Hi Paul,
Nearly all of the magnetic wire that I transferred for institutions was 
housed in their original boxes, then housed in the nearest size archival 
box. I suppose the reason is that the original boxes contained valuable 
information. The archival boxes were usually labeled as well. That said, 
the wire & the spool (Both of which, are usually metal) seemed to fare 
well from being stored in the original box over the years. In fact, 
those that didn't have their boxes (stored open) were usually problem 
transfers.

I hope this helps,
CB
Corey Bailey
www.baileyzone.net

------ Original Message ------
From: "Paul Sutherland" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 11/10/2022 7:52:53 AM
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Wire recording archival housing vendor

>Hi all,
>
>We have a number of wire recordings on original spools in original cardboard boxes, that we are looking to rehouse. They are standard commercial size (2.75" diameter, 0.6-ish" wide). Some are starting to unravel, though fortunately they were almost all already digitized. My main concern is giving them individual housing so the wires do not tangle with others.
>
>ARSC's guide (p64)<https://www.clir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/05/ARSC-w-cover.pdf> says they should be stored in acid-free boxes of the appropriate size, but I have not been able to find a vendor selling the right size - either labeled as for wire recordings or reel-to-reel audio tapes. I imagined I might find 3" reel-to-reel tape boxes at Hollinger or Gaylord, but they only go down to 7". The closest possibly suitable thing I can find is microfilm storage boxes, but those are also slightly bigger (3.75" diameter).
>
>Does anybody know of a vendor selling acid-free boxes for wire recordings? Or has anyone had success getting custom ones made, or using something of similar size?
>
>Thanks!
>Paul
>
>---
>Paul Sutherland
>Archivist at www.amphilsoc.org/library/CNAIR<http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/CNAIR>
>Musician at www.hearlambeth.com<http://www.hearlambeth.com>