Reference

NBS

PUBLICATIONS

NAT'L INST. OF STAND & TECH

AlllOb 2b0t32

NBSIR 85-2999

National Archives and Records

Service (NARS) Twenty Year

Preservation Plan

Alan Calmes

National Archives and Records Service

Washington, DC 20408

Ralph Schofer

Keith R. Eberhardt

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Bureau of Standards

National Engineering Laboratory

Center for Applied Mathematics

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

November 1984

Issued January 1985

-QC

100

. U56

85-2999

1984

Sponsored by

ylational Archives and Records Service

Washington, DC 20408

NBSIR 85-2999

• #NATIONAL ARHCIVES AND RECORDS

SERVICE (NARS) TWENTY YEAR

PRESERVATION PLAN

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

LIBRARY ^ZS

QC/oo

• ar&

no .

Alan Calmes

National Archives and Records Service

Washington, DC 20408

Ralph Schofer

Keith R. Eberhardt

U S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Bureau of Standards

National Engineering Laboratory

Center for Applied Mathematics

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

November 1984

Issued January 1985

Sponsored by

National Archives and Records Service

Washington, DC 20408

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Ernest Ambler, Director

NARS Twenty Year Preservation Plan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

page

Executive Summary • 3

Introduction 6

Major Findings 8

Cost Estimates 9

Action Categories:

1. Environmental Control 11

2. Holdings Maintenance of Current Holdings .. 11

3. Holdings Maintenance as Part of the Accessioning Process 12

4. Interception, Assessment, and Protection 13

3. Systematic Duplication of Thermofax and Mimeograph 15

6. Reproduction of Frequently Used Documents 15

7. Laboratory Conservation of Intrinsically Valuable Documents that are Damaged or Have a Potential for Damage and are Actively Used .... 16

8. Laboratory Conservation of National Treasures 16

9. Preservation of Non-Textual Records 16

Implementation 17

Conclusion 17

Figure 1: Holdings Maintenance Workload Reduction 19

Figure 2: Reproduction Workload Reduction 20

Figure 3: Laboratory Workload Reduction 21

Figure 4: Non-Textual Workload Reduction 22

Appendix A: Major Characteristics of NARS Textual Holdings 23

Appendix B: Budget Charts 43

Appendix C: Instructions for Completing Checklist for FY 83

Preservation Survey of NARS Textual Holdings 51

3

NARS TWENTY YEAR PRESERVATION PLAN

Executive Summary

The National Archives began operation in 1934. At that time, some of the

documents placed in its custody were over 150 years old and had been in

storage in different agencies under a broad variety of changing conditions.

In 1984, there are 3.24 billion pieces of paper comprising 1.35 million cubic

feet of records plus 25.3 million non-textual items — such as motion

pictures, still photos, sound recordings, machine-readable records, etc. — in

the permanent collection of the National Archives.

Until recently, preservation of textual (paper) records was, by and large,

performed on an ad hoc basis — thus It was impossible for the benefits of

economies of scale to accrue and there was no assurance that preservation was being performed in any relation to actual need.

Conservation of paper materials is a young and developing art. Knowledge of

materials and techniques have improved markedly in recent years. Occasionally

it is necessary to undo and/or redo earlier repair efforts (a prime example is

the previous application of pressure-sensitive tape).

Since non-textual items have received priority preservation treatment in the

past and are well preserved, for the most part, $his plan primarily addresses

the preservation needs of textual items. Much of the supporting data for

developing the plan was developed by the Statistical Engineering Division and

the Operations Research Division, Center for Applied Mathematics, National

Bureau of Standards, under interagency agreements with National Archives and

Records Service (NARS). The statisticians developed and executed a scientific

survey of the textual holdings of NARS. This survey recorded characteristics

such as paper quality, format, current storage needs, intrinsic value,

frequency of use, potential for damage and extent and urgency of needed

preservation services. The operations research analysts developed a conceptual model for identifying preservation alternatives based upon type of

document, current conditions and expected use. The operations research

analysts utilized the survey results, reports produced in earlier NARS

studies, interviews with staff, and observations of operations within NARS

reference and preservation functions as basic sources of data for developing

the preservation plan for textual (paper) records.

The goals of the plan are:

PRESERVE THE DOCUMENTARY HERITAGE OF THE UNITED STATES AND PROVIDE TIMELY

SERVICE TO BOTH GOVERNMENT AND SCHOLARLY RESEARCHERS.

These goals and the requirement that NARS operate within its budgetary

constraints lead to the following strategy for developing a preservation plan:
4

o Allocate preservation resources according to need and use

o Slow down natural aging of documents in storage by improving storage

environment and performing holdings maintenance

o Recopy rapidly deteriorating stencil Mimeograph, Thermofax and Verifax media

as soon as practical

o Reduce routine preservation laboratory work as much as possible to make room

for servicing national treasures

o Prevent accumulation of any future holdings maintenance backlog by

performing comprehensive holdings maintenance at time of accessioning

THE PRESERVATION PLAN IS PREDICATED UPON THE NECESSITIES OF PRESERVING

DOCUMENTS, SERVING RESEARCHERS, AND HUSBANDING SCARCE RESOURCES.

For documents subjected to very Infrequent use, which is the usual case for

archival records, deterioration is extremely slow when they are properly

housed and are stored in a controlled environment. The proposed plan achieves

these conditions through proposed improvements in air temperature and humidity

controls and a filtering system to remove deleterious gases. The proposed

systematic holdings maintenance program will provide suitable housing for the

documents

.

Documents subject to damage -in-use , will be identified and protected prior to use by the proposed intercept program. This program is also designed to

collect data on an across-branch basis for establishing holdings maintenance

priorities and identifying changing usage patterns. This latter collection of

enhanced reference service data is a must to provide necessary information for

effective preservation management. Proper analysis of data collected during

interception could reduce the need for a resurvey of holdings to once every

ten to fifteen years.

Documents classified as national treasures will continue to get priority

laboratory conservation as they now do under the plan implemented in 1981.

Categories of documents that are deteriorating, such as stencil Mimeograph,

Thermofax and Verifax records (circa 1940-1960), will be systematically

recopied as soon as practical where they can be found to exist in large

contiguous groups. Where these documents are found randomly scattered among

other documents, they are to be recopied individually in the holdings

maintenance program or the intercept program. The plan calls for performing

thorough holdings maintenance at the time of accessioning documents, thus

precluding the accumulation of future preservation backlogs.

It should be noted that dollars alone will not get the preservation job done —personnel positions are also required.
5

Textual records preservation quantities and costs are as follows:

Holdings Maintenance:

Copying Documents:

1.9 million cu.ft. @ $24.40/cu.f t. = $46.4 million

187 million pages @ $ .264/page = $49.4 million

Lab Conservation

Treasures: 216,000 pages @ $30. 00/page = $6.5 million

Other Intrinsic: 13.0 million pages @ $ 3.90/page = $51 million

Non-textual records preservation quantities and cost are as follows:

Copying 25 million existing non-textual units @ $. 84/unit = $21 million

Copying 41.6 million accessioned non-textual units @ $. 84/unit = $34.9 million

Estimated Total 22 year Cost of Preservation Plan in 1984 dollars is $209.1

million.

NOTE: All costs are estimated in 1984 dollars.

The overall preservation plan is divided into nine action categories:

1. Environmental Control

2. Holdings Maintenance of Current Holdings

3. Holdings Maintenance as Part of the Accessioning Process

4. Interception, Assessment, and Protection at Time of Use

5. Systematic Duplication of Thermofax, Mimeograph and Verifax Copies

6. Reproduction of Frequently Used Documents

7. Laboratory Conservation of Intrinsically Valuable Documents that are Damaged or have Potential for Damage and are actively used

8. Laboratory Conservation of Treasures

9. Preservation of Non-Textual Records

The plan was designed originally as a twenty-year-plan to get the job done in

a reasonable time period, ideally within the duty tenure of some management

personnel responsible for preservation. It is also crucially important to

preclude the development of a preservation backlog in the future by performing

comprehensive holdings maintenance as part of the accessioning program.

Implementation considerations made it advantageous to extend the plan to

twenty-two years in order to taper resources and personnel at a rate not

exceeding NARS capabilities to train people and efficiently increase the

preservation function. Future shifts in usage patterns could result in the

need to microcopy other groups of records for preservation purposes. The

intercept, assess, protect category (Action Category 4) is designed to detect

such shifts in real time (not after-the-fact) so NARS can react to these

changes in a timely manner and avoid development of other preservation

backlogs

.
6

NARS TWENTY YEAR PRESERVATION PLAN

INTRO DUCT IO N

Permanently valuable archival records in the National Archives and Records

Service (NARS) consist of 3.24 billion pieces of paper occupying 1.35

mil Lion cubic feet of space and approximately 25.3 million non-textual items,

such as motion pictures, sound recordings, still pictures, maps and

engineering drawings. Non-textual materials have received priority

preservation attention in the past, and since the size of this task has been

manageable, most non-textual items are now well preserved.

During the past four years, attention has shifted to the textual paper

records. At first, the size of this workload appeared to be overwhelming. An

earlier study by NARS in 1978 entitled "Preservation of Historical Materials

in the National Archives and Records Service," concluded that, "using current

techniques, the cost of performing the minimum preservation requirement of

deacidification for NARS textual holdings would cost approximately

$750,000,000.; microfilming—not feasible for all records —would cost nearly

$400,000,000.," for a grand total of $1,150,000,000.; but added that "a comprehensive survey of NARS archives holdings should be conducted to

determine the quantity of records in any given problem category (or set of

categories) so that the magnitude and priorities of the program can be more firmly established.” Because the Archives is responsible for maintaining

records permanently, the 1978 study estimated the cost of taking positive

action on all 3 billion pages without regard to any time schedule for

completing the work. More realistically, however, the study concluded that

the aforementioned comprehensive survey should be structured to establish

preservation priorities over a definite period of time.

In the past, preservation was, by and large, performed on an ad hoc basis as needed. With the exception of some microfilming projects and various forms of

holdings maintenance (eg. transfer of State Department records into Bauer

Boxes or unfolding, reboxing, and reshelving of Pension Files,) very little

preservation was performed in a systematic manner, either in response to

priorities of established need or to achieve economies of scale.

It is important to keep in mind that the National Archives was only created in

1934; some of the documents had resided in other Government agencies under a variety of storage conditions for over 150 years before being sent to NARS.

The type and frequency of preservation treatments is unknown for all these

documents prior to accessioning into NARS. It is apparent that much was done

using improper materials and procedures. Today, most of this previous

treatment must be undone and/or redone. This is not cause to fault the

performers of the early preservation work—conservation of paper textual

materials is a young art: knowledge, techniques and materials have improved

markedly in recent years.
7

In 1981 at NARS' request, The Statistical Engineering Division, Center for

Applied Mathematics, the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) designed a statistically valid survey plan for sampling the population of archival

textual paper records to observe and record such characteristics as paper

quality, format, current storage needs, intrinsic value, frequency of use, and

potential for damage, and to estimate the extent and urgency of needed

preservation services. In 1982, NARS requested the Operations Research

Division, Center for Applied Mathematics to develop a conceptual model of

preservation alternatives based upon type of document, current condition and

expected use. The model was coordinated with survey categories to achieve

compatibility and to provide a basis for establishing a preservation strategy

and long term plan for preservation at NARS.

The statisticians from NBS designed a scientific sample survey of the textual

(paper) holdings in the National Archives Building, Washington, D.C., and in

archives branches in the Washington National Records Center, Suitland,

Maryland. The survey provided estimates of percentages of total holdings in

categories (defined by document condition, usage, and value) in the conceptual

model developed by NBS operations research analysts. Each of the model

categories prescribes both an action and a priority for preservation.

Development of a_ Preservation Plan

The initiative to develop a systematic preservation plan was begun in autumn

of 1982. A basic source of data was the pilot survey (and subsequently the

full survey) of the National Archives holdings. Supporting input data was obtained from earlier study reports, interviews with staff and observation of

operations within both the reference and preservation functions. Early on it

became apparent that the massiveness of the preservation task was to be a constraint on available options while the primary goals must be achieved:

PRESERVE THE DOCUMENTARY HERITAGE OF THE UNITED STATES; PROVIDE TIMELY SERVICE

TO BOTH GOVERNMENT AND SCHOLARLY RESEARCHERS; HUSBAND SCARCE RESOURCES

These goals and constraints lead to the following strategy for developing a preservation plan:

o Allocate preservation resources according to need and use

o Slow down natural aging of documents in storage by improving storage

environment and administering holdings maintenance

o Recopy rapidly deteriorating stencil Mimeograph, Thermofax and Verifax media

as soon as practical

o Reduce routine preservation laboratory work as much as possible to make roor for servicing national treasures

o Prevent accumulation of any future holdings maintenance backlog by

performing comprehensive holdings maintenance at time of accessioning

Documents subjected to very infrequent use, which Is the usual case for

archival records, deteriorate extremely slowly when properly mused and stored

in a controlled environment. The proposed plan achieves these cor. tit: rs through proposed improvements in air temperature and humidity controls and a filtering system to remove deleterious gases. The proposed systematic

holdings maintenance will provide suitable housing for the dccuotents.
8

Documents subject to damage-in-use will be identified and protected prior to use by the proposed intercept program. This program is also designed to

collect data on across-branch basis for establishing holdings maintenance

priorities and identifying changing usage patterns. This latter collection of

enhanced reference service data is a must to provide necessary information for

effective management. Proper use of data collected during interception could

reduce the need for a resurvey of holdings to once every ten to fifteen

years

.

Documents classified as national treasures will continue to get priority

laboratory conservation as they now do under the plan implemented in 1981.

Categories of documents that are deteriorating, such as stencil Mimeograph,

Thermofax and Verifax records (circa 1940-1960), will be systematically

recopied as soon as practical where they can be identified to exist in large

contiguous groups. Where these documents are found randomly scattered among

other documents, they are to be recopied individually in the holdings

maintenance programs or the intercept program. The plan calls for performing

thorough holdings maintenance at the time of accessioning documents thus

precluding the accumulation of future preservation backlogs.

MAJOR FINDINGS

The statistical survey* indicated that 84.5% (+4.5%) or 1.14 million cubic

feet (+G.06 million c.f.) of holdings are inadequately housed and need to be

rehoused in acid free file folders and boxes; many bound volumes need

protective covers.

Although the survey estimated that 4.9% + 1.2% or 160 million sheets of paper

have major damage, only 0.8% (±0.4%) or 26 million sheets of the total

holdings fall into the category of having intrinsic value, major damage and

frequent use; however, it is estimated that during the next twenty-two years,

only 13 million of those sheets will be called up for use and require

intensive laboratory treatment. This is an estimate based upon discussions

with archivists familiar with the various record series; no quantitative data

is currently available. The intercept program, when fully implemented will

provide quantitative data which will allow for making a better estimate of the

number of records requiring laboratory treatment. It is clear that the

magnitude of this estimate significantly affects the required preservation

resources. Prudence suggests that the greater amount be used for planning

purposes until objective estimates become available from the intercept program

results. These results will be available long before funds must be committed

to increase conservation laboratory capacity above what is certain to be

required. Nevertheless, this workload together with the 216,000 sheets of

*The statistical survey of NARS paper textual records was conducted during

1983-84. The survey results are detailed in Appendix A of this report.
9

National Treasures, will require NARS to more than triple its current

laboratory capacity.

An estimated 3% (+1.2%) or 97 million sheets are frequently used papers that

should be copied to prevent wear and tear and to facilitate distribution of

information to researchers.

An estimated 8.3% (+1.6%) or 270 million sheets of paper consist of rapidly

deteriorating reproductions produced by Thermofax, Mimeograph and Verifax

processes (The Mimeograph copies contain the documentary history of World War

II, the Korean War and the Cold War). About 1.6% (j+1.0%) or 52 million sheets

of NARS' paper holdings consist of large quantities of Thermofax/Mimeograph/

Verifax records that are easy to locate. These endangered papers must be

recopied promptly. Other Thermof ax/Miraeograph/Verif ax papers are widely

interspersed with other kinds of papers and will have to be copied when they

are located. They have an advantage over whole boxes of Thermofax/Mimeograph/

Verifax paper because the interspersed sheets are adjacent to papers that are degrading at a much slower rate. If care is taken to provide and maintain

storage conditions described subsequently, these papers should survive until

they are located.

The 97 million frequently used sheets and 52 million Thermofax/Mimeograph/

Verifax sheets create a combined 149 million sheet copying workload, or 4.6%

of the total holdings.

In summary the survey results show that of the current textual (paper)

archival holdings:

84.5% (+4.5%) (1.14 million cu. ft.) require holdings maintenance

important because this will be NARS* major effort over the next several years

to slow down deterioration as much as possible.

0.4% (13 million pages) require intensive laboratory treatment, such as deacidification, mending, and/or encapsulation. (This includes 216,000 sheets

of National Treasures which will receive the most intense treatment.)

4.6% (149 million pages) need to be copied.

(Other statistics describing the characteristics of the textual holdings are shown in Appendix A, "Statistical Survey of NARS Paper Textual Records.")

COST ESTIMATES

Constant (1984) dollars are used throughout this report. Total costs are estimated for the 22 year period of the plan. Unit costs are based on recent

data and expectations of economies of scale in activities such as holdings

maintenance and microcopying.
10

Recent holdings maintenance cost data is derived from sporadic and small scale

activities. These unit costs are high and not based upon carefully planned

and systematic production. In the future, holdings maintenance will be

performed routinely and systematically on new accessions, and within entire

stack areas and significant economies -of -scale are expected to accrue. Copy

costs do not decline because the main cost associated with copying is the

labor to get the sheet in front of the camera; furthermore, it is estimated

that much difficult copy work that has been previously avoided will have to be

done. This work will require some mending or flattening before copying.

It is important to note that dollars alone will not get the preservation job

done: positions are also required. Proper document preservation requires

carefully developed skills, close supervision and significant amounts of

professional archival judgment. This can only be accomplished by training,

developing, and supervising archives personnel on an in-house basis.

Appendix B, entitled "Budget Charts," displays a breakdown of costs and full

time equivalents (FTE's).

Holdings maintenance cost estimate

Holdings maintenance is estimated to cost on the average $24.40 per cubic

foot, which includes three archives boxes, an average of 36 file folders,

relabeling, and reshelving or shrink-packaging of bound volumes where

required. The shrink-packaging costs only $0.50 per volume, while holdings

maintenance of loose papers with reshelving costs about $9.00 per archives

box

.

In addition to 1.14 million cu. ft. of holdings maintenance for the current

holdings, an additional 748,000 cu. ft. of new accessions will arrive at the

National Archives during the next twenty-two years. Therefore, the total cost

estimate over 22 years is:

(1.9 million cu. ft.) x ($24.40 per cu. ft.) = $46 million.

Copying cost estimate

The average copying cost is $0,264 per page, which includes preparation,

camera work, processing, and verification.

In addition to the 149 million pages in the current backlog in need of

copying, there will be an estimated 38 million pages accessioned into the

Archives during the next twenty-two years that will need to be copied.

Therefore the total cost estimate over 22 years is :

(187 million pages) x ($0,264 per page) = $49 million.

Intensive laboratory preservation cost estimate

Average estimated cost of $30.00 per page for treasures. The total cost

estimate over 22 years is:
11

(216,000 pages of treasures) x ($30.00 per page) - $6.5 million.

Average estimated cost equals $ 3.90 per page for other intrinsically

valuable documents. The total cost estimate over 22 years is:

(13 million pages) x ($3.90 per page) = $51 million.

COMPREHENSIVE PRESERVATION PLAN

The overall preservation plan Is divided into nine action categories:

1. Environmental control

2. Holdings maintenance of current holdings

3. Holdings maintenance as part of the accessioning process

4. Interception, assessment, and protection

5. Systematic duplication of Thermofax, Mimeograph and Verifax copies

6. Reproduction of frequently used documents

7. Laboratory conservation of intrinsically valuable documents that are damaged or have potential for damage and are actively used

8. Laboratory conservation of National Treasures

9. Preservation of non-textual records

ACTION CATEGORY 1 : Environmental Control

Environmental control of the atmosphere in the stacks will provide desirable

temperature and relative humidity and will remove dust and deleterious gases

which contribute to the aging and deterioration of paper documents. (Funding

for capital costs is not carried under the NARS preservation budget. However,

environmental control is such an integral and necessary component of the

preservation plan that it must be referenced in a description of the plan.)

In 1982 NARS engaged the Public Building Service (PBS) to conduct a study of

the environmental conditions in the stacks at the National Archives Building.

PBS subcontracted the work to the NBS Center for Building Technology. The

study, published in November 1983, specifies air quality criteria for storage

of paper-based archival records. NARS continues to engage PBS for obtaining

an architectual/engineering firm to redesign the heating, ventilation, and

air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in the National Archives building. The goal

is to provide constant cool, dry, and clean air in the stacks.

ACTION CATEGORY 2 : Holdings Maintenance of Current Holdings

"Holdings maintenance" is a term used to describe storage enhancement of

archival material that slows down the rate of deterioration. In the library

world this is called "collections maintenance." In some other countries it is

termed "preventive conservation." Good storage techniques include the use of

acid-free boxes and file folders; and flat, unfolded and neat, vertical filing

of paper records. (Sometimes, it is necessary to relax folded papers by

slight, temporary humidification.) When these activities are performed in the

stacks and do not include item-by-item laboratory-type treatment, they are considered to be "holdings maintenance."
12

Accelerated and systematic holdings maintenance (akin to preventive

maintenance), will preclude substantially more time -consuming and costly

preservation in the future. As an example, many documents are housed in

acidic boxes and acidic file folders. This condition is deleterious on a long

term basis. The damage caused to documents adjacent to acid-bearing materials

is readily apparent. Furthermore, many of the documents are folded, resulting

in stress and embrittlement of the paper. Where these conditions are evident,

the documents should be unfolded, refoldered, and reboxed.

The occasional Mimeograph, Thermofax or Verifax copy located during this

holdings maintenance process should be recopied in situ. Documents subject to

damage-in-use should either be copied in situ or placed in a protective

polyester envelop. Where the incidence of Mimeograph, Thermofax or Verifax

copies or documents subject to damage-in-use is more than occasional, it

cannot be serviced in holdings maintenance. In these cases it will be

necessary to determine the extent of documents needing such service and set up

a separate service project.

Relabeling folders and relabeling boxes is a necessary step in holdings

maintenance. If self -adhering labels are prepared using a keyboard and

micro-computer, the data typed for the box labels could be used to provide

shelf lists and finding aids as a concomitant output at little additional cost

(folder lists also could be provided).

Bound volumes that are too weak or too damaged to stand intact as a unit on the shelf will be shrink-packaged (shrink-packaging is an inexpensive process

that uses an inert, thin polyolefin film that will shrink tightly around a volume when slightly heated).

Maintenance teams should be systematically scheduled through the various

custodial units to perform this preventive maintenance on current holdings in

priority order as determined in the interception, assessment and protection

process

.

During the next twenty-two years, holdings maintenance will be performed on

the backlog of current holdings. This amounts to a workload of 1.14 million

cu. ft., for which the estimated cost totals $ 27.8 million.

ACTION CATEGORY 3 : Holdings Maintenance as Part of the Accessioning Process

Holdings maintenance protection will also be applied systematically to all new

accessions. The significance and necessity of performing holdings maintenance

as an integral part of the accessioning process cannot be overstressed: ONLY

BY ASSURING THAT INCOMING DOCUMENTS ARE PROPERLY HOUSED CAN NARS KEEP THE

MAINTENANCE BACKLOG FROM INCREASING.

There will be very few intrinsically valuable records worthy of intensive

laboratory treatment among the most modern records. Furthermore, within the

timeframe of this plan, about twenty-two years, the most modern records are

not likely to be subjected to wear and tear or the stresses of inadequate

storage to cause enough damage requiring intensive laboratory treatment. Some

documents must be copied and others put into acid-free folders, but they will
13

rarely, if ever, require intensive laboratory treatment* Furthermore,

performing holdings maintenance at time of accessioning will create storage

conditions that will help preclude future damage or deterioration.

The occasional Mimeograph, Thermofax or Verifax copy located during this

holdings maintenance process should be recopied in situ. Documents subject to

damage-in-use should either be copied in situ or placed in a protective

polyester envelop. Where the incidence of Mimeograph, Thermofax or Verifax

copies or documents subject to damage-in-use is more than occasional, it

cannot be serviced in holdings maintenance. In these cases it will be

necessary to determine the extent of documents needing such service and set up

a separate service project.

During the next twenty-two years, 748. thousand cubic feet of new paper

records will be processed into the Archives. Preservation actions taken at

time of accessioning will cost an estimated $ 18.6 million for the

twenty-two-year period.

ACT ION CAT EGORY 4: Interception, Assessment , and Protection

This action category specifies systematic interception, assessment and

protection (if needed) of all documents as they are referenced by the staff or researchers. This process includes evaluation of condition and may include

protection of the document by copying, covering, etc., if these documents

have a potential for damage-in-use. This action category includes recopying

the occasional stencil Mimeograph, Thermofax, Verifax copy that will be found

during assessment.

Where the incidence of Mimeograph, Thermofax, or Verifax copies or documents

subject to damage-in-use is more than occasional, it cannot be serviced under

Action Category 4. In these cases it will be necessary to determine the

extent of documents needing such service and set up a special service

project

.

Interception and assessment identifies documents that are used . These

documents should receive a higher priority for preservation than documents

which are not being used.

The procedure also:

1. Assures that documents delivered to researchers are tidy and properly

aligned. If documents are delivered to researchers in good order, they are likely to return them in good order. Use of documents in good order is easy

to oversee and they can be readily inspected upon return. Documents delivered

in good order are self -policing

.

2. Assures that document boxes are clean, dust-free, and reasonably free of

damage. This is important in maintaining the proper image of NARS to

researchers and is supportive of the self-policing aspect of tidy documents in

good order.
14

3. Protects the occasional sheet from being damaged-in-use by placing it

temporarily in a polyester envelope or by making an electrostatic copy for the user. When there are many documents subject to damage-in-use, the researcher

is to be personally cautioned about the care and handling of the documents or,

under rare circumstances, the documents are to be withheld until they can be

protected or copied.

4. Provides consistent information to the holdings branches, subject to stack

verification, on the need for systematic preservation within the branch.

5. Provides quantitative data for establishing priorities for scheduling

holdings maintenance among branches.

6. Reduces the frequency of need for periodic surveys of NARS holdings and

provides an accurate, on-going record of the conditions of documents-beingused.

Available evidence suggests that paper documents, stored under proper

conditions in a "good" environment, last indefinitely. Of course, mechanical

(and chemical) interactions from heavy use cause wear, which must be prevented

and/or repaired, or the document must be copied. Usage of archival documents

is rarely heavy enough to cause this type of mechanical/chemical damage. In

those series of records where use-damage threatens the life of the documents,

the plan provides for conserving and/or copying these documents for

preservation. The document -intercept program was explicitly conceived to

limit and to quantify these types of problems.

In extreme cases, interception and assessment could result in temporary

withholding of the document (s) if laboratory treatment is the only way they can be adequately protected. This would occur only with documents that cannot

easily be copied or otherwise protected. Ideally, such documents should be

withheld until proper laboratory conservation treatment or other protective

treatment can be performed; in all practicality, however, the need for such

treatment will be noted and performed subsequently on a priority scheduled

basis

.

Information will be collected during the interception and assessment process:

data that will identify specific sets of records that are frequently accessed

and are in need of holdings maintenance, systematic reproduction and/or

laboratory treatment. These data collected at time of use will provide NARS

with a validation check of the conceptual model.

A pilot project to refine the concept of interception, assessment and

protection started in the fourth quarter of FY 1984 in the Navy and Old Army

Branch of the National Archives. The purposes of the pilot project are: (1)

to determine how much protection can be provided at the time of use without

disrupting reference and projects, (2) to improve housekeeping, and (3) to

develop a procedure for collecting data that will establish preservation

priorities and records usage patterns.
15

ACTION CATEGORY 5: Systematic Duplication of Mimeograph, Thermofax, and

Verif ax Documents

Immediate action is required to prevent the loss of important information on stenci L-Mimeograph, Thermofax and Verif ax reproductions produced during the

1940's and 1950' s. The paper stock and ink definition of these especially

fragile documents are rapidly deteriorating, with accompanying loss of

legibility. The contrast between the printed images and the paper is

diminishing. If too much time elapses before photocopying or microcopying,

information will either be lost or be reclaimable only at exorbitantly high

costs

.

These most endangered paper records must be recopied promptly. The primary

endangered groups of records are:

1. Those created on very poor quality sulphite paper during World War II and

the Korean War era, exemplified by stencil-mimeographed reproductions, with a total life expectancy of about 65 years. The U.S. Bureau of the Budget issued

Regulation Number 4 on August 31, 1942, to conserve resources during wartime.

This regulation ordered government agencies to use sulphite paper, an inexpensive grade of paper that was inherently unstable because of its high

acidity. Ironically, this wartime conservation measure has contributed to the

current need for increased preservation resources.

2. Those created during the same time period by "quick-copy" techniques, such

as Thermofax and Verifax. The plan calls for an accelerated program to

microfilm or photocopy the large batches of these papers, estimated at 52

million pages. Widely dispersed impermanent copies will be recopied as they

are located either in interception or holdings maintenance processes.

It is estimated that, within ten years, information in the earliest of these

high-risk records will begin to disappear, a process that will expand

inexorably without corrective action.

The cost of this 52 million page copying program is estimated to be $13.7

million over the next twenty-two years.

ACTION CATEGORY 6: Reproduction of Frequently Used Documents

Records that have a high and continuing research value, that are not otherwise

available in published form, and that would suffer damage from continuing use will be scheduled for reproduction. The choice of records and the setting of

priorities will be made using data collected in the interception, assessment,

and protection program described in Action Category 4. Usage patterns are the

prime indicator for selecting records for microfilm publications.

It is estimated that it will cost $25.6 million over the next twenty-two years

to copy the 97 million pages in the category of frequently used documents.

Furthermore, some new accessions will be in high demand as soon as they are available to the public; therefore, the plan calls for copying 38 million

pages of new accessions during the next twenty-two years at a cost of $10

million.
16

ACT ION CAT EGORY 7 : Laboratory Conservation of Intrinsically Valuable

Documents that are Damaged or Have a_ Potential for Damage and are Actively

Used

The interception, assessment, and protection activity described in Action

Category 4 will yield a listing of intrinsically valuable documents that are in need of laboratory treatment because they are either damaged or have a potential for damage and are frequently used.

"Laboratory Conservation Treatment" is a term used to describe a variety of

actions taken on archival materials in a laboratory setting where special

equipment and skills are needed. For example, the removal of tape usually

requires solvents, and the use of solvents requires a fume hood and

familiarity with ink/solvent reactions. Laboratory conservation treatments

consist of intensive item-by-item actions such as tape removal, mending,

strengthening, cleaning, lamination, deacidification and other chemical

processes

.

Encapsulation can be either a laboratory function or, if it is performed in

the holdings or intercept area and if no laboratory-type treatments are performed, a holdings maintenance function.

Additionally, some unavoidable laboratory conservation work will be performed

on badly damaged records in preparation for microcopying, and on some frequently-referenced documents that are difficult to copy.

Treatment of the 13 million sheets of paper in this category will cost $51

million over the next twenty-two years.

ACT ION CAT EGORY 8: Laboratory Conservation of National Treasures

The "national treasures" (documents of high national interest such as treaties

with foreign countries) deserve priority access to the conservation

laboratory. A separate plan and schedule for conserving these documents was developed in 1981 and is on-going. These national treasures comprise about

900 cubic feet of the most historically significant records in the National

Archives. Implementation of, and adherence to, this preservation plan will

help prevent "non-treasures" from needing conservation laboratory treatment

and, therefore, will allow more treasures to be treated in the laboratory.

An estimated 216,000 sheets of treasures need laboratory conservation

treatment. This high order laboratory work will cost an estimated $6.5

million over the next twenty-two years.

ACTION CAT EGORY 9: Preservation of Non-textual Records

Of the current non-textual holdings (movies, pictures, sound recordings,

machine-readable tapes, etc.), 79% require no treatment. Approximately 21% of

the non-textual holdings need to be copied.

The current backlog of 25 million non-textual units to be copied will cost an estimated $21 million over the next twenty-two years.
17

The plan calls for the expenditure of $34.9 million to preserve 41.6 million

in-coraing non-textual units during the next twenty-two years. There will be a growth in the use of non-textual media during this period, resulting in a substantial increase in the amount of non-textual materials coming into the

Archives in the future.

IMPLEMENTATION

The number of full time equivalent (FTE) employees performing preservation

activities will gradually increase in the early years of the plan to a level

of 198 when NARS reaches full funding for the preservation program. That will

be an increase of 148 over the FY 1984 FTE level of 50 for preservation

activities. Because NARS cannot absorb the full funding until full staffing

is authorized, the budget and staffing increases need to be coordinated. This

will extend the work a few years because NARS cannot absorb the full increment

in the first year and will take about two years to get up to full staffing.

Thus the plan, originally conceived as a 20 year plan actually becomes a 22

year plan to utilize these resources more efficiently. The amount of increase

and timing for full staffing also depends upon recruitment and training, again

probably phasing in over a two year period. In addition, the mix of work will

change over the twenty-two year period of the plan: holdings maintenance will

be the main focus of work in the first five to ten years and laboratory

conservation will be the main focus of work during the latter ten-or-so

years

.

CONCLUSION

This preservation plan covers a long period—22 years. It is costly in money

and other resources; however, the plan establishes a preservation program to

finish the job in a finite amount of time. One should note that the reason

there is so much maintenance (preservation) to be performed and resulting

costs are high is that this work was not performed when it should have been.

The Archives began operations in 1934; some documents had resided in other

government agencies in a variety of storage conditions for over 150 years

before being sent to the National Archives. The adage, "stitch in time saves nine," also applies to archival preservation. The general term for this

accumulation is "deferred preservation" or "deferred maintenance." By

deferring preservation in the past, expenses were reduced and taxpayers'

burden was reduced accordingly for that time period. NARS is approaching the

day where deferring preservation work much more will result in an increasing

number of documents being lost forever.

Comparison of estimated costs of the 1978 preservation plan—$ 1.15 billion

(1978 dollars), over an undefined time period—with the present systematic

preservation plan—$209.1 million (1984 dollars) over 22 years —shows that by

being selective and choosing a sound strategy, costs are substantially

reduced

.

Figures 1-4 depict the working-down of the preservation backlog over the 22

year period. Beginning in the 19th year: holdings maintenance will need to

be performed only on documents being accessioned; most conservation lab work

will address the maintenance of treasures; some lab work will be required to

maintain documents of intrinsic value, to make occasional document repairs,

and to support copying projects.
18

Microcopying and other preservation copying projects could decrease less than

currently predicted if usage patterns of documents shift and cause different

groups to need preservation. It is impossible to predict such shifts at this

time. The enhanced reference service data collected during the intercept

program will provide early warning of these shifts in usage patterns.
19

n. i a pc- o r\ V c" A P pP r P crp \ /ati n i\ i c1

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20

MARS 20 YEAR PRESERVATION PLAN

REPRODUCTION WORKLOAD REDUCTION

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Figure 2 Reproduction Workload Reduction
(Millions)

21

MARS 20 YEAR PRESERVATION PLAN

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Laboratory Workload Reduction
22

MARS 20 YEAR PRESERVATION PLAN

NOW -TEXTUAL. SVORKLO&D FEDUCTIQM

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Figure 4

Non-Textual Workload Reduction
23

Appendix A - Statistical Survey of NARS

Paper Textual Records

This large survey was conducted as a stratified systematic sample of holdings

of the Office of the National Archives and the civil and military branches at

the Washington Regional Archives in Suitland, Maryland. The sampling scheme

was based on the procedure of entering each stack area and taking a "l-in-50'

systematic sample of coapartments. The only stack areas not covered were

those that contain material outside the pre-defined survey population.

Examples of such non-survey materials include microfilm, photographs, printed

archives, sound recordings, and legislative records.

Stratification

The sample selection procedure was carried out by Jimmy Rush, an archivist

with broad experience in the physical lay-out of the stack areas. From the

information compiled during sample selection, a "Stack Area Report” was prepared for each stack area at the Archives Building in Washington, D.C. and

the Washington National Records Center in Suitland, Md. For stack areas that were determined not to be part of the survey population, a reason was given

for that determination. For stack areas surveyed, the locations of all

sampled compartments were listed and the number of compartments in use,

determined by actual count, was listed.

The sample selection process led to identification of samples in 144 stack

areas. Two of these were deleted from the survey because they were later

found to belong to non-survey categories (legislative and Printed Archives,)

so the final number of surveyed stack areas was 142. Stack areas were used as the basis for stratification of the population—the idea being to develop

estimates for each stack area (stratum) separately and then combine the

results to develop overall statements for the population. However, the final

number of strata used in the statistical estimation procedures was reduced

from 142 to 127 by combining certain stack areas to form larger strata. This

was necessary whenever a stack area contained only one sample unit, because

evaluation of statistical uncertainty in the estimates requires at least two

sample units per stratum. Thus, stack areas with one sample unit were combined with neighboring stack areas, as necessary, to ensure that the

resulting strata all contain at least two sample units.

Sample Selection Procedure

As previously mentioned, sample compartments were chosen within stack areas by

a "l-in-50” systematic sampling scheme. Specifically, after choosing a random

start, Jimmy Rush counted compartments in use and chose a sample unit from

every 50th compartment. From a chosen compartment, a sample unit (i.e. a box

or bound volume) was chosen at random, as follows. First a shelf was chosen,

at random, from the shelves in use. Then the sample unit was randomly

identified froQ the units on the selected shelf. The random selections -er- performed using appropriate tables of random numbers.

Since the numbers of boxes or volumes per compartment (and their sizes, vary

considerably over the survey population, information was recor> : to take

these factors into account in subsequent calculation, of factors to expand the
24

samples to the population. Specifically, the number of shelves in use was recorded for each chosen compartment, as well as the number of units (boxes,

volumes) on the selected shelf, and the size of the sample unit.

While samples were selected for the survey by Jimmy Rush, the basic evaluation

of samples and data recording were done by others, namely, Ann Elam and Eric

Bechtel—two experienced preservation technicians. (In addition Alan Calmes

evaluated some samples in security areas.) This division of duties required

special effort to make sure that the samples initially selected were all

accounted-f or in the final data.

The number of samples selected by Jimmy Rush was 1134. After several

rounds of checking and follow-ups, survey evaluation forms were completed for

all 1134 of the selected samples.

Coarse Features of the Population

Based on the count of corapartments-in-use in each stack area, the total survey

population consists of some 56,639 compartments. The total volume of records

in these compartments is estimated to be 1.12 million cubic feet, with an uncertainty (95% confidence interval) of ± 2%, or ± 0.02 million cubic feet.

The textual archives of the United States comprises the textual records

determined by the Archivist of the United States to have sufficient historical

or other value to warrant their continued preservation. The survey was selected only from holdings of the Office of the National Archives in the

National Archives Building and in the civil and military branches of the

Washington National Records Center. The total holdings of these surveyed two

locations is estimated as 1.12 million cubic feet ^0.02 million cubic feet.

Experienced archivists do not believe that the holdings of the unsurveyed

regional archives are different from the holdings which were surveyed. The

volume of holdings in the unsurveyed regional archives is estimated to be

0.23 million cubic feet. The percentages of holdings in various preservation

categories were therefore applied to the estimate of total textual holdings,

1.12 + 0.23 = 1.35 million cubic feet, to provide estimates of total textual

preservation workload quantities. (The holdings of Presidential libraries are not included in this preservation plan.)

It should be noted that all estimates of cubic feet are based on a scale that

treats loose papers and bound volumes ("books", for short) somewhat

differently. The main use of estimates of cubic feet is to convert them to

estimates of numbers of sheets of paper, by the rule that a cubic foot

contains about 2400 sheets. This figure, while reasonable for boxes of loose

papers, is too small for books. Since pages in books are so tightly packed, a better figure is about 3600 sheets per cubic foot (assuming letter or legal

sized paper.) This is based on measurements of some books around the office

and on a small amount of survey data for the physical volume taken up when

books are stored in standard "1/3-cubic foot" boxes.

Thus, somewhat arbitrarily, the effective volume of each book selected for the

survey was calculated from the actual physical volume (obtained by using a tape measure at the time of surveying) by multiplying by 1.5 (= 36005-2400).
25

While this convention overstates the physical volume taken up by books (at

least when they are shelved efficiently,) it was felt that the resulting

figures will be more realistic for estimating preservation workloads that are tied to the number of sheets of paper.

Examination of the returned survey forms showed that not all of them yielded

information about the intended survey population. Exceptional cases were grouped into 3 broad categories as described below.

Nonsurvey material:

This category consists of material that logically does not belong to the

intended survey population, but that was mixed-in among materials

intended for the survey. Some of this occured as an inevitable outcome

of the sampling procedure since archived materials were only skipped when

they consisted of large contiguous blocks of material that were clearly

outside of the defined population (for example when an entire stack area consists of microfilm.)

Sample units that were found to consist of "nonsurvey" material included

legislative records, sound recordings, microfilm, "courtesy storage" for

various non-archives organizations, printed archives, cartographic

records, non-accessioned records, records already marked for disposal,

and "empty shelves" that were found when the surveyors went to the

designated locations. These "empty shelves" were in use when selected by

Jimmy Rush, but were vacated between the time of sample selection and

survey data collection. These records may have been disposed or simply

moved to new locations during this time. Only one such instance occured,

corresponding to less than 1/10 of 1% of the population.

The total amount of non-survey items in the population was estimated to

be 41,000 cubic feet, or about 3.7% of the total volume of 1.12 million

cubic feet. The uncertainty in these figures (95% confidence intervals)

is about i 14,000 cubic feet, or ± 1.2% of the total population.

Unused portion of storage units:

Many of the storage boxes are not completely full. Some books

contain substantial numbers of blank pages. The extent of this

condition was recorded for each sample unit in question number 19

(see Exhibit 1.) The total unused portion of the survey population

was estimated to be 46,500 (± 10,000) cubic feet, which amounts to

4.1% of the total 1.12 million cubic feet.

Disposable material:

Question 1 on the survey form asked whether the sample unit belonged to a series that is considered to be disposable, as judged by an archivist

familiar with the series. The total volume of disposable material is

estimated to be 26,000 cubic feet (± 10,000) or 2.3% (± 0.9%) of the

total survey population.
26

After subtracting the nonsurvey units, and unused portion, and disposable

materials from the total population, 1.01 million cubic feet, or 89.9% of the

total, remain representing the originally defined conceptual population of

interest. Thus about 10% of the material that might appear at first glance to

belong to the population of interest does not in fact belong to that

population.

These coarse features of the population actually surveyed are summarized in

Exhibit 1.

Summary of Individual Items on the Survey Form

The actual collection of data for individual sample units was accomplished by

NARS personnel who completed a "checklist" for each unit. The checklist form

is shown in Exhibit 2. Part I of the form, questions 1-6, was completed by an archivist familiar with the particular series being surveyed. Part II was completed by preservation technicians.

Detailed instructions were prepared to interpret individual questions on the

form. These instructions were revised during and after the survey to reflect

what was learned by experience and to document an accurate and consistent

interpretation of the survey questions. They are reproduced as Appendix C of

this report.

A complete numerical summary of the survey data is presented in Exhibit 3. In

this exhibit, and elsewhere where appropriate, the question numbers on the

"checklist" form are denoted for example as Q3 (referring to question number

3), etc. The responses to each question are reported as percents relative to

the total volume of material in the population surveyed (i.e. 1.12 million

cubic feet —see Exhibit 1.)

The use of the class groupings labeled "(Few), (1/4), (1/2)", etc., to

represent the actual fraction of the contents of a sample unit in a given

condition category was convenient for collecting data, but is cumbersome for

summarizing it. There is no unique way to combine the information across the

5 classes from "Few" to "All" to form a composite estimate of the percentage

of the population in a given category. Therefore a simple expedient solution

has been taken and reported in Exhibit 3 under the heading "Weighted Avg."

This weighted average is computed by assigning all the data in each class to

the midpoint of the corresponding interval. Thus, the numerical fractions of

sample units corresponding to the classes: (Few), (1/4), (1/2), (3/4), and

(All) were 0.025, 0.15, 0.50, 0.85, and 0.975, respectively. By this device,

the classes could be combined into the weighted averages reported, which

represent a more compact summary of the data.

"Other” categories:

Several of the questions have responses marked "Other (Specify )."

A summary of the data obtained in the "specify" portion of these questions

follows. Numbers given are raw counts of numbers of sample units containing

the specified types of documents.
27

Q12f (Other Types of Support):

6 drafting cloth 1 3 photos 1 3 carbon 1 2 photostat 1 2 coated 1

tracing paper

linen tracing paper

linen cloth

thin drawing paper

wax paper

1 wax

1 coated photo print

1 Ozalid

1 carbon backed paper

1 carbon backed book

Ql3i (Other Types of Media)

107 photostats 1 ledger sheets

75 blue prints 1 white print

5 Ozalid 1 telegram

2 s t amp s 1 seal

1 dictabelts 1 carbon paper

1 glossy magazinetype covers

1 dental x-rays

1 electrocardiograph

Q15d (Other Previous Treatment)

62 cloth backed

2 paper backed

2 rebound

Qlog (Other Major Damage)

3 insect 1 paper crumbled

1 ink spill 1 fire

1 curled 1 warped

Uncertainties

:

Because the presentation of the estimates in Exhibit 3 is complicated,

individual statements of uncertainties have been omitted, even though they

have been calculated. Instead, the table in Exhibit 4 provides rough

guidelines for approximating the relevant uncertainties. These guidelines

amount to a summary of the actual uncertainties, which were calculated

individually as part of the statistical analysis.

NARS Long Range Preservation Conceptual Model

The conceptual model of the long range preservation program has been revised a number of times in order to improve the fit of preservation options to needs.

This model has always been logically oriented toward individual sheets of

paper. Even though the survey data do not directly give information on individual sheets, it is of interest to try to adapt the conceptual model

logic to the survey data.

Exhibit 5 is a flow chart representing the most current conceptual model

(circa September, 1983), modified to be compatible with to the survey data.

In Exhibit 3, all of the decision points, represented by diamond-shaped boxes, are defined to apply to a whole unit (i.e., an archives box or bound volume)

of records. The terminal boxes on the flowchart are then broken down into
28

several categories to represent the mixture of categories (for individual

sheets of paper) that might be found in a given unit. The estimated

percentage of the total surveyed population (on a base of 1.12 million cubic

feet —see Exhibit 1) is given in each terminal box. The uncertainties in the

estimated percentages can be inferred from the guidelines in Exhibit 4.

The decision points (diamond-shaped boxes) in the flowchart are defined as follows

:

* Disposed; Nonsurvey material; Empty portion

yes: Combination of the first two categories described in Exhibit 1 and corresponding text. "Empty" portion means "unused" portion.

no: All other material.

* Disposable

yes: Q1 = Yes

no: Q1 = No or missing

•» Bad Housing

yes: Q9b = Yes, or Q9c = Poor, or Q9d2 = Yes, or Q9e = Acid, or Q14d > 0, or QlOd > 0, or QlOe > 0, or QlOf > 0, or QlOh > 0

no: al L else

® All Impermanent Copies

yes: Q13e = (All)

no: all else

* Is There a Copy

yes: Q5 = yes or Q6 = yes

no: all else

* Any Damage or Potential Damage

yes: any of Q 1 3j , Q16 a-g, Q 1 7 , Qlle, Q12a, Q14e greater than 0

no: all else

» Frequently Used

yes: Q3 = at least once a month

no: all else
29

«» Intrinsic Value

yes: Q2 = 1

no: all else

• Homogeneous File

yes: Q2b £ yes and Qlle = 0 and Ql4f £ No

no: all else

The remainder of this section gives a brief description of the conventions

used to obtain the summaries in the terminal boxes numbered 6, 7, 10, 11, and

13 on the flowchart.

The categories abbreviated Imp., DSM, Loss, OvSz, News., and Brtl, are just summaries of the relevant single questions from the checklist form. They

were estimated using the weighted average method described for Exhibit 3.

The category MDmg., for Major Damage, is an attempt to summarize by a single

number the information in seven sub-questions, namely, parts a-g of Q16.

Strictly speaking, it is impossible to know from the survey data the exact

relation among the various categories of major damage listed under Q16. For

example, if "(1/4)" of the sheets have tape damage (Q16d) and "(1/4)" have

acidic ink, we can't tell whether the same sheets have both types of damage

(at one extreme) or whether each damaged sheet has one, and only one type of

damage (at the other extreme.) If each damaged sheet has both types of

damage, then (in this example) a total of "(1/4)" of the sheets would have

major damage. On the other hand, if every damaged sheet has one and only one type of damage (either tape damage or acidic ink, but not both), then 1/2 (=

1/4 + 1/4) of the sheets would have major damage. All we really know is that

the fraction of sheets with some major damage is between these extremes.

A simple mathematical assumption allows calculation of a value for the

combined fraction of damaged sheets that will always lie between the two

extremes described above. The assumption is that the various types of damage

are independent. That is, sheets damaged by one cause are, for that reason,

neither more nor less likely to be damaged by another cause. This assumption

seems to be the most reasonable way to combine parts a-g of Q16 into a single

number, under the circumstances. Fortunately, for most sample units, only one

or two types of major damage were found—in which case, the inaccuracy of this

approximation is minimized.

The procedure used to come up with the estimates for "Other" was somewhat more arbitrary. This category is supposed to include all sheets of paper that are

not impermanent and do not have major damage or potential for damage (see

footnote to Exhibit 5.) The trouble is many sheets with potential for damage

are also already damaged (e.g. brittle paper that already has some loss of

information.) After some deliberation and looking through the sample data,

the best (conservative) procedure found to define the "other" category was the

following formula:
30

^other ^ “ max( ?1 3j

» ^16> ^17^ ^lle max(Pj 2 a , ^14c^ ^13e

where the symbol "P" represents estimated proportion and the subscript

indicates the relevant survey question or category. Evidence from the data is

that the above formula for PG ther will tend to underestimate the actual

fraction of sheets that are not in the damaged and potentially damaged and

impermanent categories. In fact, this formula leads to a negative value for

Pother fairly often with the survey data, so that in practice the estimate

obtained by the formula was replaced by zero for the substantial number of

units (more than 60) where the formula gave a negative result.

As a result, the practical interpretation of the percentages reported as "other" in the flowchart would be that they represent conservative

underestimates of the portion of the survey population that does not belong to

any of the damaged, potentially damaged, or impermanent categories.

Summary o f Survey Findings Classified into Conceptual Model Categories

Subject to the aforementioned qualifications, the percentages of holdings

in categories defined by the flow chart in Exhibit 5 are summarized below.

The numbers at the left side correspond to the numbering of terminal boxes on the flow chart. In the summary, a "unit" refers to a unit of study, namely, a storage box or bound volume. Note that the listed percentages are estimates

for the survey population, and that they add to more than 100 due to overlap

among some categories.

0. Disposed and non-survey material, plus empty or unused

portion of units 7.8%

1. Disposable records 2.3%

2. Units in need of holdings maintenance 84.5%

This item corresponds to 2.55 million archives boxes

(approximately 1/3 cu.ft. each) plus 0.41 million

damaged bound volumes

3. Units consisting entirely of impermanent copies 1.6%

4. Units whose contents show no evidence of damage or potential damage (except for possibly needing

holdings maintenance - item 2) 28.1%

5,8,11. Units for which copies of the contents are currently

available for use by researchers 3.8%

9,12a. Homogeneous groups of documents that are relatively

easy to microcopy 2.9%

12. Documents in need of laboratory repair to facilitate

copying 0.2%
31

6,7,10,11,13. Documents to be appropriately treated through

intercept programs, when activated by use: Impermanent copies

Damaged special media

Major damage (from Q16)

Loss of information

Oversized (larger than 4 square feet)

Newsprint/ground-wood paper

Brittle paper

OK - Documents not having any of the above use-related

4.7%

0 . 2 %

4.7%

0 . 1 %

0c 8%

3.5%

6 . 8 %

problems 37.8%

The holdings maintenance category, item number 2 above, is an important

component of preservation cost estimates. For the survey population, which is

only part of the total NARS textual holdings, the cost of holdings maintenance

can be itemized as follows:

Shrink-packaging

(0.41 million books) x ($0.50 per book) = $ 0.2 million

Archives boxes

(2.55 million archives boxes) x ($9.00 per box) = $23.0 million

Since these figures apply to 84.5% of the survey population (0.95 million

cubic feet), the cost per cubic foot, averaged over bound volumes and archives

boxes is

($23.2 million) r (0.95 million cu. ft.) = $24.40 per cu. ft.

This average cost of $24.40 per cubic foot is used on page 10 to estimate the

total cost of holdings maintenance over the twenty-two year program.

The statistical survey of textual records would have been impossible to carry

out were it not for the excellent help and cooperation of several individuals.

At NARS, Eric Bechtel, Ann Elam, and Jimmy Rush implemented the sample

selection and data collection. At NBS, Janet Couch did a remarkably efficient

and accurate job of data entry and encoding to transform the checklist data

into machine-readable form. Also at NBS, Dr. Karen Kafadar helped with the

planning of this survey, and Shirley Bremer helped with organizing the

checklist forms and maintaining the computerized data base. All these efforts

are gratefully appreciated.

Total $23.2 million

Acknowledgements
32

Exhibit 1

Some Coarse Features

Nonsurvey material

Unused portion of boxes

Disposable material

Textual material of interest

T otal

of the Population Surveyed.

41 ,000 cu. ft. (3.7%)

46 ,500 cu. ft. (4.1%)

25 ,900 cu. ft. (2.3%)

1,007 ,900 cu. ft. (89.9%)

1,121 ,300 cu. ft. (100%)
33

Exhibit 2

Checklist Form Used to Record Survey Data

* I

n * i *

|

s *

i

2

0

»*u1

u1=

k k It I

2

!

:

*

° 3 I S

I a

0” 8” 2"

FM ®k=w PkJ

>)«£

scs*

I I

5”

k-E fc

t

m

© « i

I

1, Ju.

i §n Sn - r 8-‘

fl* IkM F |“ i * 5 J J

-

5

3 J

H

? r I i

F I 1

1

! i 1 I :: I 1 i !« f

1

2

kIt

i::: :

2

fe

f 25

• ?

i 6* J

s<x=>

COs

Sc io > C9

oe z

co a H

cc» 5: Z 3 se

ac. > UJ “aac a. oU- |/t

co-sZ

wr o uUJ5

I 3

X £

e ~ 3 «

r

%

i g

o 3

O. CO »/»

& -

ji ru

i

C4~

« ' *

o ^a.

o 3

>-C_J V « • k> -r- «— C >, Hifi2S 6

1"

UJ a-UJ UJ

_

eui

>» a

c5

I

O

| 1 I I

O—I 0-1

0w

a

5 8

£ a

8 V

8 i - -

2

5

0 2

k v

3 °

1 i

i i HU

2 2 2? I 5 «

•

(II

0/

tv

COHttMl

HI

or
newsprint/ground

wood

34

Exhibit (Continued)

15.

Previous

Ireetwent

(Few)

(1/4)

(1/2)

(3/4)

(All)
35

Exhibit 3

Summary of Individual Items on Checklist Form, In Percent*

Note : The category labeled "Missing" refers to missing data on the survey form.

Yes No Missing

Q1 Disposable? 2.3 89.9

Q2 Intrinsic Value? 20.4 68.2 1.3

Q2b Sign Colored Ink? 5.8 50.7 33.4

Q2c Int . value refers to: Series=36.3 Unit=1.4 Missing=52.2

At least Monthly At least Yearly Less than Yearly Missing

Q3 Use: 20.0 30.4 36.5 3.0

Yes No Missing

Q4 In NARS A-l 14.3 74.8 0.8

Q5 Microfilmed 4.0 84.9 1.0

Q6 Published 0.8 88.8 0.3

Q7 Size of Unit 1/3 cu. ft. 1 cu . ft. Volumes Other

51.0 14.5 12.6 11.8

No. of Volumes: Est'd Total = 950,000 bound values

(±350,000 allowance for sampling error)

Weighted

None Few 1/4 1/2 3/4 All Average

Q8 Loose Paper 13.7 0.2 0.0 0.3 0.2 75.4 73.9

[Note: 13.7% "None" includes bound volumes standing alone and found

inside boxes . Q7 says only 12.6% have primary housing as bound volume • J

*A11 percents are relative to TOTAL = 1.12 million cu. ft.

(Therefore sum of percents is 89.9% , see Exhibit l.)
36

Exhibit 3 (continued)

Q9 Housing of Loose Papers

Archives Roller

Box FRC Box Tray Drawer Other Missing

Q9a Container 51 .2 14.4 1.8 1.6 8.3 12.5

Yes No Missing

Q9b Overloaded 3.6 72.8 13.6

Good Fair Poor Missing

Q9c Quality of Container 4.6 47.9 24.2 13.2

Yes No Missing

Q9d Folders Used 55.6 21.9 12.4

Q9d-2 If "No" Yes No Missing

Are they Needed? 14.7 7.1 68.1

Acid Non-acid Missing

Q9e Condition of Folders 54.9 0.8 34.2

Q10 Bindings of Volumes (% relative to total no. of volumes = 950 ,000, see Q7)

Library Unique /Hist Ledger Post Missing

QlOa Type of binding 88.1 0 0 8.6 3.2

Buckram Cloth Paper Leather Missing

QlOb Covering mat'l 13.2 35.3 2.8 48.7 0

QlOc Minor red rot: yes=20.0% (Yes) (± 17%)

QlOd Majar red rot: yes=30.2% (± 19%)

Q1Q Bindings of volumes, continued (% refers to total no. of volumes,

= 950,000)

Q10 Loose Binding: Yes = 23.8%

QlOf Spine Detached

:

Yes = 17.9%

QlOg Minor Sewing Dmg.: Yes = 2.1%

QlOh Major Sewing Dmg.: Yes -- 0.7%

QlOi Improperly Shelved: Yes = 14.4%
37

Exhibit 3 (continued)

Ql 1 Paper Size

Qila Index

Cards

None

88.3

Few

.2 (1/4)

.06

Q1 1 b Smaller

than letter 39.0 22.1 22.1

Qllc Letter/

Legal

11.6 1.7 3.4

Q 1 1 d Larger than

legal but

< 4 sq ft

58.6 13.5 6.3

Qlle > 4 sq ft 88.5 1.7 0.9

Q12 Type of Support

Q12a hewsprint 68.3 13.4 4.3

Ql2b Tissue

paper

34.9 13.9 22.5

Q12c Handmade

paper

88.4 0.32 0.15

Q 1 2d Book/

writing

3.2 3.2 5.6

QI2e Parchment 89.5 0.09 0.15

Q12f Other 87.7 1.3 0.26

(mostly: photostats, blueprints,

Wtd . ** (1/2)

.06

(3/4)

0

All

1.3

Avg.

1.3

2.8 1.7 2.1 8.8

5.4 25.1 42.7 66.1

1.2 2.2 8.1 11.6

0.2 0.1 0.4 0.8

1.6 1.4 0.8 3.8

11.8 4.0 2.8 15.8

0.15 0.25 0.66 0.96

14.8 20.6 42.6 67.3

0.15 0 0 0.096

0.28 0 0.36 0.56

telegrams)

** Based on midpoint of each interval, e.g. “few" = (see narrative)

0 to 2.52, etc.
38

Exhibit 3 (continued)

Q13 Type of Media

None Few (1/4) (1/2) (3/4) (All) Avg.

a - handwritten 22.3 12.4 11.7 8.5 9.2 25.8 39.3

b - typewritten 22.6 6.7 8.0 10.1 17.2 25.2 45.7

c - printed text 21.7 8.7 13.1 10.8 15.1 20.5 40.4

d - press copies 84.7 2.4 1.6 0.3 0.1 0.7 1.3

e - impermanent 56.0 14.5 9.7 5.5 2.4 1.7 8.3

f - photographs 82.9 5.0 1.4 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.7

g

- drawings 86.5 3.0 0.3 0 0 0.1 0.3

h - hand colored 87.3 2.6 0 0 0 0 0.07

print maps

i - other 72.0 11.5 3.9 0.9 0.6 1.0 2.8

j - damaged

special media 89.7 0.04 0.1 0 0 0 0.02

Q14 Use Problems

a - colored inks 21.5 9.3 15.9 14.8 12.9 15.4 36.0

b ~ faint image 85.2 4.6 0.5 0.6 0 0 0.5

c - brittle 61.6 10.6 8.4 4.7 0.4 4.1 8.2

d - folded 49.7 15.1 11.3 2.9 1.9 9.0 13.3

e - rolled 89.3 0.2 0.07 0 0 0.3 0.3

f - homog. format Yes = 32 .2 No =- 57.7

Q15 Previous Treatment

a - laminated 89.4 0.15 0.35 0 0.01 0.02 0.08

b - lamin. w/o 89.58 0.05 0.08 0.09 0 0.09 0.14

tissue

c - silked 89.9 0 0 0 0 0 0

d - other 83.1 5.9 0.6 0 0 0.2 0.44

Q16 Major Damage by . .

.

a - tears /breaks 61.5 24.1 2.7 1.0 0.07 0.50 2.1

b - water/mold 87.9 1.0 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.64

c - acidic ink 89.2 0.7 0 0 0 0 0.02

d - tape 81.3 7.2 0.8 0.4 0.05 0.17 0.7

e - glue/paste 82.0 6.0 0.7 0.6 0.15 0.44 1.3

f - corrosion 71.9 14.0 3.1 0.8 0.04 0.05 1.3

stains

g

- other 89.4 0.16 0.17 0.05 0.05 0.09 0.2

Qi7 Loss of

Information 85.4 4.5 0.01 0 0 0 0.11

Q18 Abundant Dirt Yes = 10.0 No = 79.8 Missing = 0.06

Q20 Active Mold, Yes = 0.07 No = 89.6 Missing = 0.2

Insects, Rodents
39

Exhibit 4

Guidelines for Evaluating Statistical Uncertainties

in Estimated Percentages for Exhibits 3 and 5

If the estimated percentage is: The uncertainty is about:

less than 1

%

1% to 2%

2% to 10%

10% to 20%

20% to 30%

more than 30%

the same as the estimated percentage

0.5%

1.5%

2.5%

3.5%

4.0%
40

Exhibit 5

Simplified Flow Chart Representing Long Range Preservation Program and

Showing Survey-Estimated Percentages in Each Category.

(Percents do not add to 100 due to overlap among some categories.)
41

Exhibit 5 (continued)

*.Fiuraish to User

0.5

- Yes.

Miction* . Yes 13

Treat likea Used* DSM o

0.03

loss 0

OK O-Ofc

\0.

Uo

r Treat VJWen Used*

Imp O.? OvSt o.l DSn 0.001 Mews 0.3 KD«3 O.X %A\ OS

Loss 0.00$ OK 3.8

\2.

n.

Furnish

>

s

> Cop'f to User

3.X

Tes

,

tafe. Work

fer Daaeyi

ftrtion O.X

L

Microform

l.b

Treat Wken Used*

Iw>p O.X OvS* o O osn 0 Weus 04S

MDm* O.fc «rtl \J0 Uss o.oz OK M.O

Ves

,

Treat VJke*» Used*

Thp 0.8 0vSi °' 1

w.wi HDmg 0.1

Loss 0.01

Brtt 0.1 OK 4.1

Treat W)Ven Used*

T»np 3X OvSz o.J DSK 0.007 Klews "»«*

9

3.0 8rtl 4.V Lou 0.0b OK W.8

See footnote on next page
42

* Footnote for Exhibit 5

"Treat When Used" means that units corresponding to the indicated box will be

treated only when activated by use (if at all.) Depending on the nature of

the records (e.g. intrinsic value, frequency of use, etc.), the action taken

for a given category may vary.

The abbreviations are:

Imp = Impermanent copies, Q13e

= Damaged Special Media, Q13j

= Major Damage, Q16 combined (see narrative)

= Loss of Information, Q17

Potential News = Newsprint/Ground Wood, Q12a

Damge" Brtl = Brittle, Q14c

OvSz = Oversized, 4 sq. ft. and larger, Qlle

Other = Conservative estimate of percentage not in any of the

above categories (see narrative)
43

APPENDIX B

BUDGET CHARTS

Note: All of Appendix B is an historic document. These tables and charts were submitted through GSA to OMB as a part of the FY 1986 budget

submission. The figures and charts are labeled, "20 year preservation

plan.
NARS

20

Year

Preservation

Plan:

Backlog

and

Accessions

o\ vo

cri oK'C ITi

p •» (0 CO o <0

• hO a H

s, n $

oH

0) CO o p ai ^ £ c 0 P • 0

CO -p 3 o -o c co -p. -p 01

ai p O d) <0 p 0 •H p c 43 a - a

•H CO •o co CO CO J 0) rH d) 0h X 0) T3 rH *H CO o

hO CL) 0) •H > p

to c0 > X 0) P 0 o co bO 0. •r4 o z CO s ai p

C —

/

co u •• r •o <v •H c CO rH +> o p

a >. 0 0) <g c >. p p

r-4 a -p CO 3 0) a a 3 o o c 01 P I 0 X

X CJ M a X p o r—

u

o> co CD H 0) •H J

t • •

i p • O a

'— OJ f'O tj- c H T*

?!

“-j o a z co

3

(I) CO-vc

(0

01w

3

oX

Grand

Total

6,415

5,585

8,585

11

,245
NARS

20-Year

Preservation

Plan:

Fiscal

Years

1987-2005

45 1

(0 rH

rtJ -4-» OH 3Oooo V 4a 00 U

rt rt iJ o c o o o o

vO S 1 <2

.2

44 t $ .5 15z ^ c <* y O u o o • £> O' rQ I * >'

<« £*5oH 0 o £ * x u £ j o

r-o

COIO

-M4)

(04) 5o£aa

fO

cn4) uUa
NARS

20

-Year

Preservation

Plan:

Fiscal

Year

iQgj

46

NO

T3cooo

LT» 00

in

oo0H

CO

4) CQ oo +* 8,3 o a £3uooo ° 8 m rjj f~ c

'* rt ' 05 c oi 2 <

IS 2 > c ^

'e

<y -G

co .ti 2 * a i 5* £ u o o G ^

<*

J?

W 0 rti o £ J

to 4J•W§OO©o

in

0464J

4)

00

4)

(0

4)cu

flj
NARS

20-Year

Preservation

Plan:

Fiscal

Year

1985

47

wH

O'

TJC

rt oo0

in00

inm

**105 H

cS

4-3 oH

(04) ooa

CD

4-» u

k. o ou 0% T3

in fl -- <fl • w co 5<

<0 - > S ^ X

_ i ® a •® * s*s. • O C u O O h O £ <fl • <Q V

*-«

U

B

so o 4> r- x u * <0 . ^ O v©X3uooo » jj o

QL > ~ c Z X ® i* V £ o

a. *j

x o c ^ <J~ X • i • eC3ooono4-» ©©

*5

CD©a3

CO©

kl3oa
NARS

20-Year

Preservation

Plan

:

Fiscal

Year

1984

48

o

o

W

H

tko

ID

OS<J

J

O

Q
49

NARS 20 YEAR PRESERVATION PLAN: TOTAL BACKLOG AND ACCESSIONS

TEXTUAL

Holdings Maintenance (cu. ft.)

1984

1985

1986

1937-2005

Total Workload

25,000

55,000

120,000

1 ,710,000 (90,000 x 19)

1,910,000 cu. ft.

New Accessions -748,000 (34,000 x 22)

Total Backlog

Copy (pages)

1,162,000 cu. ft.

1984

1985

1986

1987-2005

Total Workload

3.750.000

4,761 ,000

5 . 500.000

171 ,000,000 (9,000,000 x 19)

185,011,000 pages

Total Accessions -58,016,000 (1,728,000 x 22)

Total Backlog 146,995,000 pages

Laboratory Treatment (pages)

1984

1985

1986

1987-2005

Total Workload

136,000

150,000

175,000

12.559.000 (661 ,000 x 19)

13.020.000 pages

New Accessions

Total Backlog 13,020,000 pages

NON-TEXTUAL

Copy (units)

1984 3,764,000

1985 2,290,000

1936 2,500,000

1987-2005 58,330,000 (3,070,000 x 19)

Total Workload 66 ,884 ,000 units

New Accessions -41 ,602,000 (1 ,891 ,000 x 22)

Total Backlog 25,282,000 units
50

FY 85 PRESERVATION

MICROFILMING/ ELECTROSTATIC (TEXTUAL COPYING)

DOLLARS UNITS

15 FTE in the stacks

and mics supplies $510,000

5 FTE in NNP and

other lab costs $380,000 2,400,000

Contract filming* $325,000 2,361,000

TOTAL c - x $1,215,000 4,761,000

NON-TEXTUAL PRESERVATION

DOLLARS UNITS

Motion Pictures $570,000 1,300,000

Microfilm duplication $ 40,000 480,000

Magnetic Media $200,000 150,000

Still Pictures $200,000 160,000

TOTAL $1,010,000 2,090,000

* Includes work done at VtflRC and in the Federal Archives and Records Centers as well as by private contractors.
51

APPENDIX C

Instructions for Completing Checklist for FY 83 Preservation Survey

of NARS Textual Holdings
52

1N2TRUCT1CN: FOR COMPLETING CHECKLIST FOR FY fc?

PRESERVATION SURVEY OF NARS TEXTUAL HOLDINGS

PART I (to be completed by archival staff)

Headi ng : Surveyor of Part 1 identifies himself/herself , fills in the date,

record group nurrber, series title, beginning and ending date of series, length

of the series in linear feet or inches, date(s) of sample units, and checks the

following information previously filled in by the staff of NNPD of Part II:

stack area, row compartment , shelf, which seventh position on the shelf is

occupied by the sample unit, and the box or volume label. The sample units are

identified by large (3/4") red dots. It is particularly important that the

date(s) of the sample unit reflect the contents of the sample unit only, and

that they should be as precise as possible.

The answers to questions 1, 2, and 3 should be based on the judgment of the

surveyor. The answer to question 2 also should be based on Staff Information

Paper 21

.

1. Disposable series: The surveyor should answer "yes" if the series in which

the sample unit belongs has either (a) already been identified for internal

disposal, or (b) is likely to be proposed for internal disposal.

2. Intrinsic Value: The surveyor should first evaluate the intrinsic value of

the series to which the sample unit belongs. If the series is determined to

have intrinsic value according to the guidelines of SIP 21, indicate "yes." If

the surveyor concludes that the series does not have intrinsic value, he should
53

then determine wither the sample unit alow has intrinsic value. If so,

indicate "yer." if neither the series nor the sample unit alone have intrinsicvalue, indicate "no." For example, if the sample unit is the "E" file of a

series of alphabetical subject file and appears to have no intrinsic value

standing on its owr , but does have intrinsic value when considered a part of

the larger "A-Z" series then the answer is "yes," it has intrinsic value. The

surveyor may also determine that the sample unit has intrinsic value (because

of special physical characteristics, for example), even though the series of

which it is a part does not have intrinsic value.

2b. If the answer to questions 14a indicates the presence of colored inks,

indicate whether the colors are essential to understanding the records.

3. Use

:

It is recognized that in many cases the answers to this question will

depend upon the archivist’s knowledge of the series generally, rather than the

specific sample unit. Nevertheless, whenever you have information about the

sample unit that differs from an evaluation of the series as a whole, answer

for the unit. For example, if you estimate that a given series is used at

least once a month, but the unit selected from that series is thought to be

used less than once a year, the answer should be less than once a year.

4. and 5. Self explanatory.

6. Published ; If the overwhelming number of documents in the sample unit have

been published, or are themselves published items, and are widely available,

check "yes."

PART II (to be completed by conservation staff)
54

Heading : Purveyor of Part 1] identifies herself /himself and records today's

date; writes down the stack location in the format: stack area, row,

compartment, shelf, and identifies which seventh position on the shelf is

occupied by the sample unit and copies the label information when available

Each item in the checklist describes a single aspect of the physical condition

or composition of records in a sample unit. Some items provide a simple

option, for example "Yes/No". Some items provide one or more blanks for

filling required data. These data may consist of specific measurements.

Frequently, documents in a given sample unit are diverse enough to satisfy more

than one attribute or characteristic. In such cases, the estimated proportions

of each type of document must be indicated.

Erief descriptions of individual items and guidelines for collection data

follow:

For estimating proportions of the sample unit contents having particular

attribute use the following code:

(Few) = about 5? or less.

(I/ll) = about one quarter of the contents (6-3W.

(1/2) = about one half of the contents (35-65/6).

(3/*0 = about three quarters of the contents (66-95%)

(All) = about all of the contents (06-1002).

IF TOE SAMPLE UNIT CONTAINS NONE CF Vl HAT IS ASKED THEN SKIP THE QUESTION.
55

ITEM 7. Jf unit consists of a Hoi linger- typo storage box, or a container that

approximates the size of such a box, check "1/2 cu. ft." For larger storage

boxes of corrugated board, such as those used in WNRC, Suitland, check "1 cu.

ft." For all other containers, check "other" and record the dimensions

(length, width, thickness) in inches. For rolled documents the width anc

thickness are assumed to be identical to the diameter.

ITEM 6. Proportion of loose documents. If sample consists of only bound

volumes do not mark the form.

ITEM 9- Housing of loose documents.

a . Container type : Check the appropriate box to indicate the type of

container used. Archives box (like a Hollinger box), FRC box, metal tray (the

pull-out kind), roller drawer (used for index cards and sometimes for oversized

loose or bound materials), and other. If other, then specify type.

b. A container is overloaded if the contents are being damaged from pressure

or could be damaged when they are removed from the container for use.

c. Condition of container is "bad" if they are stored in containers (other

than painted metal) that do not provide neutral (ph=7) or better conditions for

the document. Hollinger- type archives boxes or boxes of similar paperboard

construction are "good" if they are new gray, new dark brown, or yellow. Ihey

are "fair" if they are in older but undeteriorated Hollinger-type archives

boxes. All kraft paper (brown grocery-bag-like paper) and corrugated cardboard

boxes are "bad". (Folders are not considered housing in this section).
56

New Hollinger type boxes are considered good housing only if the interior of

the box is lined with non-acidic papers. A Hollinger box that is labeled nonacidic is considered acidic (and fair housing) if its interior is of uncovered

kraft material. Old but undeteriorated archives boxes are fair housing.

A roller drawer is poor housing when the materials it houses extend above the

height of the drawer. A roller drawer is poor housing when there is no shelf

in drawer directly above it to protect its contents from dirt.

A roller drawer should not be considered housing at all when it contains

materials that are boxed, or when the materials are in folders or envelopes

that extend five inches or more above the height of the drawers. A drawer in

these circumstances is no more than a shelf.

d. Folders or envelopes used? Yes or No. Are there any folders in the sample

unit? If no, then answer if they are in need of safer containment and

maintenance of arrangement and control. In the case of folded documents, for

example, folders are needed if the dociments are to be unfolded.

e. Condition of folders: Folders are acidic unless they are labeled nonacidic, or are non grayish-green in color and bear the imprint of the

manufacturer. Folders made from unbleached kraft pulp, generally distinguishable by their familiar brown color, are acidic. Non-acidic, ("No" answer) or

acid-free folders generally have grayish color but could be white or yellowish

cream in color and usually carry the imprint of the manufacturer.
57

IlFh* 10. Bindings of volumes (skip this item if the same unit does not contain

bound vciurr.es).

Indicate the volume number found in the sample unit in each category below

(numbering the volumes from left to right):

a. Identify the type of binding.

Libra ry - A 11 case and fine bindings that are not unique/historic.

Unique/Historic - ( 1 ) Any type of binding that is the original housing of a

historic treasure. (2) A binding that has rare, special, or unique qualities.

Ledger - A specific type of binding with cord ridges or. the spine, hollowback and sewn so the pages lie completely flat.

Post - Individual pages held together by the posts that extend through

holes in the covers and pages. The unit can be disassembled by removing the

pests. Add to this category three-ring binders and any type of binding free,

which the support can be easily removed and replaced. NOTE: three-ring

binders housed in boxes will be considered loose materials.

b. Identify the type cf covering:

Euckram - Cover material; that is usually starch or pyroxylin filleo cloth.

Cloth - Cover material.
Leather - Cover material; animal skin.

c and d. Rec Ret - Damage to leather covering material. Chemical imbalance

Vvithin leather has resulted in degradation of the leather. The leather falls

off or is rubbed off

.

When rubbed with cloth usually leaves behind a red or

brown mark, that can be dusted away, hi nor red rot is confined to the surface

of less than one fourth of the binding. Major rea ret permeates the leather

and covers over one fourth of the cover; in most cases books will require

rebinding. If in doubt, damage is major.

e. Loose Einding - General term to indicate that the text block is not firmly

attached to the covers. Minor forms of many problems may contribute to make a

loose binding.

f. Spine Detached - One or both sides of the spine’s attachments to the cover

and text block is broken, or very close to being broken.

g. and h. Sewing damage - Sewing has broken from stress or use. Sewing could

be in an abraded condition so that it is very close to being broken. Minor

sewing damage will require only a small amount of time during rebinding to do a

repair. Major sewing damage will require complete resewing.

i. A Volume - Is improperly shelved if it is resting on the foredge or spine

rather than its tail (spine vertical and facing out) or cover (spine horizontal

and facing out) unless the volume is oversized, or if it could be damaged when

it is removed from the shelf. A container is improperly shelved if the
59

ccr tents could be damaged from storage or from access.

ITEM 1 1

.

Paper size.

Fecord best estirrate of proportion of: (a) index cards f (b) smaller than letter

size paper, (c) letter/legal —between 6-8 1/2 x 11" and 6" - 6 1/2" x 1*J" in

size, (d) larger than legal —larger than 6 1/2" x 1*1 but smaller than ^ square

feet, (e) four square feet and larger. This is for unusually oversized paper.

ITEM 12. Type of support.

The purpose of this section is to determine the relative proportions of support

paper) types in the sample unit. Certain support types degrade rapidly

newsprint/groundwood) or require special handling (press copies and parchment)

Knowing the proportions of these types will be helpful in developing more

accurate preservation plans.

a. Newsprint/groundwood - Newsprint type paper.

b. Tissue paper - Thin translucent paper cf any color.

c. Handmade paper - Hade by hand, using good quality materials on a

papermakers mold. Should have either antique laid, laid or woven pattern when

viewed by transmitted light. Handmade papers are generally not uniform in

details such as thickness and structure and often display deckle edges.

d. Eook/writing paper - Made on a machine. Wien viewed by transmitted light

will have a basic woven pattern usually arranged in diagonal lines; could als
60

have an artificial laid pattern transposed into the basic woven pattern.

Machine made papers are generally very uniform.

e. Parchment - Animal skins.

f. Other - Give short explanation of material such as drafting cloth,

drafting plastic, metal foil, cloth etc.

ITEM 13. Type of media.

The purpose of this information is to determine the complexity of the

record/document/artwork/etc., if it has to be treated for damage. If all or

part of the sample is hectograph , thermofax or dilux it is impermanent and will

need to be scheduled for copying, not treatment. If photographic material,

drawings

,

colored drawings or printed maps with hand-coloring are found, the

material will need more detailed examination; if damaged will need special

treatment requiring considerably more care and time than normal records.

The original media of a copied document is not recorded. It is only necessary

to note that a copy of an original document is present. It is not necessary to

record whether the document is a copy of handwritten, typewritten, or printed

media. It should be noted that often copied materials contain other media

which then are recorded. For example, copied forms may have typing or

handwriting on them.

All of these copies have been considered impermanent copies except photostatic

copies, photostats, and blueprints which are recorded on the form under ( 1 3i )

Press copies are recorded separately. Telegrams in colored ink have been
61

considered typewritten. If colored inks were used in the copying process, it

is recorded under (l^a).

a. Handwritten - Registers, fair copies, logs, letters etc.

b. Typewritten -

c. Printed text - Like a library book.

d. Press copies - Copies of original ink documents (usually letters) using

moisture and pressure to transfer a portion of the ink on to the tissue paper.

e. Impermanent copies, such as hectograph, thermofax, dilux and ditto.

Hectograph - Early process that can resemble a "ditto.” the printing is

usually larger, less uniform and less permanent, color is generally purple or

blue. Thermofax - A heat actuated copying process that produces an image that

is brown to black with fuzzy outline on a coated paper. The paper is usually

curled towards the coated side. The coated side is generally lighter in color

than the uncoated side. Dilux - An implemented copy. Ditto - Made from a

"ditto" master on a stencil machine, ink is usually purple.

f. Photographs - Any material made using the normal photographic processes,

exemplified by a black and white print or color print on single or double

weight paper.

g. Drawings - An image made using standard artist or draftsmen materials

exemplified by architectural drawings, draftsmen drawings and freehand
62

drawings. Architectural drawings are graphite, ink or other design media

depicting an architectural subject usually on tracing paper or drafting cloth.

Elueprints or diazo prints would be considered copies. Similar to architectual

drawings but the subject matter is any technical subject other than

architecture. Freehand drawings are drawings not done in the mechanical

drafting style, but rather in an artist style. Could be a pictorial or

possibly a map.

h. Hand-colored print maps - Printed maps in the sample that have color

applied to them after printing, usually water color. The color usually is not

uniform and does not evenly conform to the printed outline of the area colored.

i . Specify any other type of media

.

j. Damaged special media. Identify the proportion of the entire sample unit

composed of damaged special media. Special media being photographs, drawings,

and hand-colored printed maps.

ITEM m. Use problems. Use problems refer to potential damage by handling.

When it is necessary, for example, for a researcher to unfold brittle documents

then he will most likely cause damage. The lack of use problems, on the other

hand, will indicate potential for easy reproduction. For example, unfolded

documents of a homogenous format without faint image would be easy to microfilm.

a . Colored Inks - Give best estimate of the proportion of documents with

colored inks present on them. Colored pencil marks and colored stamps are

included in this category.
63

b. Faint Image - Indicate proportion of documents with inks that are so faint

to cause difficulty in photocopying or microfilming.

c. Brittle - lest a few documents selected at one inch intervals for flat or

folded documents and at three inch intervals for trifolded documents for

brittleness: Eend over a small inconspicuous corner and apply light pressure

with fingers to make a crease about one cm. long frcm one end to the other.

Bend this corner over backwards along the same crease. If the corner detaches

partially or fully along the crease in this process, the paper is brittle.

Record best estimate of percentage of brittle paper.

d. Folded - The proportion of folded paper is "(All)” if all documents are

folded; skip if all are flat.

e. Rolled - Answer same manner as "folded" above.

f. Homogeneous format - Documents in a sample unit are homogeneous if they are

uniform in size and format. The "homogeniety" question is intended to

determine if the material lends itself easily to microfilming.

ITEM 15. Previous treatment:

a. Laminated - Indicate proportion, if any, of documents laminated.

b. Laminated without tissue - Indicate the proprotion of the entire sample

unit containing laminated documents that were laminated without tissue, khen

tissue is used it is enbedded in cellulose acetate giving the document a

slightly milky or hazy look.
64

c. Silked - Record best estimate of the proportion of documents that have been

silked. In most cases the silking adhesive has lead to damage of the document

and should be removed. Silking is identified by the presence of a fine open

weave fabric adhered tightly to the surface of the document. Silked documents

are often brittle. If the document is broken it is usually in a straight line,

parallel to either the horizontal or vertical threads of the silk fabric

(threads usually orientated parallel to the edges of the document).

d. Other - Specify what other treatment might be present.

HEMS 16. Major damage by:

a. Tears/Breaks - Major tears/breaks are longer than three inches. Tears are

created in relatively strong paper with moderate force. Ereaks are created in

brittle paper with a minimum of force.

b. Water/mold . Water - Record only disfiguration caused by water. This will

be in the form of "tide lines" which are usually not straight but are

curvalinear. The "tide line" usually grades in intensity from very dark at its

edge to moderately dark just away from the edge of the water damaged side to no

color difference on the unwetted side of the line. The interior of the water

damage (surrounded by the "tide line") is usually light but often mottled light

and dark in very irregular curved fuzzy edged patterns. Water damage is

distinct from mold damage which is often (but not always) brought about by

water damage.

Mold - Mold takes many forms. When it is active it usually smells like mildew;
65

active moid damage should be brought to the attention of the supervisor. The

most cormion form of mold, "foxing" creates primarily cosmetic damage. "Foxing"

is discrete (or clumps of) 1/^" to 1/2" diameter "fox" colored fuzzy edged

spots. "Foxing" has two causes, mold and iron/cooper inclusions. Mold induced

"foxing" is net serious unless active or extensive, therefore for purposes of

this survey will be minor unless active or very extensive. Heavy mold damage

is usually cased by prolonged wetness or dampness. Large scale (other than

"foxing") mold infestations usually leave a green, blue or orange color with

small black spots (within the colored area) behind. Often this type of mold

softens the paper so it becomes as spongy as a blotter, but weaker. It can

also degrade the paper so that the effected portion is so weak it drops away

from the less damaged or unaffected areas.

c. Acidic ink - khen the ink eats through the paper.

d. Tape - The presence of any self-adhesive tape (such as cellophane tape)

whether discolored or not. The presence of any other type of tape that has

caused discoloration of the paper. For this section major damage also means

abundance of damage that will result in illegibility frem obscuring or

darkening in time.

e. Glue/Paste - Discoloration of the paper caused by any type of adhesive

including glue (animal origin; hide glue) paste (vegetable origin; starch

paste) white glue (glue of synthetic origin; Elmer’s glue) rubber cement, wax

seals, etc. For this section major damage also means abundance of damage that

will result in illegibility from darkening in time.

f. Corrosion stains - Documents with rust or other corrosion products from
66

metal fasteners which can be Iron "acco" fastners, paper clips, or rivets and

brass paper fastners. Iron or copper corrosion products speed up the oxidation

(degradation) of the' document . In some cases the fastner and corrosion can be

carefully removed; in others the fastner will have to be replaced with a more

stable device. In all cases the fastner should not be present if it is not

historically correct. The holes left by an originalfastner are not considered

damage. The brown discoloration in a support caused by the transfer of acidity

to it from a more acidic support or folder is what most often constitutes major

damage in this category.

g. Other - Specify other major damage by type or probable cause of damage.

ITEM 17. Loss of information.

Indicate proportion of the sample unit that has experienced an actual loss of

information. For example, if the margins of all the paper have crumbled away

taking the last words of each line, then all of the unit has suffered loss of

information

.

ITEM 18. Abundant loose dirt/dust on document.

Indicate yes if the records have loose dirt/dust that could be cleaned by

treatment. Ground-in dirt/dust cannot be trated and this is not applicable to

this survey. Dust is a fine powder that generally looks like a gray haze.

Dirt is several times larger; distinguishing between the two is not necessary.

ITEM 19. Proportion of sample unit unused.
67

Record best estimate of proportion of sample unit that consists of blank pages,

or similar situation.

ITEM 20. Active mold, insects, or rodants.

Note if present. This is for immediate action when found.
NBS-114A (REV. 2«8C

)

U.S. DEPT. OF COMM.

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

National Archives and Records Service (NARS) Twenty Year Pres ervation Plan

5. AUTHOR(S)

Alan Calmes, Ralph Schofer, and Keith Eberhardt

6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION (If joint or other than N BS, see instructions)

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20234

7. Contract/Grant No.

S. Type of Report & Period Covered

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

SHEET (See instructions)

1. PUBLICATION OR 2. Performing Organ. Report No. 3. Publication Date REPORT NO.

NBSIR 85-2999 January 10, 1985

9. SPONSORING ORGANIZATION NAME AND COMPLETE ADDRESS (Street. City. State, ZIP)

National Archives § Records Center

Washington, D.C. 20408

10.

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

| | Document describes a computer program; SF-185, FIPS Software Summary, is attached.

11. ABSTRACT (A 200-word or less factual summary of most significant information. If document includes a significant

bi bl iography or literature survey, mention it here) The purpose of this preservation plan is to identify types, extent of programs and resource requirements to bring the preservation needs of the National Archives and

Records Service (NARS) to a current status at the end of twenty-two years. Data for

developing the plan was derived from a scientific survey of holdings, data obtained

from interviews with NARS' archivists, earlier studies and observation of operations.

The goals are to preserve the documenting heritage of the United States and provide

timely service to both government and scholerly researchers. The recommended plan is

predicated upon the necessities of Preserving Documents Serving Researchers and

husbanding scarce resources.

The recommended plan is divided into nine action categories:

1. environmental control; 2. holdings maintenance of current holdings; 3. holdings

maintenance as a part of the accessioning process; 4. interception, assessment and

protection at time of use; 5. systematic duplication of impermanent documents;

6. reproduction of frequently used documents; 7. laboratory treatment of intrinsically

valuable documents; 8. laboratory conservation of treasures; and 9. preservation of

nontextual records.

The 22 year cost of the Preservation Plan in 1984 dollars is estimated at $209.1 million

12. KEY WORDS (Six to twelve entries; alphabetical order; capitalize only proper names; and separate key words by semicolons)

Archival preservation; conservation; document conservation; document preservation;

holdings maintenances; process engineering; stock maintenance; statistical survey;

systems engineering

13. AVAILABILITY 14. NO. OF

PRINTED PAGES

UQ Unlimited

| | For Official Distribution. Do Not Release to NTIS

f 1 Order From Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

69

15. Price 20402.

Order From National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield, VA. 22161 $10.00

USCOMM-DC 8043-P80