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Handling of archival documents and rare books

• Handle all materials with care.
• When possible, handle the enclosure or the container instead of the document.
• Do not lean on documents, books, enclosures, or boxes.
• Do not place your note pad or electronic equipment on top of collection materials.
• Support fragile bindings by using book-rests; do not lay books flat on the table.
• If necessary, use small padded weights to hold down the pages so that they may be read without contacting your skin.
• Photographs, audio-visual items, and other fragile material will require the use of lint free gloves.
• Maintain the existing order of the materials in each folder. Do not reorganize or reclassify archival materials.
• Remove only one folder from a box at a time.
• Realign documents prior to putting them back into the file folder. Do this by manually aligning the papers not by tapping them on the desk.
• Do not mark pages with sticky notes. Use the flags provided.
• Do not dirty or annotate documents.