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We have also had a problem with this, it is just starting to show up, as the mail was delayed for so long. I think that more and more libraries are going to be faced with this, so any solutions will be welcome. We are going to contact our vendors to see about alternate delivery systems, but that raises cost and we all try to hold those down as much as possible. -----Original Message----- From: FEDLIB: Federal Librarians Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Mohrman, Robert J WRAMC-Wash DC Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2002 3:40 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Irradiation of the mail: damage to journal issues I'd like to ask if anyone in the Federal Library world is addressing the issue of the damage that irradiation of mail does to print products. The mail we receive here at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center is being irradiated, and while I understand the rationale for doing it, it is very damaging to a paper product. Envelopes and their contents become very brittle; the plastic windows in envelopes are shriveled, stuck to the contents of the envelope, or vanish entirely. Self-adhesive labels fall off the envelopes. The effect on white paper is quite pronounced: it is visibly yellowed, as if exposed to sunlight for a very long period of time. What distresses me most is that this is being done to library materials as well, and the same damage is evident. The glue in the binding of one journal issue I looked at today is almost entirely melted away, and once again, the paper is brittle. The ink from the bar codes on the outside of two books that were mailed back to us by a patron had disappeared entirely (I didn't notice any real damage to the pages, but who knows). I'm not sure who to complain to about this. We are paying a lot of money for our print subscriptions, which we bind when volumes are complete, theoretically for posterity. With the damage that this prophylactic irradiation is doing to our journals, we need to seriously reconsider this time-honored practice of archiving information. I'm also concerned about mailing books for interlibrary loan; what kind of damage is this causing, and who will be ultimately responsible? I've done some quick and dirty searches of the Internet using Google, but I haven't come across anything on this subject. The US Postal Service web site discusses irradiation of the mail, but they don't address this issue, either. Comments? Robert Mohrman Acting Chief, Medical Library Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) 6900 Georgia Ave NW Washington DC 20307-5001 (202)782-6547; fax (202)782-6803 [log in to unmask]