Erowid.org: References Database

Transporting the collection.

The collection was housed in Los Angeles until March 2002 when we drove down to pick it up and transport it back to our home in the San Francisco bay area where we would be working on the digitization process.

A group of original binders.

The documents were originally contained inside binders such as these. Each binder contained 30 to 40 documents.

The original binder labels.

Each binder was labelled on the end with the range of document numbers contained in that binder. A few of the labels had come off during the years, and some of the binder labels were better than others. This is an example of the best quality labels.

More original binder labels.

A small number of the original binders were labelled with what looked like pieces of first-aid bandaging, taped to the end of the binder, with the document range written on with pen. There might be better quality original labels underneath, but we didn't disturb them.

Inside the original binders

Each document was attached into the binder with celophane tape. In many cases this tape was placed over the text of the document. Over the years the tape discolored to a dark yellow/orange color making the covered text nearly unreadable. We carefully removed each of the documents from its binder in order to allow them to be scanned. Here you can see the inside of an original binder after the documents have been removed.

The papers

The documents were a combination of A4 size photocopies (the European version of our 8.5 x 11 paper) and a variety of smaller sizes for the original journal articles. Note the dark tape marks along the left hand side of several of the articles.

The new binders

After the documents were digitized, each was placed into a plastic sleeve and put back into new binders. The new binders were then labelled in the same manner as the original binders, with the range of documents they contained. This system is a temporary step because the library where the collection will be kept was considering re-binding the collection in some manner.

The finished collection

After all the documents had been scanned, placed into plastic sleeves, and put into new binders, they were packed up and prepared to be shipped back to Switzerland. This is the collection ready to be shipped.

	Transporting the collection. The collection was housed in Los Angeles until March 2002 when we drove down to pick it up and transport it back to our home in the San Francisco bay area where we would be working on the digitization process.
	A group of original binders. The documents were originally contained inside binders such as these. Each binder contained 30 to 40 documents.
	The original binder labels. Each binder was labelled on the end with the range of document numbers contained in that binder. A few of the labels had come off during the years, and some of the binder labels were better than others. This is an example of the best quality labels.
	More original binder labels. A small number of the original binders were labelled with what looked like pieces of first-aid bandaging, taped to the end of the binder, with the document range written on with pen. There might be better quality original labels underneath, but we didn't disturb them.
	Inside the original binders Each document was attached into the binder with celophane tape. In many cases this tape was placed over the text of the document. Over the years the tape discolored to a dark yellow/orange color making the covered text nearly unreadable. We carefully removed each of the documents from its binder in order to allow them to be scanned. Here you can see the inside of an original binder after the documents have been removed.
	The papers The documents were a combination of A4 size photocopies (the European version of our 8.5 x 11 paper) and a variety of smaller sizes for the original journal articles. Note the dark tape marks along the left hand side of several of the articles.
	The new binders After the documents were digitized, each was placed into a plastic sleeve and put back into new binders. The new binders were then labelled in the same manner as the original binders, with the range of documents they contained. This system is a temporary step because the library where the collection will be kept was considering re-binding the collection in some manner.
	The finished collection After all the documents had been scanned, placed into plastic sleeves, and put into new binders, they were packed up and prepared to be shipped back to Switzerland. This is the collection ready to be shipped.