The Preservation of Tracing Paper: A case Study of TRA Archives

Abstract

Taiwan is located within a subtropical region where the preservation of tracing paper is challenging, given its susceptibility to changes in humidity. Although the National Archives Administration (NAA) currently provides a controlled environment for the repositories of the National Archive, this archive has sustained damage and deterioration due to a legacy of compromised storage and inherent fragility of its contents. Of particular interest are the collective holdings of the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA), the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC). Historically, these holdings were originally known as ‘The Railway Department of the Traffic Bureau, under the General Governor of Taiwan’, during Japanese colonial governance. This specific collection dates from 1895 to 1997 and includes over 10,000 engineering drawings. Previously, the NAA had implemented linings to both repair damage and aid in the preservation of the physical archives. However, this study compares this approach with an alternative humidification method using Gore-Tex® to relax and flatten these drawings on tracing paper. The focus of this paper is to evaluate dimensional change as a result of these treatments and to make recommendations in regards to their respective suitability for addressing the condition of the TRA collection.

KEYWORDS:

• Tracing paper
• Gore-Tex®
• humidification
• flattening
• lining
• engineering drawings

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sufen Yen

Shu-mei Chen is studying at the Graduate Institute of Library, Information and Archival Studies, National Chengchi University as a doctoral student. Meanwhile, she is also the Senior Executive Officer of the National Archives Administration, National Development Council. The National Archives Administration is the central competent authority in Taiwan, responsible for the management of all governments’ records, as well as the management of archives, such as acquiring, transferring, organizing, preserving, and making them available to the public. She is charged of the records preservation counseling, as well as supervision of the National Archives repository-building, archives maintenance, duplication and other related operations.

Shumei Chen

Su-Fen Yen graduated with a PhD in Biochemistry degree from National Taiwan University. She has been working at National Palace Museum since 1992. Now she is the director of the Department of Registration and Conservation. Most of her efforts focus in preventive conservation and conservation management.

Feiwen Tsai

Fei-Wen Tsai received MS in Library Science and a Certificate in Conservation from Columbia University (1992). She undertook advanced internships and additional training at the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution. In 1993, she was awarded a Paper Conservation Fellowship at the Conservation Analytical Laboratory (CAL, presently Museum Conservation Institute) and worked for the CAL for several years before taking a teaching position at the Tainan National University of the Arts (TNNUA) in 1999. She is presently an Associate Professor at the TNNUA.