In spite of the early date of the founding of our Diocesan Archives, it was not until the 1970’s that the materials received any kind of professional care. During the intervening years some documents disappeared and others suffered from mildew and insect damage, or simply the ravages of time. Rev. Clark made great strides in procuring not only a space with metal shelving, but also appropriate archival boxes and folders.

Vol. 35 No. 11 June 1909
Vol. 39 No. 12 June 1912
Vol. 44 No. 5 & 6 November and December 1916
Vol. 59 No. 11 & 12 May and June 1932
Vol. 70 No. 2-? February 1943 (Archives only has #1)
Vol. [106?] all issues 1979 (Archives has not a one!)

What you move out falls into the remaining categories. Some will be records that must be kept for a few years such as material for banks or tax purposes, but have no long-term value; that is, does not need to be kept forever.

The Living Church, a weekly Episcopal magazine, ran an article in its June 17, 2001, issue about ritual Lenten cleansing which included "shredding old, inactive parish records." This was written by the parish priest, no less! DO NOT DO AS HE DID! Old records are valuable. How can you write a history for your congregation's anniversary if you have no records? How can you solve a legal problem if you have no records? How can you help a researcher find his great grandparents' wedding date if you have no old records?

In addition to these few reasons for keeping records, both the Diocese and the National Church require congregations to keep certain records. If you or your congregation need help in determining whether something should be kept or if you are out of space or if you are worried about the conditions of your storage area, please call your friendly archivist. I am available on Mondays at the diocesan office and answer my email and phone messages regularly. I even makes "house calls." Phone 207-772-1953 ext. 37 or 1-800-244-6062 or address email to Elizabeth Maule, diomaine@diomaine.org. I will also be at Convention. I am more than happy to help; in fact it's part of my mission (and even my canonical duty) to help congregations. So please don't hesitate to call for assistance.

The second set of records is actual parish archives, that is the official records of a parish, mission, or summer chapel. These may include parish registers, registers of services, sets of Vestry minutes, or whatever else the parish decides to send on to the Archives. These will all be stored in acid free boxes and folders and added to the list of records available on the Diocesan public drive. (Eventually we hope to add these lists to our website.)

While it may not seem like much, these files and records may contain just the very piece of information that you need. Also, consider sending records to the Archives. I’ll be happy to work with you to determine which records should be saved at the parish and which can easily be transferred. Call 772-1953 ext. 37 or email at emaule@diomaine.org. I’m in the office on Mondays.

Your Diocesan archives now has a large enameled steel flat file with ten drawers for the storage of oversized photographs and plans! The drawers are approximately 32" x 40" inside and will accommodate many items which previously had no safe storage. First in was the newly restored consecration certificate for George Burgess, first Bishop of Maine (1847-1866). Bishop Neely's certificate (1866) will be added later this year. Some large photographs have also been carefully stored. The next step is to start flattening rolls of church architectural plans so that they can be stored flat in folders, too—flat items are much easier to use than those stored in a rolled condition.

The flattening process involves some simple equipment such as a basic Thanksgiving turkey disposable roasting pan and a large plastic bag. The principle is to create a damp micro-atmosphere for just a few days in order to relax the rolled paper. (Leaving the items in a damp atmosphere for TOO long only creates a permanent mold bloom.) It can then be removed and far more easily unrolled and flattened. Left to dry for another few days with layers of interleaving paper and weights, the results are amazing. The final step is to put the plans and drawings into special acid-free folders.

If you have rolled items for your congregation that you would like to flatten, please contact me for details at 772-1953 ext. 37 or emaule@diomaine.org . I am in the diocesan office on Mondays.

If your congregation has plans and other oversized materials which you would like the Archives to take care of in these nifty new drawers, please let me know. As an aside, I am trying to locate architectural plans and drawings for as many of our churches (existing or not, altered/replaced or not) as I can. While they don't have to be stored here, I would like to know of their location. I am also happy to advise you on their condition and long-term conservation needs.

Do you have old photos at home or in your church boxes? Are they stored in the attic or in the cellar? Are they carefully placed in "magnetic" photo albums? If you answered "yes" to any of these, your photos are in need of immediate attention!

Attics are frigid in winter and sweltering in summer. These wild swings of temperature are bad for papers and textiles but are especially hard on photographs. Photos are composed of an emulsion layer on a paper, either plain or coated. The layers tend to expand and contract with heat and cold at different rates with the result that they pop apart. Older black and white photos curl so badly that they cannot be uncurled for viewing without breaking the emulsion layer. Cellars are damp or even wet, causing mildew and mold to grow. So-called magnetic albums have strips of a sticky material to hold down the photo under the plastic. Ever wondered what was in those strips? I have, and on one can tell me. Paper conservators know that it is bad and that it very quickly welds the photo to the cardboard so that the photo cannot be removed, even by a conservator. And, the plastic which covers the pages is also damaging.

For the long-term health of the photographs in your care, I suggest the following:

• Take them out of the cellar

• Take them out of "magnetic" albums just as quickly as you can

• Look for evidence of damage— separation, breakage of the emulsions layer, mold

• Get help!

There are safe ways to take of your photos, but I’ll keep you in suspense until the next issue. Or, call or email me for faster results. Good luck!

Your cellar-dwelling but friendly archivist, Elizabeth Maule at 772- 1953 ext. 37 or via e-mail at: emaule@diomaine.org

Your archivist has been busy this winter flattening architectural plans of various churches to go into the new steel flat files. About half the plans have been unrolled, and the most exciting discovery to date is a pair of blueprints, 1904, for St. Barnabas, Rumford, from the famous Portland firm of John Calvin and John Howard Stevens! These prints are fragile and will probably need encapsulation.

Encapsulation is a technique used to support fragile documents. It consists of two layers of an archival safe, clear polyethylene plastic called Mylar (a registered trademark of DuPont). Because of the nature of the plastic there is a small amount of static electricity between the two sheets of plastic. This static helps to hold the document in place. Sometimes double-stick tape is applied to the edges of the Mylar to create a "sandwich" with the document as the "filling." It makes a very sturdy package which can be easily handled, can be used for display, and can even permit photocopying. However, if the paper placed in-between the layers of plastic is naturally acidic, it will continue to eat itself away even after it has been encapsulated. The static electricity of the plastic makes this an unsuitable preservation method for documents which have a lot of pencil or for pastel, charcoal, and chalk drawings—the loose surface will be picked up off the paper and will adhere instead to the plastic.

In spite of these drawbacks, encapsulation remains a cost-effective and reasonable way of stabilizing a document such as an old letter which has become separated along its fold lines.

If you have questions about doing this or about where to get the plastic, please call Elizabeth Maule, Diocesan Archivist. Mondays at 772-1953 ext. 37 or emaule@diomaine.org .

I recently visited St. Francis-by-the- Sea in Blue Hill. Here is a parish which takes its archiving very seriously! There is a bank of fire proof file cabinets full of neatly organized records. There is a written inventory of the records so that anyone can find what he or she needs. The records are not only organized, but they are secure, safe, and clean. New items such as newsletters are regularly added and the inventory updated. One person has taken this task on, and while I know she would like help, she has the support of the parish in providing her with space, file cabinets, supplies and records. You who are on committees or who take photos of parish events, get your materials to the archivist. They do little good lost in your home or office. I heartily congratulate Emily Cheney of St. Francis and her most exemplary project.