Flood Recovery Booklet


MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
SALVAGE OF WATER DAMAGED COLLECTIONS
MICROFICHE

Priority: Freeze or dry within 72 hours
Handling Precautions: Do not move items until a place has been prepared to receive them and you have been instructed to do so. If the fiche cannot be air dried immediately keep them wet inside a container lined with garbage bags until they be frozen.
Drying Methods: Freeze if arrangements cannot be made to air dry the fichequickly. Fiche should be removed from the paper jackets to dry. Jackets should be retained to preserve any information printed on them, but this information should be transferred to new jackets once the fiche is dry and ready to be stored again. The best air drying method is to clip the fiche to clothes lines with rust-proof clips.

Fiche has been successfully vacuum freeze dried, though freeze-drying of photographic materials is not widely recommended. If dealing with large quantities of fiche this option should be investigated.

Minnesota Historical Society Disaster Preparedness Plan 6/93