Thank you very much to everyone who responded to my question about air photo storage.  Several responses went out to the list, but I'm also going to paste a few others here that came directly to me, as they may help someone else.  



Hello Jeff,

What a good question!  We store the few aerial photos we have just as you describe, on the bottom  edge in acid free folders in a file cabinet.  However, the room is not specifically climate controlled.  We have had them that way since the early 1970s and they seem not to have warped as yet.  I am hopeful we may be able to digitize them soon.

All the best,

Aimée
 
Aimée C. Quinn
Government Publications Librarian
James E. Brooks Library, Federal Depository 0649-A
400 E. University Way509-963-1592
[log in to unmask]


From Renee Pieschke <[log in to unmask]>

Are the images themselves bowed in anyway? Are there any preservation concerns? Flaking? Separation from the emulsion later?  If not, and they are flat and in good shape, storing them in a file cabinet system shouldn’t affect them.




On Thu, Apr 4, 2019 at 10:39 AM Christopher Thiry <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Brendan,

We store our air photos flat in custom made boxes.  BTW: acid-free boxes are not appropriate for photos.  You have to get the special photo archival boxes (even more expensive).  
The boxes we use are plastic.  Very far from acid-free but totally inert with photograph paper.

See my article in WAML Information Bulletin:
“Solving Our Aerial Photographs Collection Problem” (Thiry), 43:1:18–23 
http://www.waml.org/ib-back-issues/IB-V43N1-Nov11.pdf
Western Association of Map Libraries
Volume 43 Number 1 November 2011 Western Association of Map Libraries “. . . to encourage high standards in every phase of organization and administration of map libraries . . .”
www.waml.org


Christopher J.J. Thiry
Map & GIS Librarian
Academic Outreach Coordinator
Colorado School of Mines
Arthur Lakes Library
1400 Illinois
Golden, CO 80401
p. 303-273-3697
f. 303-273-3199
From: Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Brendan Whyte <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 3, 2019 10:24 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Aerial Photo storage
 
We have special archival-cardboard boxes (25x25x6 cm) with removable lids (25x6x4cm). However the 23x23 cm photos in the boxes are stored upright, and do indeed warp. Storing them on their sides would be better, but then the lids fall off the boxes (and prevent the boxes sitting flat)
Keeping the photos flat somehow is a good idea. 

We group ours by run (with a labelled paper band around each run), and also turn the top photo in each run over so that when handling each run, fingers only come in contact with the backs of the photos, not the front.

Brendan Whyte
National Library of Australia

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Date:    Wed, 3 Apr 2019 16:36:29 -0400
From:    Jeff Essic <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Aerial Photo storage

Hello,

I am asking this on behalf of a colleague.  What is a recommended means of
storing hard-copy aerial photographs?  He has a few hundred.  Someone has
suggested storing them on edge in a filing cabinet in a climate controlled
room, but I thought that may cause them to warp.  Are there any special
factors to consider?

Thank you,
Jeff Essic
NC State University Libraries

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End of MAPS-L Digest - 2 Apr 2019 to 3 Apr 2019 (#2019-58)
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