Tools of the Trade: Oversized Folder

Written By Dmitri Schmidt

Oversized Folder

a folded enclosure made of paper-based materials, typically used to store prints, maps, and blueprints

As a general rule, materials should never be bigger than their enclosure. It can be tempting while on a budget to fold things that shouldn’t be folded or let oversized materials peek out of a folder, but improper storage like this almost always leads to mechanical damage. Best practices call for materials to be housed in enclosures appropriate to their size.

Enter, oversized folders. Oversized folders provide a first layer of defense for large-format flat materials that are too big to fit in traditional file folders. Like other enclosures, oversized folders can be buffered for acidic materials like newsprint or unbuffered for sensitive materials like blueprints.

Want to learn more about the tools of the archival trade? Check out our webinar on YouTube!

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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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Tools of the Trade: Negative Enclosures