Our Culture - Hear it from our workers
A Day in the life of...
I’m a Record Office Conservator – Stephen Allen
My day begins and ends with a walk through the Record Office’s five repositories, with their 8 kilometres of shelving, to take temperature and relative humidity readings. Although there are gadgets to record these remotely, there is no substitute for a physical inspection. We are required to maintain strict control of the storage climate: this helps to ensure the long term survival of our archive collections. Entrusted with documents dating from the 12th century to the present day, we are concerned with preservation well beyond our own lifetimes.
By 9.30 my University of the Third Age volunteers arrive to continue their work cleaning and making protective enclosures for 19th and early 20th century Ordnance Survey maps. As government departments switch to computer generated maps their old paper copies, with years of wear and annotations, are passed to us for archiving.
A quick pause for coffee before one of our archivists consults me about a parchment document written by Pope Gregory IX in 1230 – not because it is damaged but to protect it with its lead seal and silk cords for the future. We agree it needs a bespoke protective box to maintain its condition for future generations to enjoy. I also quickly replace the rusty staples in a set of 1950’s sale catalogues with linen thread. I make no judgement about what is to be preserved!
Most items entering the Record Office have come from cellars, outbuildings or attics and are damp, mouldy and dirty. Although mould looks horrific it can be safely brushed off when items are dry. Mould spores are always with us, but as long as we keep the relative humidity below 65%, mould will not develop and spread. One of the skills of a conservator is to understand the physical nature of paper, parchment, inks and adhesives; to know how to recover items from neglect and preserve them for the future. I have been imparting my experience to the next generation: our Conservation Trainee Jessica Crann is with us for a year, funded by Museums, Libraries and Archives Yorkshire. This afternoon we are completing the reconstruction of the West Burton tithe map (pictured). Twenty eight sheets have been separately repaired and have to be recombined onto a new fabric backing – it’s a team job.
My room is part laboratory (with chemicals needed to remove old adhesives, de-acidify paper and make diagnostic tests) and part Blue Peter studio with lots of paper, board and starch paste adhesive. Visitors like the drama of interventive treatments but mostly it’s the more pragmatic decisions about safekeeping and cleaning that occupy my time. With the variety of challenges life is never boring and much to the surprise of local historians, I have no time to read what I’m working on.
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