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Right as rain: National Archives offers restoration services for damaged documents
People have been advised to photocopy important documents or take pictures of them as a means of backup.
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National Archives building on Jl Ampera in South Jakarta (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
R
yan Septian, a 28-year-old from Kemang, South Jakarta, whose residence was inundated during massive floods that hit Greater Jakarta on Jan. 1, did not think his documents that were damaged by floodwater could be saved.
However, thanks to the services of the National Archives (ANRI) in Cilandak, South Jakarta, his documents have been restored.
“I’m so relieved that I was able to restore my documents. It’s a free, quick and simple service,” Ryan told The Jakarta Post after his documents were restored on Wednesday, while showing his restored marriage book.
After sustaining water damage days earlier, the book’s front and back covers were wet, muddy and shabby. It took 10 minutes for the restoration team to dry the book out and remove the dirt to restore the shape.
The team also applied extra protection to the front and back cover as well as several pages by using a technique called “encapsulation.”
With encapsulation, polyester plastic is applied to both sides of the cover and pages, then sealed with double-sided tape. The technique is applied to protect documents such as family cards, diplomas and land certificates.
However, the restoration team cannot restore documents to their original state. They cannot restore the writing on a document that has turned blurry by floodwater, for example.
