The Agony and the EcstasyBERRIMA DISTRICT HISTORICAL & FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY AND THE CHG PROGRAM

STAGE ONE:SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT

SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT:

Archivist Linda Emery will conduct the significance assessment based on her already extensive knowledge of the collections and prepare the report as an ‘in kind’ contribution to the project. This report will inform the consultant engaged to undertake the Preservation Needs Assessment.

As a member of the Society for more than 20 years and archivist

for five years, Linda Emery knows the collection of archival

material well and has unrestricted access to it. This knowledge

and access has enabled her to identify the particular collections

within the large volume of paper-based material that could be

considered for national significance. The complete collection of

the BDH&FHS is very large. The targeted collections were

thoroughly examined, with approximately 10% of the balance of

the collection sampled.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

Short term

•Increase accessibility to the German Internment Camp Collection through internet access to

photographs.

•Clean and rehouse the Badgery Papers

Medium Term

•Strengthen the Collections Policy

•Develop training programs for volunteers

Long Term

•Weed the collection of material that does not fit the Collections Policy for the organisation

•Ongoing pursuit of grant funding for preservation, storage and collection development needs.

STAGE TWO:PRESERVATION NEEDS ASSESSMENT

6.3.1 Stoddart Photograph AlbumThe Assessment included a detailed inspection of the Stoddart Photograph Album. The album is currently housed in a polyethylene plastic bag. The following preservation issues were documented:•Many pages are repaired with poor quality pressure sensitive adhesive tape.•Pages are brittle and are at risk of detaching from the album.•The silver gelatin photographs are silvering slightly, probably due to a reversion of the developing processes and poor storage over many years.•Some pages are torn.•Some photographs are loose or coming loose from their page mountings.•The album binding is stable but the spine is missing. To ensure good long term preservation the album and its contents the following treatments are required:•Digitise images and restrict the access to the original album.•Repair the spine.•Remove pressure sensitive adhesive tapes.•Repair pages.•Interleave pages with non buffered tissue paper.•House in tailor made preservation storage box.