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General :: Equipment and consumables :: Archival and conservation products :: Furniture
General Equipment and consumables - Several useful items are available from the British Geological Survey shop and are shown in the field equipment section of the on-line Publications Catalogue. However, you may need to ring or email to purchase items
Their Romer Protractor greatly increases the ease and accuracy of ascertaining grid references. Get one to lend to your readers, but make sure they don't walk off with it!
The BGS Map Scale Rule is suitable for use with 1:10 000, 1:10560, 1:25 000, 1:50 000, and 1:63 360. It is worth investing in a scale rule for accurate work. Most rulers will vary by a few millimetres according to room temperature - Archival Polyester (also known as Melinex or Mylar) sleeves are useful for the storage of delicate map material, but also offer excellent protection for maps that are fed through large format photocopiers and scanners. The polyester is a very transparent material and seems to have a negligible effect on copy quality. Many of the archival products suppliers listed below will be able to provide sheets or ready made 'envelopes' of archival polyester
- Small repairs to maps can be affected with document repair tape or Filmoplast P (both of which are burnished on) though such products are not appropriate in all circumstances. Professional conservators should, of course, be consulted for when working to archival standards or with important items
Archival and conservation products Furniture Plan Chests:
Plan chests come in two types: horizontal; and vertical. Horizontal systems (drawer units) are easy to use until the drawers get full. Vertical chests have the disadvantage that the maps must be punched with holes or have hanging strip attached to them. However, they are easier on the back of the person using them and the maps are less likely to get crumpled Large acid-free paper map folders (in which several maps can be placed to make retrieval easier and to protect the maps) can be purchased, for example, from Conservation by Design. Beware that you may need to buy a large quantity, so try teaming up with a neighbouring library to share the cost! The drawers of horizontal plan chests can suffer from a number of problems over time. Most manufacturers will service their products for a fee. If you decide to service your drawers yourself remember to use grease rather than oil to lubricate the drawer's bearings. White Lithium grease, a non-petroleum-based corrosion- and oxidation-resistant lubricant has been recommended on MAPS-L for metal-to-metal bearings by John W Barry of Intelligence Data Systems, Inc. - Folded Map Storage
There are a variety of pieces of furniture that are suitable. The humble filing cabinet is widely used though note that high-sided drawers are much better than open-sided. - Hanging strip for Vertical plan chests
The Plan chest supplier will also supply hanging strip, also known as suspension tape, however this can be more expensive than using a more general office supplier. The following also supply hanging strip
These pages have been compiled by: April Carlucci (British Library Map Library); Tinho da Cruz (Department of Geography, University of Liverpool), and; Anne Taylor (Cambridge University Library). Please Contact Us with any suggestions for inclusion, and details of links that don't work. Page last updated: 1/3/13 |
