[Nhcoll-l] Acid-Free Tissue Recommendations

Sun Sep 27 12:29:43 EDT 2015

Greg's suggestion is excellent. A few other vendors of conservation
supplies carry similar materials as well.

The problem with using materials such as toilet tissue is that there is no
guarantee when the loan will be unpacked and the bad packing materials
discarded. I have seen dozens and dozens of examples of museum specimens
packed with "temporary" materials that turned into long-term storage
materials due to oversight, accident, or ignorance, any one of which
carries the same potential for specimen damage. For example, I have spent
the last few years helping unpack specimens that were "temporarily" packed
with PVC dry cleaner bags 10 years ago--the bags are now turning yellow and
degrading. At the time the specimens were packed, probably no one thought
it would be ten years before they were unpacked.

Whether you are packing specimens for shipment of preparing to put
specimens into the collection, only stable, inert materials should be used.
In almost any collection you can find examples of offgassing plastic,
deteriorating rubber bands, acidic paper, and all sorts of other
"temporary" materials that inadvertently became long-term, often to the
detriment of the specimen.

--John

John E. Simmons
Museologica
128 E. Burnside Street
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania 16823-2010
simmons.johne at gmail.com
303-681-5708
www.museologica.com
and
Adjunct Curator of Collections
Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
Penn State University
University Park, Pennsylvania
and
Instructor, Museum Studies
School of Library and Information Science
Kent State University
and
Lecturer in Art
Juniata College
Huntingdon, Pennsylvania

On Sun, Sep 27, 2015 at 12:14 PM, Gregory Schneider <ges at umich.edu> wrote:

> probably spun polyester batting or tissue - gaylord has it
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.gaylord.com_c_Wrapping-2DLining-2Dand-2DSupport-2DMaterials&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=SJCuW0wi4kjNfjAFAG2NTr4bkaHoWYMLspe8WjE-Umc&s=Ng2MyNVdAh3tY6Jo0gUox6OmsENFz_SHcMNALsjo9VU&e= 
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.gaylord.com_c_Wrapping-2DLining-2Dand-2DSupport-2DMaterials&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=Feyma_fP3iPB5YYlqlF6PKZ0pD12QHHM0cQ_ikhI8a8&s=6wv166lXqNtjrb8nmaYGlO5nRidGw1O5oPfz0Vi2l9c&e=>
>
> On Fri, Sep 25, 2015 at 11:58 AM, Cody Thompson <cwthomp at umich.edu> wrote:
>
>> Hello all:
>>
>> The UMMZ Mammal Division is beginning our packing process for our
>> relocation.  Does anyone have any recommendations for acid-free tissue that
>> could be used to pack skulls and skeletons in vials?  We typically would
>> use toilet tissue for packing loans, but we would prefer to leave the
>> tissue in the vial until the specimens are accessed again for research,
>> loans, etc.  We are not planning to wrap the specimens individually as we
>> would for loans; rather, we plan to use the tissue to stabilize the
>> material in the vial for transport.  Therefore, we need a product that has
>> the flexibility of toilet tissue and could potentially be in the vial for
>> years.  Anyhow, I would appreciate any suggestions!
>>
>> Thank you,
>> Cody
>>
>> Cody W. Thompson, PhD
>> Mammal Collections Manager
>> & Assistant Research Scientist
>> University of Michigan
>> Museum of Zoology
>> 1109 Geddes Avenue
>> Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
>> Office: (734) 615-2810
>> Fax: (734) 763-4080
>> Email: cwthomp at umich.edu
>> Website: codythompson51.wordpress.com
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__codythompson51.wordpress.com&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=Feyma_fP3iPB5YYlqlF6PKZ0pD12QHHM0cQ_ikhI8a8&s=0brlf1_C7EQ_K1mWkRjXQSmKFRYQVdQRirhW9knXG5A&e=>
>>
>> "Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land."
>> -Aldo Leopold
>>
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>
> --
> Greg Schneider
> Division of Reptiles and Amphibians
> Museum of Zoology
> University of Michigan
> Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1079
> 734 647 1927     734 763 4080 (FAX)
>
> 734 763 0740 (Biodiversity Research Center at Varsity Drive)
> ges at umich.edu
>
>
>
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> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
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> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
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