Here are the last three tips in our series on Preservation Tips.

Tip #8: Access and Preservation Go Together

When it comes to protecting your special items, you have to remember that as important as they are to preserve, you also must also be able to enjoy and admire your collections. So, here are several more tips you can use to protect them and ensure that others can enjoy them for years to come.

Make sure to document information about your photos or documents. Although some people write very carefully on the back of photographs, you can also create a digital reproduction of the image and have the information included there or keep a record book describing the items together in a special place. It’s important that you keep your collections organized and properly label things so others will understand their importance and details. It also helps to store them in properly labeled enclosures so it will minimize the items being damaged because someone was rummaging around in a box.

Another thing to consider, is that if you’re displaying an item, consider giving it “a rest.” Have it out and then put it away for a while and let something else go in its place. You should also consider making an inventory and detailed list of all your special items in case of a disaster. This will be important if it’s necessary to make an insurance claim.

Tip #9: Be Informed

Like anything, it’s easy to get bad advice when it comes to protecting your valuables. Here are just a few excellent online resources that offer solid advice:

Library of Congress Preservation Directorate

National Archives and Records Administration

American Institute of Conservation

Tip #10:  Have Professionals Do Repairs

When something you treasure gets damaged, ask yourself how important it is to you. If it’s something with a lot of value either sentimentally or monetarily, have it professionally repaired. Unfortunately, most people try repairing their important item or keepsake and end up damaging it even more. Here’s a link on how to find a good conservator.

A special thanks to the Preservation Underground for this wonderful information!

Another day of preservation tips to help you keep your special items protected.

Tip #7: Preserving Non-Paper Collections

There are many different types of items that may need protecting, but this post is all about non paper collections.

Photographs and Home Movies:

Pictures and film are very sensitive to the environment so you need to minimize the dust, light pollutants and handling that can damage them. Like we’ve discussed before, try to protect them in pH neutral enclosures (pH 7.0) or archival products.

When it comes to protecting home movies, always have a duplicate made and keep the original in a safe place. And, for your old movies, it’s always best to get them digitized. If you don’t have your special movies, made it the latest digital medium, you run the risk of having trouble watching them because of the technology changes.For example if you have VHS video tapes or something older, make sure to transfer them to DVD or MPEG format.

Textiles:

Many people have special textiles they keep, like family wedding dresses, baby clothes, christening gowns or other items that have special meaning.

Like photos, textiles are also very sensitive to environmental factors. You have to watch out for high humidity, exposure to light, insects, pollutants like dust or cooking vapors and alkaline environments.  For those that may not know what alkaline is- is a pH above 7.0 also called basic (the opposite of acidic).  All of these factors can degrade the material and decrease the longevity of your special item. A good way to protect your textiles is to store them in pH neutral enclosures. For cleaning e a special piece of textile, always consult a professional.

Digital Items:

With so much information stored digitally, it is critical that you protect your important digital documents.  Unfortunately, digital items are vulnerable to format and hardware obsolescence, chemical instability and unpredictable failure. The best thing you can do is create multiple copies and send them to different family members for storing.  Or, for some items, print them out and store them in a safe place.

Another important thing you should do is perform regular back ups of your electronic media. When backing up your digital information, consider keeping a physical backup in a safe place or doing a remote backup using a service. Just remember that if you need to access your remote backup, you’ll need an internet connection to access the information.