SORTING THE INVISIBLE Nitrate film in Institutional Practice, Identification & Risk at Lund University Library

Abstract

This thesis investigates how the identification of nitrate film functions within an institutional context, using Lund University Library as a case study. The technical question of how to identify photographic film has largely been answered. What remains less explored is how identification is practically implemented and what it makes visible beyond the material. A risk framework based on the (A, C, U) perspective on risk was used to examine what the identification produced and the conditions that shaped it. As nitrate and acetate film are difficult to distinguish visually, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used for non-destructive identification. Using a stratified sampling design, 1 378 objects from 20 collections across four storage areas were analysed with a SurveNIR instrument, complemented by a reflexive logbook documenting the conditions surrounding the process. Nitrate film constitutes an estimated 54.7% of the analysed material, concentrated in two of four storage areas. All film rolls consisted of either acetate or polyester film. Which collections were analysed was shaped by access and interdepartmental collaboration. Fire risk (A2) motivated the study, but the identification primarily produced knowledge about the conditions surrounding chemical degradation (A1): where the material is located and under what conditions it is stored. The study shows that identification produces knowledge the institution can act on, but that the full picture is shaped by who carries out the work and what questions that person brings into it. The methods for identification exist. What is missing are the structures for using them.