ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 60 | December 2002
Salt
and Vinegar Chips?
ANICA (Australian Network for Information on Cellulose Acetate)
If you’ve been wondering what that familiar smell is in your storage area (you thought is was some salt and vinegar chips someone left behind) then ANICA is the site for you. The ANICA web site <www.nla.gov.au/anica/> provides a forum point for sharing information and accessing resources about preserving cellulose acetate collections in Australia.
What causes that smell?
Cellulose acetate, once known as ‘safety film’, has been very widely used as a carrier for photographic and motion picture images, microfilm and sound. Under all but the most stringent storage conditions, acetate deteriorates to an unusable state, releasing acetic acid. This phenomenon, known as the ‘vinegar syndrome’, is becoming familiar in libraries and archive collections all over the world, threatening to result in loss of access to a large slice of 20th- century documentary material.
Why ANICA?
The creation of the ANICA web site fulfils one of the recommendations in the National Strategy for Cellulose Acetate Collections, released in 2001, and supports the vision:
‘That Australian institutions will implement strategies to ensure continuing access to the portion of our documentary heritage on cellulose acetate.’
The ANICA web site aims to provide a forum for sharing information and accessing resources about preserving cellulose acetate collections in Australia. The web site contains a variety of papers that have been written in collaboration with State Libraries and other Australian collecting institutions. The information gathered on this network is intended to help collection managers and preservation staff to make informed decisions about preserving their cellulose acetate collections.
What’s on ANICA?
Articles contained on the site include:
National
Strategy for Cellulose Acetate Collections
This document was created to help Australian institutions implement strategies
to ensure continuing access to the portion of documentary heritage on cellulose
acetate.
Assessment
Guidelines
Designed to assist with evaluating cellulose acetate materials in collections
and the identification of appropriate strategies to deal with these collections.
Storage
of Cellulose Acetate Collections
‘A Preliminary Survey of Issues and Options’ – Explores how to slow the
degradation of cellulose acetate with appropriate storage conditions.
Annotated
Bibliography
A list of resources related to cellulose acetate preservation.
Other information presented includes:
Register
of Expertise
A list of institutions which have developed expertise in various aspects
of dealing with deteriorating cellulose acetate materials.
Status
of Collections
Information about how Australian collecting institutions are storing and
caring for their cellulose acetate collections and the challenges they face.
Strategies
and Policies
These policies and strategies have been developed by Australian institutions
for dealing with cellulose acetate collections, including the National Library’s
strategy at www.nla.gov.au/anica/strategy_NLA.html.
There is also a
Members’ Corner on ANICA that is intended for use by Australian
collecting institutions only.
It presents practical information provided by various institutions that have
been working with their collection material. If you would like to access this
part of the site please contact the National Library at nipa@nla.gov.au
and request the password.
Before ANICA
ANICA is the culmination of a project that commenced two years ago. In January 2000, the National Library of Australia (NLA) embarked on a project to develop a national strategy for dealing with deteriorating cellulose acetate collections. Initially, information about various options for dealing with this problem was collated; and information about the extent of the problem, both within the NLA and nationally, was obtained. The Cellulose Acetate Report, Stage One, gives the results of this study. (This report is available online at www.nla.gov.au/anica/cellulose.doc)
In order to address the problems highlighted in the report, in late 2000, a group of Australian institutions agreed to form a ‘working group’ to discuss some of the key issues in managing cellulose acetate collections and to investigate possibilities for cooperation. This process has led to the development of the National Strategy www.nla.gov.au/anica/natstratnew.html
The National Strategy received overwhelming support from cultural institutions across Australia.
We’re counting on you!
Although all institutions struggle with finding resources, it is hoped that ANICA will help to raise the profile of the problems associated with deteriorating cellulose acetate collections. The usefulness of ANICA will depend on the sustained willingness of Australian collecting institutions to share their expertise and information about their strategies for maintaining cellulose acetate collections. We encourage you all to use and contribute to this national resource.
If you have any
questions or contributions to make to ANICA, please contact the National Library
of Australia at: nipa@nla.gov.au.
—Jennifer Anderson
| Contents list for this issue of Gateways |