Caring For Your Personal Collections
Preservation Websites | Preservation Books | Selecting a Conservator
The following resources provide advice on preserving your personal collections of books, photographs, and recordings.
Preservation Websites
- Caring for Your Belongings
- Collections Care -- Library of Congress
- Caring for Your Family Archives
Frequently asked questions about family archives answered by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
- Home Film Preservation Guide
- Care of objects and collections
- Your Old Books
How to care for your family photographs, documents, textiles, art and more from the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works.
Tips on storing, handling, and preserving personal collections from the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate. Also, includes information on emergency preparedness and response as well as collections care.
Simple guidelines for preserving motion picture films with a focus on storage at home from the Association of Moving Image Archivists.
How to care for a variety of personal collections from the Canadian Conservation Institute.
A guide to frequently asked questions about rare books and rare book values published by the Rare Book and Manuscripts Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries
Preservation Books
- Landry, Gregory J., et al. The Winterthur Guide to Caring for Your Collection. 2000.
Covers a wide range of materials from books and photographs to ceramics and metals to textiles, furniture, and gilded frames. Nicely illustrated.
- Long, Jane S. and Richard W. Long, et al. Caring for Your Family Treasures. 2000.
Also covers a wide range of materials including film and videotape, clocks and watches, toys, musical instruments, and tips on making new scrapbooks or albums. Nicely illustrated.
- Williams, Don and Louisa Jaggar. Saving Stuff: How to Care for and Preserve Your Collectibles, Heirlooms, and Other Prized Possessions. 2005.
From the Smithsonian's Senior Conservator, this book takes a more irreverent approach and covers the widest range of materials (including how to preserve your child's macaroni artwork) with sections on the "Museum of You," "Saving Family Stuff," "Pop Culture," and "Preserving Really Valuable Stuff."
Selecting a Conservator
How to choose a qualified conservator from the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works.