>I'm chiming in very late on the white gloves controversy, since it is
>an annoyance I will be dealing with daily for the next year.
>Virtually every archive where I work in Mexico requires not just
>gloves (cotton or latex) but a surgical mask as well.
(snip)
Just playing devil's advocate here (and that should not be interpreted
as support for the shrub).
I have some slides archived under the title: "Pigeon Shit Papers".
In them, I am fully gowned, latex gloves duct-taped to my sleeves,
and wearing a double filter face mask.
As a conservator, I am often asked to remove mold, or other things
which may contaminate library and archival material.
Unless there is a clear need for my personal protection, I do not wear
gloves or a mask when examining or treating archival/library material.
If you inquire quietly, it may be that the surgical mask requiremnt
came about as a result of a law suit brought by someone who became ill
through handling mss. in a Mexican archive/library.
Jack
Thompson Conservation Lab.
7549 N. Fenwick
Portland, Oregon 97217
USA
503/735-3942 (phone)
http://www.teleport.com/~tcl
"The lyfe so short; the craft so long to lerne."
Chaucer _Parlement of Foules_ 1386