Comments on: Newspaper Clippings: Can They Be Saved?

By: Sally J.

Sally J. — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:14:31 +0000

@Mark – One of the tricky things about acidic paper is that it continues to leech out acids as it ages. When you put paper in contact with the clipping it will absorb the acid instead of the clipping “stewing” in it within the sleeve.

Buffered paper is treated with either calcium or magnesium carbonate so that it becomes alkaline — the opposite of acidic. You can find this type of paper at archival suppliers like Gaylord or Metal Edge. There are gazillions of sizes available, but you can purchase letter size in reams of 500 sheets for under $20 -> http://tinyurl.com/ykhxguv

It’s possible that scrapbook suppliers sell buffered paper, I just don’t know for sure. Acid free and buffered are not the same thing. Acid free can still contain lignins and become acidic over time. Be sure to check the label carefully. You’ll want to see something like “3% Calcium carbonate buffer.”

By: Sally J.

Sally J. — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:03:27 +0000

An excellent point, @David — and a great reminder for all of us to always write down source information.

In the past when I’ve done research (of the non-genealogical variety), I wrote the citation information on the photocopy and never actually clipped anything out. When I was copying multiple pages from any one source, I would tape down the citation to the photocopier glass at the very top, writing side down. The author and book title were “automagically” added to each copy. Woo hoo! The tape was easily removed when I was done.

By: David Galbraith

David Galbraith — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:37:06 +0000

A great blog posting – but one item is missing. Items should never be clipped from newspapers without at least copying the following onto the clipping:
The name of the newspaper
The date of publication
The page number
- without these identifiers, most newspaper clippings belong under the canary, not in the archives!!
- David

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:11:29 +0000

You mentioned putting clippings in an archival plastic folder with a sheet of buffered archival paper behind it. What does the buffered paper do, and where can you buy paper like this?

By: Linda K. Gill

Linda K. Gill — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:54:35 +0000

Among my mother-in-law’s items were newspaper clippings from more than 50 years ago. As you know, the paper then didn’t deteriorate as quickly . . . so in a sense they are artifacts which I hesitate to toss. However, modern newspapers begin deteriorating in the driveway so I make a copy and toss!

By: Miriam Robbins Midkiff

Miriam Robbins Midkiff — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:38:58 +0000

Hi, Sally,

Wow! I DO remember asking about this! I think it was because my grandfather had been interviewed in a school district newspaper and I still have the original.

Thanks for all the helpful advice. I’ll be bookmarking this so I can direct others to it. We often get questions like this at Scanfest.

Thanks for the link love, too!
Miriam