Many State archives have been badly damaged during their lifetime. The damage may have been caused by poor storage practices, unfortunate disasters, or bad handling in the past.
Torn document being prepared for treatment
State Records refers to these archives as being “Too fragile to issue” and these archives cannot be accessed either by staff or readers until they have been treated by the Conservation team.
State Records website
More details on the State Records website about conservation and preservation:
Preservation series
We are planning to post a series of articles relating to conservation and preservation treatments of State archives. Please contact us if you would like to participate in this series and demonstrate what practices you are undertaking to preserve your archival collection.