Heritage Room Interview

5. What types of records do you typically manage in the Heritage Room (maps, books, etc)?
   
   What don’t we manage…ha ha!
   The Heritage Room manages all manner of record types including bound volumes, loose papers, photographs, negatives, postcards, books and 3-dimensional items. We have handwritten material and printed material, old mimeographed items and new computer generated ephemera.  We also work with newsprint and microfilm.  The age of the records we manage vary from today all the way back to the 1840’s.  We also work with the various city departments regarding their record retention and disposal process.  We have created an extra step in which any records from the city deemed ready for disposal will pass through my offices to determine if they should be saved for historical purposes or be destroyed.

6. Where do a majority of your archival records come from (i.e., donations, photographers, etc)?

          The records come from a variety of sources including but not limited to:

• • Individuals who have items or collections they wish to donate for posterity;
  • Local Businesses;
  • The School System (we have worked with the schools to become a repository for school records that are no longer deemed essential for day-to-day operations).
  • The City of Portage
  • Various organizations such as Rotary, Austin Lake Association, etc. I believe we have the records of at least eight organizations.
  • We are also in charge of all historical library records as well.

7. BUILDING SITES:

• • The Heritage Room was built as part of the Portage District Library in July of 1976, based on the recommendation of Frank Hemphill, who was library Director during that period.  In your opinion, why do you believe that Frank Hemphill chose the Portage District Library as the ideal building site or location to store Portage’s archival records?
    
    I don’t believe that he made this as a conscious choice. The Heritage Room began when an Adult Librarian by the name of Olive Halstead began collecting items in 1976.  This was part of a drive to assist a local author (Grace Potts) in finding material for the book that she was writing on the history of Portage as part of the Bi-Centennial Celebration.  As items were acquired from citizens for use in the book, many individuals simply did not want the items back instead feeling that they should be housed for posterity at the library.  An out-of-the-way room (the Heritage Room) was set aside to house the items and as word spread people continued to donate so the collection grew.   Olive Halstead became the ipso-facto Local Historian and manager of the room which she did along with her job as Adult Librarian. When Olive retired, the director saw no need to hire someone to continue running the room, so it was shuttered being rarely open and then only by special request.  Unfortunately, during these years, the collection simply went fallow.  The room lay dormant for a little over ten years until an actual Historian was hired in 1995/96.  He only stayed just under one year and I was the next in line and have been here since.

8. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION:

• • In April of 2021, Portage District library closed for renovations. These renovations consisted of a variety of changes including, a repaved parking lot; added family bathrooms and mother’s rooms; new maker spaces; an entrance redesign for the purposes of improving accessibility; and additional meeting rooms and study spaces.  In addition to these renovations, the library also planned on moving the Heritage room to the main level of the library. The Portage District Library reopened in May of 2022.  What kinds of changes were made to the Heritage Room once it was moved to the main level of the library?
    
    The changes to the Heritage Room were quite extensive. First the Heritage Room moved from a small space in the lower level to the main floor of the library.  This has brought the collection from being something that was relatively unknown and completely underutilized right into the forefront. This has resulted in a dramatic increase in the use of the Heritage Room compared to use of the old Heritage Room prior to the Covid outbreak.The Heritage Room public space increased dramatically (by over 50 percent) and was reworked creating an environment conducive to both research and simply browsing and reading.  In the old room seating was confined to two small tables that could seat no more than six.  In the new room we have one large “tavern” table that can easily seat eight with plenty of room left over to spread out one’s work, a smaller table that can seat two and two comfortable club chairs with side tables for those who want to simply sit and read.  The old Heritage Room was tight and confining with an overall constricting atmosphere due to the low ceiling and inconvenient structural pillars.  The new room is spacious and open allowing numerous people to move about freely without feeling as if they are invading each other’s personal space.

• • The old Heritage Room office was small, congested and consisted of one tiny desk only big enough to hold a lap-top computer.  The new Heritage Room office features a large “L” shaped desk with laptop and large monitor for photographic editing, a second desk for use by a Heritage Room intern (no need to share desk space) and a large wing-back chair for guests to use.  There are also several shelving units for storing projects and a lockable wooden bookcase.

• • The old Heritage Room storage area was confining.  The lack of shelving meant that many items were double stacked, and it was not an easy space to work in.  The new Heritage Room archives has more than double the shelving space resulting in a “home” for everything.  The space is also large enough that a workstation has been installed for processing collections.  All in all, the new Heritage Room is almost triple in size of the old space showing the library’s commitment to preserving the history of the community.

• • How did you ensure that the archival records at the Heritage Room where transported and preserved safely from the library to its temporary location and back to its new renovated room?
  • I ensured that the records were safely transported by:
    a) Moving 90 percent of collection myself in my own personal vehicle.
    b) Overseeing the 10 percent I could not move by participating in the packing, being there for the loading and the unloading of the material to inspect the items.

• • Did the library purchase or add new equipment to the Heritage Room for purposes of preserving these records?

• • During the remodel some items were reused (such as the fireproof file cabinets) however 90 percent of the Heritage Room’s equipment was replaced. Some of this was due to equipment that had “aged out” and needed to be replaced.  Other replacements were due to the increase in the size of the space.  Old shelving and the like simply could not be retrofitted resulting in new equipment and material being purchased.
    I should note that the majority of old equipment that was still in usable condition was liquidated per library policy being donated to other intuitions, etc.

9. ARCHIVAL ENVIRONMENTS:

• • The SAA has recommended that certain types of records should be preserved under specific temperatures in order to preserve its longevity.  For example, the SAA recommends that paper records should be placed in 60 degrees Fahrenheit, while electronic records should be placed in an environment around 50 degrees Fahrenheit for best results.  Do you have any records that should be stored at a specific temperature in the Heritage room? If so, what kind of records are these, and why you keep these records under such temperatures?
    
    All of our records including our extensive collection of negatives are all of a stable material. The archives is kept at a stable temperature and humidity level which I feel works fine (it is around 72 degrees F).  I have maintained that (with the only exception occurring during our move to our temporary location and our moved back) for nearly twenty-five years and have had zero problems with mold, degradation of records, etc.  This also is helpful for patron usage as I can fulfill requests for documents immediately rather than having to acclimatize material.

10. FIRE PROTECTION:

• • The SAA has imposed certain guidelines for protecting archival materials against fire.  According to SAA, archival facilities must have a fire safety objectives in the event of a fire. What fire safety measures have Portage District Public library implemented to ensure that archival materials are protected against fires?

• • Well, without going into too much detail, the Heritage Room public space and archives has a fire suppression system. Due to cost issues it is a standard water fed system.  To deal with this potentially damaging issue, virtually all material is housed in acid free Hollinger Boxes which are designed to wick water away from the material inside.  We have a bank of four Fire King fireproof file cabinets where we house our postcard collection, John Todd Photographic Collection and a myriad of other items considered to be extremely rare or important.  We also have a plan in place to retrieve material and freeze it should a disaster ever occur.  This plan has us working with public safety to enter the building ASAP to retrieve material.  It has been stressed to public safety that this material cannot wait for insurance adjusters, engineers, etc. to examine everything (which can take days or weeks).

11. SECURITY:

• • The SAA recommends implementing security measures to protect archival collections from theft, burglary, vandalism, or any other form of unauthorized access.  What measures has Portage District Library taken to protect archival collections from unauthorized access in the Heritage room?
• • Our security is multi-faceted and consists of the following:

• • The overall library is protected with an electronic security system that monitors doors and windows and is motion sensitive. Any breech will result in both the Director of the facility along with public safety being instantly notified.  The Heritage Room, itself has one public access point that is open during library hours and is locked when the building is closed.  If someone should breech that locked door, or break the large outside window they would then be faced with the locked door to the Heritage Room office (this door is only left open if staff is present and working at their desks).  If someone was able to break into the Heritage Room office they would be met with a solid wood, reinforced locked door into the Archives Room.  Now, our Archives Room does have a back door (due to fire code) which exits into the Adult Librarians work area.  This door is also a solid wood, reinforced door and like the office door, would be extremely difficult to breech without specialized tools.  As far as keyed access, the doors are keyed so only Administrators have access to the spaces.

12. LIGHTING

• • The SAA has imposed guidelines regarding light exposure to certain types of archival materials.  The SAA has reasoned that it is important that certain archival records are no exposed to excessive ultraviolet or infrared light.   For example, microfilms in reading rooms should be placed in a room that are 5–9-foot candles with UV filters and no exposure to windows.  What kind of lighting restrictions (if any) does Portage District library impose in the Heritage Room in order to protect archival collections from being exposed to excessive light?
  •  What we have done with our lighting is as follows:
    • The Heritage Room public space has standard florescent lighting and large windows to the outside. To protect the books in the Heritage Room, curtains were placed over the windows to diffuse the sunlight during peak times which (due to facing east) is primarily in the morning.  The lights, themselves, have been covered with UV diffusers to help reduce the fading of material.

• • • In the Archival area and the office area (where we have several valuable paintings hanging) we have no windows to prevent damage from sunlight and standard florescent lighting.  The lights are covered with UV diffusers and are on sensors that will shut the lights off after five minutes of zero movement.  (I often find myself sitting in a dark office as the sensors don’t register me typing emails, etc.).

13. MATERIALS AND FINISHES

• • The SAA recommends that the archival rooms being used to store or maintain records should not consist of materials or finishes that would harm the record. For example, the use of carpet would be acceptable for reading rooms and exhibit galleries, but would not be acceptable for labs.  Additionally, archives should not be exposed to materials or finishes containing cellulose nitrate, asbestos, or formaldehyde.  Do you add any materials or finishes on your records?
• • We do not add any materials or finishes onto our records.  Everything is stored in archival safe boxes, folder, etc.  Currently we do not house any records that require us to go beyond these steps.

• • During the renovation process, did the library consider certain materials or finishes to the floor, wall shelves, or any other storage areas that would benefit the archival records in the heritage room?

• • When we remodeled the archive room, we went with powder coated, adjustable metal shelving units to ensure zero reaction with the archival material.  At the same time, we went with a plain sealed concrete floor in the archival room to prevent off-gassing from carpet, etc.  The concrete is preferred as 01) it is easy to clean, 02) due to it being light gray it is easy for me to monitor for insect infestation, or document deterioration as any foreign matter is clearly visible to the naked eye.

    The public area does have carpet due to the need for patron comfort and noise reduction.

14. STORAGE EQUIPMENT

• • The storage of archives is a big component in determining how well an archival record will last. The SAA states that the selection of storage equipment depends on a variety of factors including: space of the archival facility, budget, and other technical considerations.  What type of storage equipment (shelves, drawers, cabinets) do you use to store archival materials at the Heritage room and what is the reason for the selection of the storage equipment?

• • For the Heritage Room we use a variety of storage equipment.  In the archives room, we have state-of-the-art compact shelving.  The shelving is powder-coated metal to assist with the preservation of the archival material.  All documents, etc. are stored in archive approved Hollinger boxes using acid free folders and packing materials.  The Archive Room also features a lighting system that will shut off after 5 minutes of “no-movement” to assist in the prevention of fading, is windowless and has its own thermostat control system.

• • The pubic area also utilizes metal, powder coated bookshelves with wood endcaps.  The wood softens the industrial look giving the public area a more pleasing and “library like” appearance while the metal shelves help to preserve the books.

• • The Heritage Room also has four Fireking fireproof, four drawer file cabinets which house our photographic collection, postcard collection and certain items that we have placed at the top of the food chain in regard to their uniqueness and historical value.

15. FUNCTIONAL SPACES

• • Functional spaces are the areas and spaces to which records are moved or transported for use by researchers, visitors, or staff.  Examples of functional spaces include the loading docks, receiving rooms and public spaces.  Are there records that require special care when transported from storage to exhibit areas (or other rooms) in which the public can view? If so, what sorts of records are these and what steps do you take to ensure that these records are being transport safely for visitors to view?
    
    To address the functional spaces question, the Heritage Room consists of three areas. The Heritage Room Archives, the Heritage Room Office and the Heritage Room Public Research Area.Any items that come into the Heritage Room via a donation are kept in the library’s loading dock area to be assessed.  Once they are cleared (i.e. inspected for anything that could potentially contaminate the Heritage Room Archives) they are then transported to the Heritage Room Archives to an area designated for processing.  From there they move to either the public area (in the case of books) or to their new home in the archives.

    As far as transportation of items we treat all items weather extremely rare, fragile or common the same way.  We felt it was easier to create a blanket policy erring on the side of caution then try to establish special transportation categories if that makes sense.  Our policy is that any item that is oversized (not in a box) is transported via a piece of rigid acid free cardboard (to keep the item from “flopping around”) on to one of our metal archival carts which is then wheeled to the public area.  All other items are transported to and from the public area in their archival box on the same style of metal cart.  Once in the public area, depending on the record, the item(s) may simply be left with the patron to peruse or, if the item is deemed fragile, rare, sensitive, etc. the archivist will remain with the patron to ensure the item is not improperly handled.
    (NOTE – we have made copies of certain items that are in high public demand.  If the patron absolutely needs to see the original we will then retrieve said original from the collection)