Plastics in Australian Archives: An Industry Survey Regarding Prevalence, Condition, and Preservation Strategies

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, there has been an increased focus on the identification, storage, and treatment of polymer-based plastic materials in cultural heritage collections. While the need for the preservation of plastics in audio-visual collections is well established, there is evidence that unstable plastics are also associated with paper-based collections. This paper investigates whether libraries and archives need to direct preservation resources towards risks posed by plastics in paper-based collections. As there is no available documentation on the types and condition of associated plastics, Australian archives were surveyed using an online questionnaire. Respondents reported associated plastics in over 90% of archives, and ∼50% observed these to be in poor condition. It is concluded that preservation resources that are specific to vulnerable plastic materials in Australian paper-based collections need to be developed and communicated.

KEYWORDS:

• Plastic materials
• modern materials
• synthetic polymers
• archival conservation
• paper-based materials
• industry survey
• questionnaire
• Australia

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Cameron Patrick, statistical consultant at the Melbourne Statistical Consulting Platform, The University of Melbourne, for statistical consultation, and to PhD candidates Julianne Bell, Bronwyn Cosgrove, Sharon Wong, and Katrina Watson at the University of Melbourne for their feedback on the pilot survey and manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of The University of Melbourne, the Australian Government, or the Australian Research Council.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Melbourne under the Melbourne Research Scholarship; the Australian Government under the Research Training Program Scholarship; and the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Projects funding scheme under project LP160100160.