Any ideas on what to do to preserve scrapbooks and still look at them?

[steve B]

Most craft stores sell 12x12 scrapbook pages and binders.

The brittle paper can be sort of solved by de-acidifying them, but that would probably be expensive. A paper conservator would be able to tell you more.

[todeen]

Use of backing board allows for a wide range of options.

I have a few items that are crumbly. I bought plastic sleeves of different sizes, bought acid free comic book backing, and placed them within the sleeve. I custom cut the backing boards to fit the plastic sleeves. Then, using double sided tape, I tape the plastic sleeve onto a new scrapbook page that I bought at Joanns / Hobby Lobby / etc. It works great, extends the life of fragile paper products, and you still have the items in scrapbook form.

The only problem is that the new scrapbooks get full quickly. But it's worth it to me.

So the first item is a Reds scored program, assembled with other scrapbook materials.

I did the same thing for my Tris Speaker Sporting News Supplement. A board member sold it to me when he upgraded his example. After putting it with the backing board in the plastic sleeve, I put it in a magazine size hard plastic protector. Now I can display it in my cabinet.

[Michael B]

You can purchase deacidification spray from University Products -

https://www.universityproducts.com/b...ion-spray.html

This will work on newspapers as they have a high acid content. They also sell other archival materials so that you can view and display the pages. One option is to encapsulate them in mylar which is not too difficult. University Products has good customer service along with many how to tips and videos. Any type of preservation will get pricey, but learning to do the basics yourself will save time and money. I suspect David C. would attest to that. I would not go to some local craft store like Michael's or Hobby Lobby. Their focus is not preservation but sales. They may have a few items, but not necessarily the knowledge. I would stick with the companies that focus on this - University Products and Archival Methods.

I have used both companies for some items. My photos and negatives are stored archivally. Additionally, I also do some repair on documents, photos and programs using document repair tape which is tissue paper with a neutral PH adhesive.