Crafting History: Archiving and the Quest for Architectural Legacy by Albena Yaneva

Author:Albena Yaneva [Yaneva, Albena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Architecture, Methods & Materials, Historic Preservation, General, Language Arts & Disciplines, Library & Information Science, Archives & Special Libraries
ISBN: 9781501751837
Google: bUDJDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Cornell
Published: 2020-11-15T13:19:01+00:00

A treatment that aims at eliminating odor involves the participation of another nonhuman actor in the conservation process: activated carbon paper. Carbon is commonly used to absorb small molecules such as benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene, and xylene and is recommended for water filtration and odor elimination. In the CCA conservation lab, it is used to deal with odors that come off boxes and folders that often present unpleasant surprises for the registrar staff. Karen divides the stack of drawings into much smaller folders. At the end there are forty folders on the table. Then she places a big sheet of carbon paper in each folder to absorb the acid. She explains, “This paper actually absorbs not just the odor, but the chemical causing the odor.”46 Worried that people will find the fishy smell irritating, she aims to prevent this from happening. Odor requires urgent treatment, not just because it is unpleasant, but because it can spread quickly. The ozone can damage the material further and will chemically catalyze reactions. Karen needs to make sure that the contaminated objects are not in contact with any other objects—just as patients with infectious ailments should not be in contact with healthy people—because the acid causing the smell could affect the rest of the collection. The process is complete when a reaction between the carbon and the acid eliminates the odor.

FIGURE 15.    Karen performing a treatment of an archival object in the conservation lab, CCA

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