Quite agree, Simon, but who is to say what will survive from today on?
Plastics (inclduing film of course) are modern materials, some of which
are already degrading, or have done so already.
Surely the main object is to separate out searching / reading rooms from
eating & drinking spaces? One would expect adults and, indeed, children,
can be made to understand why if they ask? Perhaps some basic education
is needed along with set rules? But then everyone working with such
materials, or showing them on TV, & etc, needs to be seen to be
following the rules too.
Pam
Simon Hopkins wrote:
>
> It interesting that the, on the face of it simple, question of whether
> food and drink should be allowed in the Searchroom has sparked such
> debate. For many years one of the basic tenets of archive conservation
> has been to look after our documents by a combination of preservation
> and conservation: safe storage, sympathetic handling, preservation,
> and practical intervention when needed.
>
> As a conservator I would not want to find that anything food-based has
> been put on to a document which, unless spotted, would then be
> transferred to a strongroom. Depending on conditions this could leave
> the document and archive collection open to insect infestation as well
> as defacing the document and leaving it open to further damage from
> the foodstuff acting as an adhesive. (As it is very sticky and will
> damage on contact I feel a mint could be just as dangerous as any
> other foodstuff.) For those reasons I feel it is still valid that no
> one should handle or use original documents while they are eating.
> Likewise, as we do not allow pens for the same reasons of good
> stewardship and originality, being able to remove biro ink would not
> remove the indentation from the pressure of writing itself.
>
> At the moment it would be confusing for researchers to be able to have
> food in one part of a searchroom and not another, and it is also easy
> to move from one area to the other.
>
> The heritage professions have a problem: our material is irreplaceable
> and society today has a throwaway culture. It is surely reasonable to
> have some simple rules in place to look after our heritage, while at
> the same time making space available for our users to have their
> efreshments in a tea room.
>
> We are looking after something special and, once it's gone, it's gone
> for good. We must surely continue to draw a distinction between
> replaceable modern material and that which is historic and
> irreplaceable, to keep our history intact and available for the
> forseeable considerable future.
>
> Simon
> _Simon Hopkins_ <mailto:Simon%20Hopkins/CS/WSCC> | Senior Conservator,
> County Record Office, _West Sussex County Council_
> <http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/> | Location: 3 Orchard Street,
> Chichester, PO19 1RN
> Internal: 53620 | External: +44 (0) 1243-753620 | E-mail:
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
>
> P Save the environment - think before you print.
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--
Sincerely
Pamela Cranston
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