Tag Archives: preservation

Three things you can do during Preservation Week 2012

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Update on May 3, 2012:
If you missed the events below, you can replay the web versions by visiting the following links:
Talk on family textiles: http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/webinar/pres/042412
Talk on digital photographs: http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/webinar/pres/042612

And I will be collaborating with McLean County Museum of History and ISU’s Milner Library for another in-person event next April, so stay tuned!

[original April 2012 message follows]

Memories and treasures should last a lifetime and be passed on to future generations. Preservation Week is designed to highlight this need and to educate people on how they can care for the treasures of their heritage.

1. Taking Care: Family Textiles with Bronwyn Eves
Tuesday, April 24; lasts 1 hour, starting at 1PM CST

An online presentation of how to care for the various types of textiles found in family collections including clothing, flags and furniture coverings and framed textiles. The session will cover how to safely store and display textiles and how to determine when the services of a professional conservator are needed.

Technical Requirements
Computer with Internet access (high-speed connection is best) and media player software. Headphones recommended. Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/318517225

2. Preserving Your Cultural Heritage
Tuesday, April 24; 7-9:00PM at the McLean County Museum of History (200 N. Main St., Bloomington).

Local experts who care for archives, library and museum collections will offer tips for storing and displaying family treasures and information on preventing damage and salvaging materials.

Attendees are encouraged to bring books, photographs, textiles or small objects for one-on-one consultations about preservation housing and treatments. Additionally, a variety of preservation supplies will be awarded as door prizes courtesy of the three institutions hosting the event.

For more information, contact Jeff Woodard at the McLean County Museum of History at 309-827-0428, or email him at JWoodard@mchistory.org.

If you need a special accommodation to fully participate in this event, contact Bill Kemp at library@mchistory.org, or at 309-827-0428. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.

3. Preserving Your Personal Digital Photographs with Bill LeFurgy
Thursday, April 26; lasts 1 hour, starting at 1PM CST

Digital photos are fragile and require special care to keep them accessible. But preserving any kind of digital information is a new concept that most people have little experience with. Technologies change over time and become obsolete, making it difficult to access older digital photos. Learn about the nature of the problem and hear about some simple, practical tips and tools to help you keep your digital photos safe.

Technical Requirements
Computer with Internet access (high-speed connection is best) and media player software. Headphones recommended. Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/666813208

The two online presentations (numbers 1 and 3 above) will be available online after their scheduled date and will join several others listed at http://atyourlibrary.org/passiton/preservation-week-your-library

One other that may interest you now is
Accidents Happen: Protecting & Saving Family Treasures
with Nancy Kraft

About Preservation Week

Sponsored by the ALA’s Association of Library Collections and Services and partner organizations, Preservation Week was founded to raise awareness of the role libraries and other cultural institutions can play in providing ongoing preservation information. Local libraries, museums, and archives are asked to do one thing in their communities to celebrate Preservation Week, even if the action or activity is small. For more information, visit http://www.ala.org/preservationweek.

Save Your Stuff!

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Memories and treasures should last a lifetime and be passed on to future generations. The first national collections Preservation Week, “Pass It On!”, is taking place May 9-15, 2010.

The American Library Association and partners that include the Library of Congress, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, The American Institute for Conservation, Heritage Preservation, and the Society of American Archivists, are promoting Preservation Week to highlight collections of all kinds, and suggest simple steps to help you make sure your treasures and memories last a lifetime and are passed on to future generations.

What can you do?

1. Take a look around your home or wherever you store the mementos of your life and the lives of people who are important to you. Is a lot of it in long-term storage? Is the storage room subject to temperature and humidity fluctuation?

TIP: You don’t need to have cold storage to make paper and print photographic collections last. Constant levels of each are the most important thing. 70 degrees F is the upper recommended limit, but keeping spaces well-ventilated and preventing frequent fluctuation can help your stuff go a long way into the future.

2. Is your stuff sitting on the ground? Try putting a pallet underneath boxes or raising them 4-6 inches off the floor with something else.

3. Avoid stacking boxes directly on each other if at all possible. Open shelving is optimal: leaving space on all sides of stored material promotes air circulation and limits the chance that mold will develop.

4. Is your stuff digital? Do you back up your hard drive or use a commercial company for online storage? If you’ve got a back up hard drive, is it located near your primary digital storage place? Explore ways to back up your important files and keep them in a separate location to lessen the chance for loss if there’s a fire or natural disaster in your area.

5. Is your digital stuff labeled? File names like DSC7723, DSC7724, and so on can accumulate faster than you think. After awhile, how will you know what you are saving?

TIP: At a minimum, make folders with event names and dates to store photos in or create an index that associates this information with the program-generated file names.

6. Are your physical collections falling apart? Books, photo albums, scrapbooks and textiles need attention if they are to last. Taking photos out of old albums whose adhesives are failing and making sure they’re labeled is a good start. Some books may be rebound, but many will survive well into the future in a box or wrapper designed for them. Photocopying or scanning newspaper clippings can preserve their information without worrying about deterioration due to typically acidic scrapbook pages and/or newspaper itself.

TIP: Don’t seal anything in a plastic bag! Condensation forms quickly in plastic and promotes mold.

If you have concerns about any of your personal collections, I’m happy to talk with you about them. Use Preservation Week as a time to take stock of what you’re keeping, why it’s important to you and how you can act in ways that will keep your stuff safe for years to come!

Note: more ideas are available in one of my previous blog posts

Tips to make an archivist’s day…

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Here are some recent musings I thought I’d share that I’m sure will make any archivist appreciate your efforts and ensure your documentary heritage has a pleasant, regret-free life!

Dos:

Date all photos, documents, publications, etc. At the minimum, a year will make future generations think fondly of you!

Provide a minimum of an event or occasion name on the back of a printed photo in pen, at the edge. Try not to write hard enough to make an impression bulge through to the image side! For digital images, embed the info in the file name or in the “properties” summary. If you don’t know how to do that send a typed list with the corresponding file name along with the images or just save them on a CD in a file folder with the event name.

When sending a box to the archives, put your or your office’s name on it and one or two words about the contents. If the box has been stored in a damp location, call ahead to let the archives know before sending it over. We’ll need to have it delivered someplace other than main archives area until we can evaluate the contents for pests or mold.

If you have a large amount of material to remove from an office, I am happy to visit it in place to determine how much needs to be moved to the archives and what might go directly to recycling/shredding or other disposal. Labor Crew will appreciate only having to move boxes once!

Dont’s:

Post-it notes leave a gummy residue on historical records. Try slipping a strip of paper inside a cover or making a note in pencil. Or putting the whole packet of material in its own envelope.

If you use a paper clip to attach notes, make sure it’s steel or plastic. If you have to use a metal clip (steel or otherwise) try folding a small scrap of paper over the material to act as a buffer with the clip. And if you find material with a clip that’s been on so long it’s rusted and/or making an impression in a packet, leave it there and we’ll take care of removal in the archives.

Rubber bands create long-term problems, too. The bands dry up and can leave pieces permanently attached to material. It’s best not to use these at all…even paper clips do less damage!