Tim and all,
Most Historical Societys have people who know the best way to preserve
and store materials, plus often display these materials.
The State Historical Society has a staff that just does preservations.
Most smaller local historical societies don't have the expertise, but
are able to contact their state society for guidance.
Also, state societies have a limit to their storage space, and do not
accept all donations. Your material needs to be unique, or have a value
that would add to their collection.
Our State Historical Society came to hold a workshop at our local
society one year, and showed the participants how to do their own
preservation, including how to de-acidify old papers, and then preserve
them. I have created a page on the Fond du Lac website showing the
highlights of this talk.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~wifonddu/resources/misc/preserve.htm
I would contact a state society for advice.
tracy reinhardt
fond du Lac county