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Drawers should have ball bearings for smooth gliding and stops to prevent them from dropping out of the cabinet when opened all the way. The drawers may be equipped with dust covers to prevent objects from being damaged or caught up at the back of the drawers, but they should not have heavy brackets, which put undue localized pressure on objects in their folders. The bottommost folder should be easily removable.
#Creative file storage ideas professional
Check with a preservation professional for guidance.įlat file drawers should be no more than two inches deep and should never be filled to the top. Not all water-based polyurethanes are safe, however. Avoid oil-based paints and other oil products for archival storage. It is essential to buy water-based polyurethane, not the more common oil-modified type. After applying the sealant allow it to air for at least several weeks. Although no coating or sealant will completely block emissions, polyurethane seals as well as any. Suitable barriers for lining the insides of wooden cabinets include polyester film (Melinex), 4-ply 100 percent ragboard, or Marvelseal®, a laminate of aluminum and inert plastic.īefore lining wooden file drawers with a barrier material, seal the wood to give an extra measure of protection. If you cannot replace your wooden files, then line the drawers with a barrier material. Even old wooden cabinets are potentially damaging, especially oak ones. Wood has often been used for storage cabinets, including flat file cabinets, but wood gives off harmful gases in far greater quantities than improperly baked enamel. This lightweight metal is strong and, because it has no coating to emit gases, is nonreactive. Furniture made of anodized aluminum is also excellent. Recommended metal storage cabinets have solvent-free powder coatings of finely divided polymers that do not appear to off-gas. If the enamel has not been baked long enough or at a high enough temperature, it may give off volatiles such as formaldehyde that can damage paper.
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Steel cases finished with baked enamel, once the furniture of choice, can be problematic. Metal cases are much less damaging than wooden ones, but not all metal cases are 100 percent safe.
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They must not only protect physically, but the cases must be made of chemically stable materials that will not harm paper. Like all furniture for the storage of works of art or archival materials, map cases should be carefully chosen. Map cases, or flat file cabinets, composed of wide, shallow drawers are essential for collections with oversize sheet material. Storage Furniture Map Cases (Flat File Cabinets) Some of these are discussed in the final section of this leaflet. Because every collection contains objects larger than the available drawers, further storage solutions must also be found. When inside drawers or boxes these objects need the additional protection of folders or other suitable enclosures. It is best to store oversize objects unrolled and flat in map-case drawers or in large, flat archival boxes. Such materials are unwieldy and therefore vulnerable to damage, especially if they are not mounted or backed. Maps, posters, large prints, and other oversize objects create storage problems for any institution.
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Collection Assessments and Consultations.Conservation Services for Private and Family Collections.Conservation Services for Cultural Institutions and Government Agencies.
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