As mentioned above, a fairly small number of institutions in the U.S. focus on collecting advertising materials for permanent preservation and study. Many libraries do own collections of the thousands of magazines or newspapers that contain ads, but several conditions may make research access difficult. Newspapers present a special problem because the acidic paper on which they are printed is so fragile. Newspaper ads produced on cheap newsprint made of wood pulp tend to become very brittle, even after a fairly short period of time. Even when magazines or newspapers are available to researchers, searching through months or years of issues looking for ads about specific products or product categories can be labor-intensive and fatiguing.
Research becomes much easier for the on-site user.
And preparation of an electronic version of the material grouped by type also becomes more practical. The sorting allowed verification that ads were filed in the proper categories, permitted the removal of duplicates from the scanning process, and provided a good opportunity to unfold many items and place them in proper acid-free folders and boxes for the first time. So one result of the project will be better storage of the original paper items. By scanning the ads, we hope to increase use of them without physically wearing them out. Users who visit Duke University may use those previously-closed portions of the collection that now have received better physical care.