Several types of materials should be flagged while processing, including: fragile items and newspapers/clippings, photographs, oversized items, and restricted materials. Use the flag colors noted below to ensure consistency for students and end-processors.
Unstable Documents (Fragile/acidic/brittle/fading)
Flag clippings and other fragile/unstable items for preservation photocopying with white paper flags. Fragile/unstable materials that should be flagged include:
- acidic documents and letters
- telegrams
- thermal fax paper
- newspapers
- clippings
- "sticky" notes (e.g., Post-Its)
Write instructions or notes onto the flag if desired. Use a plastic clip to clip the white flag to the pages that need photocopying.
Once flagged, unstable documents will be photocopied (preferably by students) onto acid-free paper to preserve the content. The photocopy may be reduced or enlarged in size if desirable. If the originals are retained (we generally don't retain clippings), they will be separated from the collection during end processing and the photocopy will remain in the original folder.
If an entire folder or bound item needs preservation photocopying, it may be a good candidate for digitization. Discuss this with your team lead. We currently (as of 2013) don't have the capacity to digitize material at an individual (below the folder) level.
Newspaper or magazine clippings
In general, loose newspaper clippings (without substantive annotations) by or about the creator or organization(s) are photocopied and then discarded. However, clippings from newspapers and periodicals which are easily accessible electronically (such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and Boston Globe) can be weeded. Either recycle clippings or return to donor as per agreement.
If the collection contains at least a carton of clippings, consult with your team lead about weeding and/or the possibility of digitizing.
Occasionally, you may find an early newspaper in its entirety that may belong in another repository or may be worth selling on Ebay; if so, photocopy the relevant article and give the original to Anne Engelhart.
In general, don't keep entire magazines, unless they are older or rare. After consulting with your team lead, remove the cover, table of contents, and the article about or by the person (or organization) and discard the rest.
Sticky notes
Pages containing sticky notes present special problems. The adhesives on sticky notes damage paper over the long term, and must be removed. Many notes can be discarded (e.g., internal notes giving filing instructions, or asking that document be read or circulated), thereby avoiding the need to make a preservation photocopy. Notes containing substantive information, however, must be photocopied in place if their placement was relevant, even though text may be obscured (e.g., editing specific lines or portions), or moved to a part of the document where no text is obscured (e.g., a general comment about the overall document) before copying.
Photographs
Flag all photographs encountered while processing with blue paper flags, but do not use clips to flag photos. For photographs found in folders that include non-photographic material, and a complete discussion on appraising, processing, preserving, and numbering photographs, see photographs.
Oversized Material
Documents larger than 8 ½ x 14 are considered "oversized" and in many instances may arrive folded within the collection. In some cases, preserving the content is more important than preserving the documents themselves, and such documents may remain folded. Consult your team lead if you have questions about specific documents. Upon encountering oversized documents that you want to be removed from the folder and stored flat, indicate their existence with green paper flags.
Restricted Materials
Some material may need to be restricted according to the terms specified in the donor agreement. Identify restricted materials with red paper flags. See restricted materials section for more details.