Materials Loan Agreement

In year one (2011-2012), the CCC Steering Committee developed a Materials Loan Agreement, signed by the four library directors. This agreement was necessary before movement of physical materials to digital production centers could begin. The document, which can be downloaded here, requires the following.

• The TRLN university libraries will follow mutually agreed upon procedures for the safe, secure, and properly documented transfer, receipt, storage and return of collection materials within the consortium.
• The receiving libraries will provide secure, locked, climate-controlled storage on shelves with adequate room to accommodate the collection materials. A library staff member will remain with the collection materials at all times until they are safely stored.
• The library staffs will complete all transfer documentation in a timely fashion.
• If digital production staff determines that they cannot digitize collection materials due to condition, they will flag and skip those materials and then contact the owning library.
• In exceptional cases and in consultation with the owning library, collection materials may be repaired prior to digitization at the receiving library’s conservation lab.
• In the event that materials are damaged in the production center, collection materials may be repaired at the receiving library’s conservation lab prior to their return to the owning library and only in consultation with the owning library.
• While a production center has temporary custody of collection materials owned by a different library, the receiving library’s insurance policy will cover the collection materials for the amount specified by the owning library, unless other arrangements are made.

Materials Preparation

• Item separation
• Condition review and conservation
• Removal of clips and staples
• Arrangement
• Material housing

Item separation

Each of the three digital production centers involved in the grant is specializing in the digitization of a specific type of material. Duke is specializing in still image digitization, North Carolina State University is specializing in oversize material digitization, and UNC-Chapel Hill is specializing in regular manuscript materials and audio materials. Shipments to digitizing institutions should be composed only of the specific material type that is meant to be digitized at that institution. Materials meant to be digitized at other institutions should be removed from boxes prior to shipment.

Condition Review and Conservation

No digitizing institution is responsible for performing initial conservation treatment on other institutions' materials, nor will any institution be responsible for items damaged during shipment due to improper housing. In the unlikely event that damage is caused to the materials during scanning, if UNC or Duke is responsible for damage to NCSU or NCCU materials, they will repair the materials. If materials from UNC and Duke are damaged during the scanning process at Duke or NCSU, UNC and Duke prefer to repair their own materials.

All institutions will review their own materials for issues with condition before they are sent to other institutions for scanning. Materials that do not meet condition criteria must either be repaired or removed from the scanning queue. If repairs cannot be made, the sending library can put fragile items in Mylar L-sleeves for scanning.

In general, an institution should not send materials that it does not want scanned; these should be removed from the shipment. However, if an institution has folders that contain both materials to be scanned and not to be scanned, the institution may sequester their do-not-scan materials within an "inner folder" (11 x 17 acid free paper folded in half) within the regular folder. These inner folders should be labeled "DO NOT SCAN." The inner folders may also be clipped closed to ensure the scanning technicians do not scan. The presence of do-not-scan folders should be noted on the materials transfer document.

Materials with the following condition problems should not be sent to a scanning institution:

• Items in pieces, or items that have long tears, especially those that are likely to get worse with handling (unless the sending institution puts it in a Mylar sleeve for scanning)
• Anything that has active or powdery mold
• Items that are so brittle or weakened by mold, insect, or iron gall ink damage that they cannot be handled without risk of further damage (unless the sending institution puts it in a Mylar sleeve for scanning)

Criteria by material type:

Bound materials (Duke or UNC)

Most of the bound materials typically found in manuscript collections can be safely scanned on the Zeutschel, using an attached cradle as necessary. If scanning technicians believe the binding structure could potentially be damaged in scanning, the onsite conservator will evaluate the binding structure to determine if scanning should proceed. Following evaluation by the conservator, the owning institution may be contacted for guidance.

Oversized (NCSU)

In year three, oversized materials to be scanned at NCSU must be fairly flat at the time of digitization. Sending institutions can either flatten materials first and send them in oversize flat folders, or they can send them as rolled drawings if they are OK with NCSU conservation staff humidifying and flattening them or placing weights on the corners of the items during digitization.

Images (Duke)

Photographic prints should be carefully inspected for the following issues, which should be remedied before shipment:

• Physical damage or deterioration of the emulsion or support that is likely to worsen during transfer or scanning
• The presence of mold
• Acidic or brittle mounts (e.g. boards, mats)
• Loose mounts that might not securely retain prints
• Very curled photographs (to the degree that when pressed under flat glass, the emulsion would crack)

Removal (clips, staples) for manuscripts

Metal clips, staples, pins, and other fasteners need to be removed prior to digitization. For manuscript materials to be digitized at UNC, the CCC student assistant will remove these fasteners unless a sending institution prefers to do so. NCSU removed all their own staples prior to delivery of materials for year one, but UNC will remove NCSU's staples moving forward. NCSU has replaced some staples with plastic clips. After fasteners are removed, sheets will be left loose in the folders for UNC and NCCU materials, but plastic clips for NCSU will be removed for scanning and replaced post-scanning.

Because Duke is digitizing their own manuscript materials, they may follow whatever guidelines they like for clip replacement.

Arrangement

Standard, non-oversize manuscripts (less than 15.5 x 23.5 inches) must be in clearly labeled folders. The scanning technician will scan the pages in the order in which they arrive in the folder. If the scanning technician sees simple, but infrequent errors to page order (e.g., page 2 of a letter is misplaced in front of page 1) that can be quickly and easily corrected, he/she will make that correction. Otherwise, materials will be scanned in original order.

Material housing

Materials should always be foldered and housed appropriately so there is no slumping, stacking, or storage that would in some way endanger the integrity of the material. Items over 8x11 or 8x14 should be stored flat rather than upright.

Oversized materials to be digitized at NCSU should ideally be housed in oversized flat folders for shipment to NCSU, or as rolled items.

Standard, non-oversize manuscripts must be in clearly labeled folders and housed in either document cases (hollingers) or record cartons (paige boxes). For shipping, the documents cases and record cartons should be placed in stackable plastic bins or crates with lids. The CCC Digital Production Manager will bring these plastic bins when she arrives for materials pick up. If there is significant empty space in a bin, some sort of stuffing (newspaper, etc.) should secure boxes within bins from jostling around.

Prints, slides, and negatives to be digitized at Duke should be housed in appropriate dirt and dust-free containers to allow for safe and secure transportation and handling once they arrive at Duke. To avoid materials being damaged in transit, Duke recommends that the following best practices be followed.

Boxes should snugly fit the items within.

Large prints should be housed in 1" deep boxes to avoid over-weight boxes and too much pressure on prints; matted prints can be stored in 3" deep boxes. During shipment boxes should not be stacked more than 2 or 3 high, depending on weight and dimensions.

Materials Transfer

General guidelines

Collections to be shipped must be in appropriately sized archival containers (bins or boxes) in good condition, clearly labeled with the institution name, collection name, and box numbers.

Digital files must be delivered on an external hard drive clearly labeled with a unique identifier.

When they are ready for materials to be scanned, delivering institutions will create an entry in the Google Spreadsheet for transfers (which includes info about the size of the shipment batch, and a suggested pick-up date) a minimum of three business days ahead of pick-up. If an institution has folder-level scanning instructions included with folders, the existence (though not the full content) of these instructions should be noted in the Google Spreadsheet for transfers.

U-Haul delivery guidelines

Only a single person -- the TRLN CCC Digital Production Manager -- is authorized to drive the vehicles containing special collections materials being transporting for the CCC grant. The Digital Production Manager is bound by UNC-Chapel Hill's Driver Responsibility Form for the CCC grant, which stipulates that materials must be transported in a climate-controlled vehicle, the vehicle must not be left unsecured and unattended, and no passengers may be transported in the vehicle unless they are part of the official business of the CCC grant. Download the Driver Responsibility Form here.

When it is time for a delivery, the Digital Production Manager will initiate contact with the delivering and receiving institutions’ designated contacts to confirm or alter the pick-up date and set a delivery time. The Digital Production Manager will also create and print the SoW transfer document.

No materials will be transferred if there is a chance of rain, as not all of the libraries’ loading docks are covered.

If the Digital Production Manager is running late, she will call her designated contact in advance.

The Digital Production Manager will bring a CCC student worker with her on most drop-offs and pick-ups to help move materials.

Materials Transfer Form

Every shipment of materials will be verified and documented by a Materials Transfer Form. This form documents information such as the date of materials pickup and return, the sending and receiving institution, the collection ID and title, the number of boxes and folders, whether or not materials have conservation issues, special instructions or conservation requirements, a list of any issues that arose while scanning was taking place, and the deadline for the home institution to verify digital files so that they can be dumped from the scanning institutions' servers. When materials are picked up, the document is signed twice: by the driver and by the designated person handing off the materials. The docment is scanned by the driver immediately upon arrival, and a copy is emailed to the sending institution and the digitizing institution. Once materials are ready to be returned, the original document is signed by a designated reviewer who counts the boxes to make sure they are all there before they leave the scanning institution. When they are handed have been returned to their home institution, the document is signed twice more: by the driver and by the designated staff member receiving the materials. A copy of the final, complete transfer form (with a total of five signatures gathered over the course of the materials' movement) is then emailed to both the sending and receiving institution. The institutions are responsible for the safekeeping of these documents.

Materials that have been purposefully removed from a shipment due to condition problems will be noted on the Materials Transfer Form. Notes and special instructions related to condition or other conservation concerns for materials in a shipment will also be included on the Transfer Form (for example, special instructions for items that cannot be pressed under glass).

If "do not scan" inner folders are present in the batch shipment, this should be noted on the Transfer form.

Materials Receiving guidelines

NCSU

When NCSU serves as a receiving institution, it will store materials in map cases, if flat, in the vault in D. H. Hill Library, (secured, climate-controlled) when they're not in the scanning room. If materials are rolled, another storage solution will be needed.

Materials will be transported to and from scanning room on a map cart. The route goes through the Learning Commons and uses public elevators.

When materials are in the scanning room (which is not climate controlled) they will be stored in map cases, if flat.

UNC

The Digital Production Center staff at UNC should be notified 3 days ahead of time that material is coming and the extent of the shipment.

CCC student workers or the Digital Production Manager will remain with the archival materials at all times.

The U-Haul van will be backed up to the Wilson Library loading deck in order for the unloading of materials to be protected by UNC's partially covered loading deck.

Upon arrival, either a CCC student worker or the Digital Production Manager will stay with the U-Haul van while the other transports the archival bins/boxes. The archival materials will be transported into the building on secure and stable carts, and materials will be transported from floor to floor inside of Wilson through a freight elevator.

The Digital Production Manager and students will take the boxes out of the plastic containers when the materials arrive at the final storage space. The plastic containers will be kept on the sixth floor while the collections are being scanned.

Once all of the archival materials are delivered to the fourth floor, a UNC Wilson Special Collection Library staff member will sign the transfer document. Once the transfer document has been signed, the CCC student will stay with the materials on the fourth floor while the Digital Production Manager parks the van. Once the van is parked, the CCC student and the Digital Production Manager will take the materials from the fourth floor to the sixth floor where they will be stored until a CCC student is ready to prepare materials for scanning.

Duke

The Shipping and Receiving department and the Digital Production Center staff should be notified 1 day ahead of time that the material is coming and the extent of the shipment.

Materials should be shipped to the Shipping and Receiving department's covered loading dock located in the back of Perkins Library.

The materials will be kept in a secure location at Duke, monitored by Shipping and Receiving staff, until DPC comes to pick them up as soon as possible. DPC staff will transport collections to their workspace on the same level (Lower Level) using stable carts. The collections will be stored in a locked, alarmed area in the DPC when not being scanned.

NCCU

The Shepard Library loading dock can be accessed from Eagle Campus Drive. Eagle Campus Drive can be accessed from Lawson Street. All materials should be picked up from the University Archives, located on the first floor of Shepard Library.