Tip #15: Be careful that attempts at organization don’t hinder preservation.

Written By Dmitri Schmidt

Tip #15: Be careful that attempts at organization don’t hinder preservation.

This week we’re taking a break from providing nightmare fuel to talk about something that’s easy to overlook: your office supplies.

Here’s a short list of supplies to avoid:
- Staples. Beyond ripping puncture holes into the papers, staples rust.
- Paper clips. While not as bad as causing tears, they can bend and warp the papers. Also the metal ones rust.
- Rubber bands. If you’ve ever seen an old rubber band, you know exactly what I’m talking about. They become crumbly, sticky, and stain your papers.
- Tape. It’s sticky, difficult to remove, and leaves behind a residue. Leave removal to a conservator.
- Pens. Ink is permanent. Use pencils instead.
And the worst of them all.
- Laminators. Lamination can never be undone. The plastic will degrade over time and rather than protecting the paper, will destroy it. Never laminate archival materials.

Want to learn more about preserving paper? Check out our webinar on YouTube!

Dmitri Schmidt

Dmitri plays a pivotal role in coordinating Backlog’s outreach efforts. They curate our weekly #FridayFinds and #ArchivalTips social media posts, shedding light on items discovered in our genealogy work and providing tips and tricks to approaching problems in the archives.

Dmitri holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and German Studies from Saint Louis University. During their university years, they dedicated over 1000 hours to interning and volunteering at local St. Louis institutions, including the St. Louis Science Center and the St. Louis University Museum of Art. As the Collections Intern at the Science Center, Dmitri assisted in developing and installing the "Into the Vault" exhibit.

Before joining Backlog, Dmitri served as a Fulbright Grantee, teaching English as a second language in former East Germany. From guiding 11th graders in analyzing pop albums as poetry to discussing the significance of the civil rights movement with 8th graders, they covered a broad spectrum of subjects. While reveling in connecting with students and injecting fun into grammar lessons, Dmitri's deep passion for all things archival eventually drew them back home.

Today, Dmitri works as a Herbarium Assistant at the Missouri Botanical Garden, helping digitize the millions of preserved plant specimens. After being scanned and transcribed, these images aid scholars around the globe in furthering botanical research. Dmitri also serves as the archivist for the Kirkwood Historical Society. They are currently overseeing the “Journeys into Kirkwood’s History” project, which aims to digitize documents related to Kirkwood’s early Black settlements.

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Tip #16: An uninsulated attic is just as bad of a storage location as a leaky basement.
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This week’s #FridayFind is… a record of birth!