-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        RE: Dust/Residue on Maps
Date:   Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:10:46 -0400
From:   Armstrong,Helenjane <[log in to unmask]>
To:     [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
References:     <[log in to unmask]>



Several years ago the University of Florida Map & Imagery Library ordered all of the topos of India plus the multiple volume atlas set.  They all arrived with the unpleasant oder you have described.  Our conservation person checked the materials and found there were no spores or fungi we need to worry about.  We got rid of the oder by exposing them to some "dry" Florida sun.  Not the best or recommended conservation technique but it did work.

 We inquired about the oder to our Indian map dealer.   He said it was not unusual for printing paper to be shipped in vehicles used also for animal shipping.  He said also bulk shipments could be sent in ships which had  been used for animal shipments.  Supposedly all the vehicles had been sterilized and only the smell remained.  As mentioned in another email, the dealer said the paper was not always stored in climate control areas.

How reliable this information I can not verify and it was 10 years ago.  Since the quality of the maps and atlases were what we needed plus well done, I did not search the matter any further.  However the additional maps we purchased also had the same oder as the "bulk" shipment.

I will be curious to see if someone can determine if this is true or what the actual cause is.
Helen

HelenJane Armstrong PhD
Map Librarian Emeritus
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida
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________________________________________
From: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Maps-L Moderator for Mike Buscher [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 10:05 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Dust/Residue on Maps

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Re: Dust/Residue on Maps
Date:   Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:40:19 -0400
From:   Michael J Buscher <[log in to unmask]>
To:     <[log in to unmask]>
CC:     Diane Schug-O'Neill <[log in to unmask]>, John R Hebert <[log in to unmask]>




Jenny,
   We have noticed that the materials from India and Pakistan seem to have a musty smell when we unpack them and they also seem dusty. The smell usually goes away after a day or two. In the twenty some years I have been involved LC acquisitions this has always been the case. We had our conservation office check the materials a few years ago and they found no fungui or spores.

Mike Buscher
>>> Maps-L Moderator for Jenny Johnson <[log in to unmask]> 3/9/2009 5:06 PM >>>
-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Dust/Residue on Maps
Date:   Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:04:46 -0500
From:   Jenny Marie Johnson <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To:       [log in to unmask]
To:     MAPS-L <[log in to unmask]>



Hi.

I was wondering if anyone is taking special precautions with the maps
that they receive through the Library of Congress Cooperative
Acquisitions Program, especially those maps of India and Pakistan.

The items always feel dirty and dusty when we unpack them ....  and the
central acquisitions unit here is starting to raise alarms about
residues left by fumigation on materials acquired from some parts of Asia.

Does anyone know why these maps feel the way that they do?  What might
be on them?

Thanks!

Jenny Marie Johnson
Map and Geography Library
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign