Tip #26: Act as if magnetic tapes are temporary.

Written By Dmitri Schmidt

If you were around at the peak of cassettes, then you might have heard that electronics can erase a tape. We’re here to confirm that rumor is true!

Cassettes are a type of magnetic tape, along with reel to reel audio and 8-track tapes. As the name suggests, magnetic tapes have a thin magnetic layer that is essential to the recording. When exposed to magnets, the magnetic layer and thus the recorded information becomes distorted. There is no way to undo this damage. To preserve your tapes, keep them away from electronics whenever possible.

Furthermore, magnetic tapes such as reel to reel audio are particularly vulnerable to dust, dirt, and mold. As a whole, they are an extremely fragile form of media and should be treated as such. If you have the chance to digitize your collection, these are high priority candidates.

For more on preserving audiovisual materials, stay tuned for our next archival tip! Can’t wait? Check out our AV preservation webinar on YouTube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtxDC7SPgW4

#ArchivalTips #BacklogArchivists #Conservation #Preservation

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 #25: Not all records are made equal.