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Preserving Your

Family Papers

Heidi Bamford, Regional ArchivistDocumentary Heritage Program

October 24, 2013

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Collecting & Saving Family History

• A “family story” is more than just dates and nameso There are personal and professional interactions being documentedo There are “older” and “newer” stories to be preservedo The stories may be of interest to people other than your own family!

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First Steps: Have a Plan!

Set aside specific times, spaces, and materials for sorting through collections

Table, gloves, notebooks, folders or envelopes, boxes, pencils

Begin at the Beginning – Look at family history. Start with most recent materials and work backwards

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Create an Inventory• Helps with:

o Locating items and information

o Cutting down on handling fragile or sensitive materials

o Assessing time and resources needed to address organization and preservation activities

o Knowing what gaps are in your stories

o “Weeding”o Getting Organized!

What to Keep?

Unique Informational

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• Certificates• Deeds, Wills• Awards, Citations• Memorabilia• Creative works

(poems, sketches)• Membership records

• Correspondence• Diaries and journals• Scrapbooks• News clippings and

newsletters• Photos & slides• Audio, video, CD, DVD• Oral histories

What to Keep?

Also must

consider:Volume

Age

Condition

Authority

Propriety

Uniqueness

Informational

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Organizing Your Collection• Resist the Urge to “Reorganize” the Stories!

o Remember, history, including family history is organic – it develops as a result of day-to-day actions and interactions• Use archival principles of:

• PROVENANCE – Keep records of each creator togethero Group by creator

• Divide into distinct “series”

• RESPECT DU FONDS – Keep records arranged the way the creator arranged themo Organize following lead of creator

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*For each grouping, you can store & preserve similar types of materials,Rather than storing all diaries together, all newspapers, etc.

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Finding the Right Storage Space

• IDEALLY:oA room or part of a room not in the attic

or basementoA stable temperature of 65-70 degrees

F and, relative humidity of 40%oMinimal light source

The invisible enemies: pests, dust/dirt, pollutants

Watch your step – avoid carpeting or linoleumBe sure to regularly monitor the space!

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Storage Supplies – First Tier

• Shelving – for most materials, this should be open steel shelvingo Enamel-coated is besto Lowest unit at least 4-6 inches from

floor; highest unit at least 10-12 inches from ceiling – avoid pipes!

o Alternatives – paper or board-lined wood shelving for short term

• Cabinets or cases – should be steelo Same positioning as with shelving

(floor to ceiling)o Do not over or under-fill drawers!

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Storage Supplies – Second Tier

• Boxes – Manufactured or custom made for support & protection

• Folders and Envelopes- for instability or fragility

• Sleeves – for fragile, single or acidic items

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Storage Supplies - Documents• Use vertical storage boxes for

stronger, standard size papers and horizontal storage boxes for fragile, oversize materialso Use rolled storage when items are too large for

flat storage

• Boxes should be strong, have reinforced corners and match size of materialso too small will cause mechanical damage from

stuffing; o too large will cause mechanical damage from

sliding around or drooping.

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Storage Supplies – Books and Bound Materials

• Parts of the book to be protected:o Text blocko Boardso Spineo Flyleafo Hingeo Head/capo Tail

• Enclosures:o Pre-made clamshell

boxeso Custom size book boxeso Tying or wrappingo Polyester book jackets

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Storage Supplies – Photos &

Negatives

• Three basic parts of structure include: o support layer (metal,

glass, paper, plastic), o image layer (silver,

platinum, dyes, iron) ando binder (gelatin, albumen,

collodion)

• All photo storage materials should pass PAT test*

• Use plastic** enclosures for frequent viewing – unless flaking occurs

• Use paper for interleaving if multiple prints are in folders or boxes

• Negatives go in paper enclosures

• Archival binders are acceptable for prints

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Storage Supplies - Other

• Textiles

• Ephemera

• Small Objects

• Works of Art

• Digital

o NPS Conserv-O-Grams

• Types of Damageo Chemical (all organic materials: paper,

textiles, plastics, dyes, leather, fur, etc)• Chemical change attributed to

location

o Mechanical (Rare books, paintings, furniture, textiles; any bound or composite object)• Temp/humidity• handling

o Mold decay (All organic materials (paper, textiles, plastics, dyes, leather, fur) or inorganic materials with organic films)• moisture

o Metal corrosion• moisture

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What If….

• What if you can’t provide this kind of storage environment for your collection?

o Consider donating your family history collection to a local repository• Selecting a repository• Creating a Deed of Gift• Supporting your gift with an endowment

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Donor Deed of Gift Form

Usually includes:• Name of donor• Name of recipient• Date of transfer• Brief description of materials• Transfer of physical/intellectual rights• Restrictions – legal, personal; length of

time• Disposal criteria/authority• Signatures of donor/recipient – witness

o See sample deed of gift formso http://www.archivists.org/publications/deed_of_gift.asp

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RESOURCES

Where to go for more help:

• Archival Supply Vendors (New York State Archives)

• Gaylord online catalog

• Conservation Online

• Conserve-O-Grams from NPS

• North East Documentation Conservation Center

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That’s It! Any Questions?

Good Luck!Thank you!

hbamford@wnylrc.org