Wyoming Chapter
Association of Records Managers and Administrators
Chapter Meeting
May 10, 2005
2301 Central Ave., Barrett Building , Multipurpose Room Cheyenne, WY

Members Present: Tony Adams, Kristy Anderson, Kerry Beutler, Ramona Christensen, Dolores Crock, Donna Crock, Cate Cundall, Wendy Kinkade, Debbie Leonard, Vicki Seals and Rich Wilson

Guests: Pat Newbern, Sue Layman

Speaker: Roger Joyce, State Archivist and Archives & Museum Manager

Topic: The Preservation of Records and Photographs

After enjoying a buffet lunch catered by Grand Avenue Pizza, Kristy Anderson opened the meeting by welcoming everyone in attendance. Kristy Anderson gave a brief introduction on the guest speaker. Roger Joyce graduated from the University of Wyoming. He completed Archives and Conservation training from the Georgia Department of Archives, Emory University, Marriott Library-University of Utah and the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center in Omaha, Nebraska. He received his Professional Associate Certification from the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.

Roger began his presentation with a slide show. He presented an overview of the preservation of records. State Archives has a research facility with one of a kind newspaper collection on microfilm and some paper, scanned or photographic images. Roger defined preservation as access to recorded knowledge in a multitude of medias as far into the future as possible. How can we preserve items now? According to Roger, one needs to look at the different types of treatments depending on the type of media such as motion picture film, CD's, maps, newspaper, bound volumes or photographs. Storage of media requires control of temperature and relative humidity, control air pollution and dust, control of light levers, control of handling and control of storage systems. If you store records in the basement, they should be stored off the floor on blocks. Mold is also a concern. If paper gets wet, it is extremely difficult to restore and can become a health concern. UV light can cause paper to fade, darken and break down. The chief factor in deterioration is the acid in poor quality paper. He distributed examples of various types of paper and photographic damage.

Roger gave some ideas on how to store documents and photographs. Always store negatives separately from the original photos. Each negative and photo should have separate sleeves that are made of acid free materials. These supplies can be purchased from special suppliers. Roger noted that they do receive CD's. When these CD's are received, they print the images to acid free paper. Since the longevity of CD's has not been determined, information is lost with time. In addition migration of the data must be done. One must plan to budget the migration of data as time goes on. Roger provided brochures on various aspects of document preservation.

After the presentation, Kristy Anderson reminded everyone of the upcoming meetings:

June 2, 2005 - Awards Banquet at the Whipple House
June 4, 2005 - Black Hawk/Central City Trip

Vicki Seals introduced her guest, Sue Layman. Sue replaced Vicki as the Records Manager for the Cheyenne Police Department.

Submitted by,

Ramona Christensen
Chapter Secretary