The American Library Association (ALA) hosted a national Preservation Week event the last week of April 2015. It is the goal of the ALA to remind us of how important our personal artifacts and family heirlooms are. They tell the stories of our lives. FamilySearch also encourages preserving and sharing photographs, personal histories, movies, oral histories and other items that tell stories of individuals and families.
Here are a few tips shared by LDS Church History conservator, Chris McAfee, to help your protect your own family heirlooms.
- Protect your collections by storing them in a dark, cool, dry area. Avoid contact with sunlight and fluorescent lighting, high temperatures and areas where water may be a concern. Try to avoid extreme changes in temperature and humidity.
- Store items in secure storage containers such as boxes, folders and plastic sleeves that are made from archival quality materials. These storage containers should be acid and lignin free. Plastic sleeves should be polyester, polyethylene or polypropylene. Never use vinyl or acetate. Storage containers should also protect items from dust and other contaminants.
- Remove objects from your books, papers and photographs. Newspaper clippings, pressed flowers, paper clips, rubber bands, etc., will sooner or later damage historical items. If you have some of these items that you would like to keep, remove them and store them separately from the artifact it came from. Newspapers are particularly acidic. Remove them from other items immediately. Photocopy the news clipping onto acid free paper. Check with your local copy center. Most have acid free paper available for only a few cents more. Acid free paper is considered to last 300-500 years.
- Digital storage devices have a limited life expectancy so have a plan to upgrade your digital storage devices. At present, most computer storage devices are expected to be reliable for only 10 years. After 5 years it is a good idea to do a yearly reviews of the contents on your storage device. If you start getting random error messages or if only parts of your documents will open, it’s time to transfer everything onto a new storage device. You should also have at least two copies of all your digital records stored in different places, and three copies is even better.
- Avoid doing anything that is irreversible to your documents and photos. Never use white glue, rubber cement, super glue or cellophane and other pressure sensitive tapes on documents or photos. Do not laminate items you want to save. Do not use photo albums that involve any glue or self-adhesives. To attach photos to a page, use photo corners instead. Avoid writing on historical documents. If an item must be marked, write lightly with a #2 pencil in an inconspicuous area. You should also consider making notes on a separate piece of acid free paper and storing it with your document or photo.
- Don’t attempt to repair damage yourself. If you see damage such as tears, breaks, discoloration, etc., consult a professional conservator. Most local colleges or university libraries have a conservator that can give you advice on how and where to have repairs done.
Draper 12 News 