[NHCOLL-L:793] Re: glue and annotations

[Ann Pinzl]

I am certainly no expert on the mysterious world of adhesives, but there was
a recent posting (November 20, 2000) to ConsDist by Jane Down on the subject
of glue sticks.

Basically, she said that there has been no comprehensive long-term study on
poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP), the major component of glue sticks.  The
Canadian Conservation Institute/CCI doesn't recommend using them for
permanent gluing situations; she also cites observations made at CCI in the
mid 1990's on labels peeling extremely easily that had been applied with a
glue stick ten years earlier.

As for the UHU stick she did list the following as a reference:
Williams, R. S.
UHU Stic Glue Stick
CCI Analytical Research Services Report No. 2012
similarly the Dennison Glue Stick was covered in Reprt No. 2017, Pritt Glue
Stick in No. 2011

As for what I do - I use methyl cellulose.

Ann Pinzl
----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Rabeler <rabeler at umich.edu>
To: <nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2000 10:16 AM
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:792] glue and annotations


> When I recently read the "Conditions" statement which arrived recently
with
> a loan from the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew for one of our researchers,
I
> noted the following item:
>
> "11. Please note that most office products (e.g., 'Copydex', 'Pritt' and
> other glue sticks, 'Sellotape' and 'Tipp-Ex') are not of archival quality
> and should not be used.  If you have doubts about the quality of glue
> available, please use paper clips to attach annotation labels to the
> herbarium sheets."
>
> While we use an archival paste for the specimen labels affixed by our
plant
> mounters, most of those folks affixing annotation labels are using an
> admittedly more convenient glue stick.  We are using a UHU stick.  I don't
> know much about the composition of the glue beyond the words "acid free"
on
> the side of the tube; no help at their web site.
>
> I did find a Scotch Glue Stick in a catalog of a company which focusses on
> archival-quality paper conservation items.  The glue stick is described as
> "permanent" and "acid-free" with a stated ph of 12.
>
> My question to other herbarium folks is two-fold.
>
> 1. What are you using for affixing annotation labels and
>
> 2. Have you come across any information that could "settle" the glue stick
> question?
>
> Thanks for considering my query.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Rich Rabeler
> Collections Manager, Vascular Plants
> University of Michigan Herbarium
> rabeler at umich.edu
>