Resources on Preserving Family Papers, Books, Photos & More

 

By Catherine Oseas | BPL Archives Department 

The Birmingham Public Library Archives Department shares tips on preserving materials.

When preserving historical materials at home, it helps to have some resources readily at hand. 

Here are some places to check on best practices, depending on the types of materials you are looking to preserve.

Resources for Preserving Family Papers, Books, Photos, etc. 

Papers:

How to Preserve Family Archives (papers and photographs) | National Archives

http://jwa.org/stories/how-to/preservation

http://www.nha.org/history/keepinghistory/KHpreservingpapers.htm 

 Books:

http://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/books.html 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/tips/preservingbooks.html 

Fabric/Textiles: 

Preserving Textiles | National Archives 

How do I store antique textiles at home? | Smithsonian Institution (si.edu)

Photos:

Archival Formats | National Archives 

Preserving and Protecting Photographs (photographymuseum.com)

Care, Handling and Storage of Photographs - Collections Care (Preservation, Library of Congress) 

Websites like Library of Congress, The Smithsonian, and Society of American Archivists will give you more technical and extensive “best practices” for preservation. 

You can also find tips and techniques on most state historical society websites such as the Alabama Department of Archives and History.