Open Forum

Hello all!

My name is Emily Zimmerman, and I am a collections coordinator at a small museum in York County, VA. I have been working there for the past 3 years, and there are a few things that raise a red flag in my mind about how certain objects have been/are being displayed. There are a number of small artifacts that have been kept in their place inside the cases using at least two types of adhesives. One type seems to be white-colored putty similar to the blue and yellow sticky tack (possibly mounting adhesive). The other adhesive used are pieces of thick clear (almost gel-like) double-sided tape that I think are made by Scotch (based off finding a pad of these loose in the office years ago). 

Do these materials ring a bell for anyone? Or can anyone confirm that they are likely what I believe them to be? And does anyone have insight regarding how archivally safe those mentioned products are for artifacts? (I assume them to not be archivally safe, but I do not know, hence posting my question here!)

Thanks in advance for any help!

Emily Zimmerman