Before you get started

• Leave any food, drink, liquids, and pens in the lockers outside. There are pencils in the searchroom for you to borrow for notetaking
• Make sure dangling jewellery, scarves, sleeves, etc. are not going to hit or brush against your workspace
• Wash and dry your hands before (and after) using documents – you will not be using gloves to handle most types of documents. If you are wearing nail polish, be aware that this can stain documents and take extra care. Avoid using hand gels or creams before handling documents

Key Points

• Avoid touching documents as much as possible, especially on text or illustrations; do not run your finger along the document to follow the lines, use a slip of paper instead
• Some documents were historically treated with harmful chemicals, or may have been exposed to pests and moulds in the past – avoid touching your mouth or eyes while handling documents, and do not lick your fingers to turn pages
• Keep loose papers presented in bundles or folders in the order they came to you, even if they are not numbered or do not seem to be in a logical order
• Volumes should be supporting using blue cushions and foam blocks, found by the window near the map table. Document weights can also be found here
• Don’t hesitate to ask searchroom staff for help handling large or difficult documents
• Before you return any documents, please ensure that everything has been returned to the bundle and all archive tape and labels are back in place
• Avoid placing your notebooks, paper or laptops on the top of document; make space to the side of the documents for your note taking

Handling different types of documents

How you approach handling the documents you are looking at depends on their physical format: identify which of the types of documents described below you are handling to find the appropriate advice.

Loose Paper Documents

Paper can be quite fragile when it is very old, particularly the low-quality types of paper used for telegrams or during the World Wars. Watch out for crumbly edges!

• When picking up fragile paper, hold it at two points on opposite corners to support it.
• While reading a document, leave it lying in place in its folder or bundle or lay it on the desk rather than holding it up while you read
• Keep papers aligned as you turn them so that they can be easily put away – avoid squaring up a stack of paper by knocking them together on a table or shuffling them over each other
• If paper is folded and needs weighing down to keep it flat, use the lightest weights you can
• When tying up folders, try to place the knot on the edge of the folder, so that the knot does not press into soft papers – tying archive tape is a skill, so do ask staff for help if needed!

Parchment Documents

Parchment, which is made from animal skin, can be differentiated from paper by its thicker, stiffer texture – you may find it difficult to unfold or unroll, as it will want to spring back to the shape it has been stored in.

• Use weights from the box by the window next to the map table to hold it in place, but do not attempt to flatten it as it can crack. Try to avoid placing weights on text or illustrations
• If the document has a wax seal, this can be very brittle; place it on a blue cushion to stop it from knocking against the table, and always support the seal when moving the document
• Unlike paper, parchment does not absorb ink – the ink sits on top of the surface. This makes it extra vulnerable to rubbing away from touch or friction, so take extra care when touching or moving parchment documents

Photographs

Photographs are particularly susceptible to fading and degradation, and many of ours are held in cold storage; these must be ordered at least 24hrs in advance so that they can warm up slowly

• In an exception to the above rule, nitrile gloves should be worn when handling photographs as they are vulnerable to oil damage: these will be provided in the searchroom. If the photographs are in pockets or in an album, gloves are not needed as you will not need to touch the photographs to turn the pages
• Pick up photographs by the edges; avoid touching the image side of the photograph as this is easily smudged

Books/Volumes

The spines of books – particularly large, heavy ones – are vulnerable to wear and tear, so look out for loose spines and covers. Finding the right angle to support the book while open can be tricky, so do ask for help if you need it.

• Foam wedges to support volumes can be found by the window next to the map table; these can be stacked and used in concert with the blue cushions
• On thicker volumes, you will need to adjust the supports as you go to balance out the pages; eg. if the book is open to the first page you would need more support on the left side to prop it up, and vice versa
• Do not try to lie the book flat, place it face down open on the table, or try to open it wider than it easily falls; 90 degrees is the ideal angle
• Some leather book covers produce a red powder as they degrade over time, which can shed onto surfaces and fingers – dyes used for book covers can also shed, so be careful of your clothes and watch out for residue on your fingers or the book supports

Rolled maps and documents

Whether on paper or parchment, these will need to be weighed down at the corners to keep them from springing back into their rolled shape, which can cause tearing.

• Where possible, use the map table for large rolled maps. You may need two people to unroll a large map so that both edges can be unrolled together; staff can help you

• Place weights on corners and, if necessary, in the middle of the edge of the map, avoiding illustrated areas. You may find you need the heavier weights for this
• If the map is torn, ask for help from staff, as tears in rolled documents worsen easily
• When rerolling the map, make sure not to lift up the weights without holding the map in place with your hand – one corner rolling up while the other is weighed down can cause tears down the middle of the map. Make sure you keep the edges aligned while rolling
• Only unroll as much of the roll as you need to reveal the area of interest; place weights against the rolled part of the map to hold it in place, avoiding text and illustrated areas