From: "Kurt Nauck" <[log in to unmask]>
> When I began manufacture of our line of record sleeves (Disc-O-Files), I
> considered acid-free card stock. However, the cost would have doubled and
> I saw no tangible benefit to be gained. In fact, I queried ARSCList and
> 78-L for opinions on the matter. No one had ever seen a record damaged by
> an acid-laden sleeve. (Nor have I, and I've probably handled more vintage
> records than anybody on the planet.)
> Since introducing the Disc-O-File line, I have sold hundreds of thousands
> of sleeves to customers including the Belfer Audio Archive, the Library of
> Congress, the Ward Irish Music Archives, the BBC Broadcast Archive, the
> National Library of Canada, Harvard University, the International Piano
> Archives, the National Library of New Zealand, the First Generation Radio
> Archives, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania State University,
> and the Yale University Music Library. That is not to say that any of
> these institutions endorse the product, nor am I suggesting that they use
> the sleeves for any given purpose. Some of these institutions use DOFs to
> house their primary collections; others used acid-free stock. Some prefer
> sleeves with flaps and no label holes; others do not.
> For the most part though, it appears that acidity has not been an issue.
> In fact, the design of the sleeves coupled with the fact that they come in
> 11 different sizes has convinced many users to resleeve their entire
> collection with DOFs.
>
"Acid-bearing" sleeves do NOT damage records...they simply "damage"
themselves! I'm sure many of us have encountered vintage Columbia
sleeves (or, more accurately, what is LEFT of them?!). Over the decades,
these literally fall apart with age (I'm speaking of the heavy paper sleeves
used in the 1920's and later!),
Steven C. Barr
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