Fire-Proof Cabinets

A small community archive is looking for some advice about purchasing fire resisting or fireproof cabinets for their paper-based collections. They will have to be of modest dimensions to be able to pass up a narrow staircase and not too expensive as they have a small budget - could you suggest good companies or cheaper alternatives to PEL?

Fireproof cabinets are rated (and priced) according to the length of time they will protect the contents from heat. 30 min, 60 min and 120 min are common ratings. The walls can be 10cm (4") thick and they are heavy. A 180 min cabinet 1250x655x560mm externally is only 875x475x350mm internally and weighs 288kg (634lbs). Specialist office suppliers are usually the cheapest such as http://bit.ly/YHmzLQ or http://bit.ly/YHn4p2

It is important that you measure accurately and allow for projections such as handles. Are the shelves adjustable ? Do they fit your boxes or binders? Will the floor bear the weight? Is this the best way to spend limited resources?

Make sure you have good fire alarms fitted and reduce the risk of fires first, of course. Make sure wiring is checked and smoke and heat detectors are in the right areas to sense if a fire is starting. Old roofs may have the wiring above the ceiling panels and the detectors below - not very helpful.

Care of cassette tapes

I'm looking for advice or direction to advice on care of cassette tapes, their longevity and issues on digitisation, many thanks.

 The general advice is to keep cassettes upright (not lying flat), cool, dry and away from sources of magnetic fields or heat. Think about electric motors which generate magnetic fields (such as vacuum cleaners) and remember that sources of heat include lights and windows. So please don't put boxes of tapes on top of cupboards near lightbulbs or on low shelves near the floor (and therefore the vacuum cleaner).
Keep the tapes in a clean environment and protect them from dust and mould. Wipe boxes clean with microfibre cloths.
Handle them carefully. Try to keep temperature and humidity stable. If the conditions in the store are different from the area where they will be played, allow them to acclimatise in the box for several hours before taking them out. 
Do not rewind tapes after playing them - play them to the end and rewind them just before playing.
Make sure the tape heads are clean before playing. Rewind slowly. Do not fast forward.

The US Library of Congress has a good factsheet http://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/record.html

There are some useful illustrations and examples in the National Media Library 1995 report http://www.imaginar.org/dppd/DPPD/126%20pp%20Magnetic%20Tape%20Storage.pdf

The British Library Preservation Advisory Service has very useful booklets on caring for archive collections generally http://www.bl.uk/blpac/publicationsleaf.html

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