Preservation by Format
Audiovisual Materials Preservation
Identification, Care, Handling and Storage of audio and visual materials (Library of Congress)
This brief article, based on the Library of Congress’ own preservation practices, discusses various types of motion picture film and offers best practices for the handling and storage of film.
Cylinder, Disc, and Tape Care in a Nutshell (Library of Congress)
This fact sheet, based on the Library of Congress’ own preservation practices, offers best practices for storage, handling, and cleaning of cylinders, discs, and open reel and cassette tapes. It includes an extensive bibliography and list of suppliers.
Videotape Preservation Fact Sheets (Association of Moving Image Archivists)
This series of 18 fact sheets (42 pages total), published by AMIA, covers a wide range of information about videotape preservation for custodians of archival tape collections.
Books and Paper
Books
Connecting to Collections Care
Connecting to Collections Care is continually evaluating resources that will be of use to smaller cultural institutions to help you readily find information on all aspects of the care and management of your collections.
Caring for your Treasures: Books (American Institute for Conservation)
This guide is one of almost a dozen summary resources on the care of family heirlooms and works of art made available by AIC, a national membership organization for conservation professionals. This guide offers practical advice for preventing damage to books, including proper handling, shelving and storage conditions, and is a good overall introduction to best practices for both private collectors and curators.
Paper
Preserving Works on Paper: Manuscripts, Drawings, Prints, Posters, Maps, Documents (Library of Congress)
Based on LC’s preservation procedures, this leaflet includes best practices on how to protect family collections and flat paper objects in small research libraries from damage. Most advice is preventive and includes low or no-cost ideas such closing drapes to reduce the risk of light damage.
Storing Archival Paper Based Collections (Connecting to Collections Care)
Connecting to Collections Care is continually evaluating resources that will be of use to smaller cultural institutions to help you readily find information on all aspects of the care and management of your collections.
Photographs
Care of Photographs (Northeast Document Conservation Center)
Information on best practices for the care of photographs, namely through controlling environmental conditions, storage conditions, and handling. This is one of many printable Preservation Leaflets provided by NEDCC, covering a wide range of topics.
The Care and Preservation of Photographic Prints (The Henry Ford)
A brief summary of the nature of both black and white and color photographs, followed by information on causes of deterioration and guidelines for care. This resource includes a print bibliography and a supplier list.
Identifying and Caring for Your Photographic Collections (Library of Congress)
Based on the Library of Congress’ preservation procedures, this leaflet includes best practices for preventing deterioration of photographs as well as storage suggestions for photographic material. The website also contains links to information on identifying photographic processes.
Textiles
Textile Care and Display (The Textile Museum)
Guidelines for the Care of Textiles including storing oriental carpets, hanging textiles, and care and cleaning.
The Care and Preservation of Antique Textiles and Costumes (The Henry Ford)
Extensive guidance on the preservation and care of antique textiles and costumes.
Caring for Textiles (American Institute for Conservation)
This guide is one of almost a dozen summary resources on the care of family heirlooms and works of art made available by AIC, a national membership organization for conservation professionals. Basic tips for preventing damage to textiles include environmental recommendations for display and storage, handling suggestions, and advice for dealing with disaster-affected materials.
Digital Preservation
The Art of Digital Preservation (Preservica) | on YouTube
Preserving our Libraries’ Digital Collections is Simple, Powerful, and Affordable
Leveraging seamless catalog integration to provide discoverable content to the community
Blog posts on cloud-hosted active digital preservation software from Preservica
Computer Files
According to World Backup Day, 21 percent of people have never made a backup of their data. Are your personal records, memories, music, photos and documents at risk of being lost forever?
Tip: Backup your data
Establish a backup system so your computer files are copied on a regular basis to another form of media. An external hard drive and cloud storage are good choices. Make more than one copy of your digital files and store copies in different physical locations.
Finding Digital Materials
How will you remember where to find the digital photograph your sister sent last Christmas? If there is no system of organization or search mechanism available for your digital files, you may not be able to.
Tip: Tagging
Descriptive keywords will help you retrieve and organize digital materials – be they digital photographs, videos or music. The popular term for adding keywords to digital content is tagging. Tag or label your digital files so your family can find them later.
Digital Photographs
Family memories and special events that future generations would value are increasingly documented in digital photographs. But 10 years from now current memory sticks and software will most likely be obsolete, trapping images in unusable or unsupported storage media.
Tip: Migrate and Save
Because digital photographs require specific hardware and software to view, it is important to migrate files to the latest storage media using freely available formats. Make several copies of digital photographs and keep them in different places. Saving copies of your photographs on websites and printing copies with archival-quality ink and high-quality paper are also options for preservation.
Important Email
The everyday activities, work, major current events and personal observations documented in email are a direct record of our lives. If email is not preserved, a part of our history will be lost.
Tip: Save as Text Files
Email should be saved and managed just like any other important digital file. Save important personal email on a hard drive or storage disk as simple text files, making sure to have the header information. Ask if your employer has a policy about saving work-related email. You may also print out important emails.
Storage Disks
The backup disks you make today may become damaged or obsolete in the future.
Tip: Preservation-Quality Disks
Never use rewritable discs for long-term storage. Do not use stickers to label discs, and always store them covered in a dark dry place. Also, convert old disks to new formats as they become available.
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