Both the Apperson and Schaefer collections were processed in a large, dedicated room located in the Kelly Adirondack Center of Union College. This space allowed the staff to work independently and collaboratively, as each stage of the project required.
In order to work with the large collections in their evolving stages, the project staff made use of a temperature controlled and secured storage room close to the processing room.
The photographs directly below show the over-stuffed, disorganized, and inaccessible housing condition of the paper-based materials in the Apperson collection:
The photographs below show the unsafe and damaging housing condition of the acetate and glass plate negatives in the collection:
The photo below shows an open box of the paper-based items in the John S. Apperson papers after processing. As you may see, they have been re-foldered into appropriately sized and filled, acid-free folders; arranged according to DACS archival standards; and housed in appropriately sized acid-free archival boxes.
The photos below show the photographic materials of the collection. The glass-based items have been placed into individually labeled, acid-free, paper enclosures that are stored within an acid-free box with board dividers. The prints in the collection have been placed in polyester photo enclosures and separated by file sheets with descriptive information of the images. All of the photographs are now stored in a temperature and humidity controlled space.
