The Bhaktivedanta Archives has three main categories of documents (paper based items) in its collection. Manuscripts (mainly audio transcriptions dictated by Srila Prabhupada for his books), Letters (correspondence to and from Srila Prabhupada and his secretaries and GBC men), and Miscellaneous documents (essays, legal, business, diaries, etc, written by or for Srila Prabhupada). There is an ongoing process of identifying, scanning, conservation, and cataloging of these items. The process is labor intensive and the purchase of preservation materials and equipment is costly.

The large majority of the documents are made of pulp paper stock, which is acidic by nature and therefore requires chemical treatment to stabilize it to a neutral or alkaline pH state. Some documents require cleaning and or restoration and most need to be encapsulated for future safe handling. More equipment is needed to speed up the scanning process. This is a full time semi-skilled job as we have many thousands of documents of various sizes all requiring proper handling.

Cataloging is an integral part of the document preservation process. This cataloging (finding, entering, codifying) is a dynamic process and requires diligence and time.

Handwritten notice 1966
[click to enlarge]

School book used for Message of Godhead
[click to enlarge]

As items are preserved they need to be stored in specialized acid free containers (boxes, folders) and in a permanent and safe environment. At present we use two facilities to house items. At the Bhaktivedanta Archives we have a small-designated room with fire alarm, unauthorized entry alarm, air purification, fireproof cabinets, relief air conditioning and dehumidification. We also use the Iron Mountain storage facility in Butler Pennsylvania (previously called National Underground Storage). It would be appropriate to set up a permanent facility (like a presidential library) to house, protect, conserve and allow research in the future.

Microfilming is still the best-known medium for long-term preservation and backup as it doesn’t need any sophisticated electronic equipment to access the images and has a very long shelf life (hundreds of years under good conditions). This format is also compact and easily transportable. The Bhaktivedanta Archives needs to buy a microfilm camera and microfilm reader/printer/scanner transfer facility. This is also labor intensive requiring careful attention to detail.

Total cost of this project (not including a permanent facility) is estimated at $100,000.