Disaster Recovery

Once recovered, wet documents or books must be frozen as soon as possible in special containers or freezer sheds to interrupt the physical deterioration and the fungal proliferation processes that are triggered following contact of the paper material with water. In fact, mold tends to develop on wet documents and books in less than 48 hours. Some fungal spores can proliferate even faster.

The speed of handling and transfer of the material for freezing is therefore crucial in decreeing both the extent of the damage, the overall costs of the recovery intervention and its degree of success. Often this speed is affected by logistical, organizational, insurance, bureaucratic and budget obstacles.

To overcome these problems, Fratielivi has created the CryoSafetySystem: the first autonomous system for the on-site parameterized and modular pre-freezing of large quantities of archival material and books damaged by water.
Thanks to this technology, which does not require the use of machinery, systems and sources of energy, Fratielivi is able to intervene throughout the Italian territory to put the endangered collections in immediate safety in order to start them for handling in conditions of temperature already stably below zero. In this way, the physical deterioration of the materials and the development of mold and fungal proliferation are stopped well before the necessary freezing.

For the safe handling and transport of archival and book assets damaged by catastrophic events and to be sent for freezing, Fratielivi has a own fleet and a wide range of suitable equipment and means of transport – including pallet trucks, forklifts, roll trolleys, bins of various sizes and types, vans with tail lifts, etc.

Thanks to a series of agreements active throughout the Italian territory with market leading logistics operators, Fratielivi is also able to guarantee the taking charge and transfer of compromised goods even in environmental situations that may requireuse of special means – such as mobile cranes of different types and sizes -, the transport by water, or the Ground transportation – with media of different sizes at a controlled negative temperature.

This rich range of solutions, which always includes the ability to activate in less than 24 hours specific nail-to-nail policies, allows Fratielivi to operate for the transfer of the archival and book heritage – be it affected by major catastrophes or micro-disasters – in an efficient, rapid, safe and guaranteed way.

When the archival and book heritage is exposed to water because the archives, libraries and museum deposits that hold the collections are hit by floods, floods, extinguishing of fires, or are subject to infiltrations and accidents in the conservation environments, the freezing of the protected material is an obligatory choice. In this way, the damage caused by water and high humidity can be stopped and minimized.

Freezing paper material, books and wet or damp documents makes it possible to:

• block the proliferation of molds and fungal spores
• drastically reduce the chemical and physical reactions that can alter the substrates (preventing, for example, the adhesion of the sheets due to water and limiting the swelling of volumes)
• stabilize soluble inks and dyes

In addition to the CrioSafetySystem for on-site pre-freezing of large quantities of collections affected by water, Fratielivi has all the necessary equipment to carry out the storage and freezing of damaged paper material in freezer containers with temperatures at -27 ° C.

The company can boast 10 freezer containers and an autonomous storage and freezing capacity of approximately 1.5 km of documentation. Fratielivi also has agreements throughout Italy with infrastructural networks of freezer sheds. These agreements allow it to always guarantee its customers the best freezing solution in compliance with the timing required for a successful intervention.

The process of restoration and recovery following an accident or catastrophic event in archives, libraries and museum deposits does not however end with the freezing of the material.

For the restoration to be complete and the paper material to be saved and safe, it is in fact essential to dry it.

To dry documents damaged by water and previously frozen, Fratielivi has been using the freeze-drying method for about 20 years: the safest, most effective and best performing.

Freeze-drying is a solution for drying books and documents that exploits a process based on the use of physical processes and which has numerous advantages. Freeze-drying allows to act on large quantities of material quickly, has lower costs than other methods, does not subject the archival and library heritage already damaged by water to further stress, is effective against molds but also against insects.

With freeze-drying, the previously frozen paper material is subjected to a process that removes the water from the collections, after it has been frozen, making it evaporate in an environment in which a vacuum has been created. This process, which prevents water from returning to a liquid state, is called sublimation.

Sublimation allows you to avoid further damage to the documents processed because it respects the structure of the paper and other elements (bindings of leather, parchment, wood, etc.), inhibits the proliferation of molds and fungal spores by putting them in quiescence, disinfects the paper material from any insects present.

In the freeze-drying of paper material, the company holds a technological lead. In 2003, Frati e Livi was the first Italian company to design and build Books Wind1, a freeze-drying system specifically designed for paper and archival and book assets.

Recovery from emergencies in archives, libraries and museum deposits requires that the dried and possibly also sanitized material be reconditioned before being put back in order. Since 1998, Fratielivi has been producing paper converting and containers certified for long shelf life. With a standard range that includes thousands of items and the possibility of also producing custom-made products, the company is able to offer a standard, fast and cost-effective reconditioning service for archival and book heritage.