial plea. It's always good to know that we are
not alone.
Eleanor
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