> From:    [log in to unmask]
> I have the responsibility of recovering the papers as none of the family

Are you interested in these papers because of their wider historical value
or their significance to your family?

Scanning or filming can take a lot of time and dollars. You could do a
little research to see if these publications have already been scanned, or
more likely microfilmed, which is currently the long-term preservation
method of choice. They probably have already been filmed or otherwise
archived if they are well know regional or local newspapers.

If they have already been recorded then your task is lightened considerably
and you could turn to what this collection has to say about your family,
which may be where the real significance lies. You might consider them as a
document of your family's reading habits and interests during that period by
analyzing their condition. For example, was every issue actually opened up
and read, or just tucked away in the closet. What are the patterns? (Every
Monday issue well read, Wednesday never read, and all Friday issues are
missing -- what's with that?) Are there any handwritten notes in the
margins, circled items, or clipped items? This would tell you something
about their daily interests and concerns. (Standard Oil stock quotes always
underlined? Thursday race track results always hastly ripped from the
page?!) Make a list of the issues you have and consider why they were saved.
Are they simply straight runs tossed in the closet out of habit, or certian
issues that had a special significance? Compare your list of issue dates
with a standard list of historical events, national and local, and with
family dates as well. Maybe your grandfather saved the daily paper on every
one of his children's birthdays. If so, your family might get real
interested in this moldy pile of newsprint.

John

John Leeke, Preservation Consultant

mail: 26 Higgins St., Portland, ME, 04013, USA
Phone: 01-207-773-2306
email: [log in to unmask]
website: www.HistoricHomeWorks.com