Freezing archives for pest prevention
Freezing collections for pest prevention is a well established process, however there are challenges. The size of the collection, access to freezer facilities and preparations of the collection to ensure damage does not occur can prove difficult to accomplish.
I recently led a collaborative partnership with Blacktown City Council to catalogue, freeze for pest prevention and rehouse into archival storage a large mixed archive. .
Example of archives from Garage Graphix collection
The project developed from a Preservation Needs Assessment that highlighted the critical need for strategic collection care of the Garage Graphix collection. The funding support from Community Heritage Grants enabled myself, and past employees of Garage Graphix to be engaged in specialised assistance and guidance throughout the project.
I worked in partnership with Paul Howard from Blacktown City Council to develop the project plan and parameters. The Preservation Needs Assessment had provided the initial assessment of the collection and the recommendations included : cataloguing, freezing for pest prevention, rehousing in archival enclosures and relocation to a new storage facility.
Freezing is an effective pest management and eradication method for Archives, Museums, Galleries and Libraries.
Pest treatment was the first step to ensure that cross contamination and infestation did not occur during relocation. Freezing the collection was determined as the best option for a predominantly paper based collection.
The freezing of the collection included the following phases:
Phase 1 - Freezer
Research for a freezer with capacity for the entire collection
Rental and delivery of a shipping container freezer to the site
Phase 2 - The collection
Checking collection contents against freezing criteria
Sorting and removing collection that can not be frozen
Basic documentation of collection in excel spreadsheet
Recording box number and contents
Recording collection that were not frozen
Repackaging the collection to prevent condensation during freezing process
Phase 3 - Freezing the collection
Phase 4 - Collection documentation, research and rehousing
Relocation of defrosted collection to new site for comprehensive cataloguing
Cataloguing collection at object level
Comprehensive research into provenance and collection history by 2 external consultants
Rehousing the collection into archival enclosures
Phase 5 - New storage
Relocating rehoused and catalogue collection to a new storage facility.
I worked alongside the Blacktown Council staff at every stage of the project and was available for consultation and assistance as required.
In addition, I developed various training packages to ensure that the staff were skilled in the stages of the project. This included the development of the freezing criteria, sorting and culling collection. Plus more in depth training sessions on handling collections, cleaning and storage of the collection, and development of cataloguing and documentation procedures. I developed guiding documents for each workshop and workflows for each stage to ensure that staff had reference material and support throughout the project.
The entire project was completed within several months, with both inhouse staff and external contractors. The success of the project was due to the commitment of staff and contractors, support from the Community Heritage Grant program and Blacktown City Council.
The Garage Graphix Collection Project was a multifaceted collections care project involving numerous Council staff, external contractors and specialised equipment. The project has resulted in a successful cataloguing, pest treatment and safe relocation of this significant collection.
The Garage Graphix Collection Project was a multifaceted collections care project involving numerous Council staff, external contractors and specialised equipment.
The project has resulted in a successful cataloguing, pest treatment and safe relocation of this significant collection.
Reach out if you have any concerns regarding pests in your collection or how to implement a freezing project for pest management.
