This document provides tips for preserving family documents and photographs like museums. It explains that while digital storage is convenient, older documents made from materials like vellum and parchment may be deteriorating. Light, humidity that is too high or low, and human contact can all damage documents over time. The document recommends storing documents and photos in acid-free boxes and sleeves large enough to lay flat without bending, and using plastic sleeves in binders with D-rings. Very large documents can be stored in acid-free cylinders that are not rolled too tightly. Following these preservation practices can help protect family history.

1. How to
Preserve your
Documents,
Just Like
Museums
Dr. Linda Ellis

2. INTRODUCTION
Technology has made documenting (print and images) very easy and
convenient. We don’t need to worry about preserving them because of
how they are stored and displayed. For those who live in disaster-
prone areas, storing images and important documents (e.g., insurance
papers) on a tablet, laptop or smartphone is the best way to save and
transport them. However, what about the documents and photographs
passed down to you from your ancestors? They may have been made
of different materials than we use today, and they may be deteriorating.

3. Before the industrial revolution, documents
were made from vellum and parchment as
well as rags of hemp, linen, or cotton.
These materials were costly, which is why
there are fewer of these types of
documents. After the industrial revolution,
paper production switched to using wood
pulp, which didn’t require such special care
and was cheaper to produce.

4. When it comes to preservation, museums know
how to store and handle documents and
photographs. But you can also protect your
family documents and photographs in the very
same way. But before we get into the practices,
we need to know what can damage photos and
documents—“prevention is better than cure”:

5. Moisture/humidity
There must be a proper level of moisture in the air to preserve photographs and
documents—humidity that is both too high (like the eastern half of the US or the Pacific
northwest) or too low (like the southwest US) can be damaging. High humidity causes
paper to swell and buckle and causes mold growth and insect infestations. Low
humidity causes paper and photos to dry out and crack, just like your skin.
Light
Too much light and/or the wrong kind of light can also cause irreversible damage,
especially to photographs. Sunlight, light from photocopiers and scanners, and
high fluorescent lights can cause fading.

6. Humans
We have natural oils and salt on our hands and fingertips as well as
sweat, dirt, bacteria, and residues of soap and food, all of which are
mostly unnoticeable. They can easily transfer onto the document or
photograph and cause stains. Also, cigarette smoke is very
damaging to photos and papers, as well as heirloom quilts too!
Below are some ways museums preserve documents and
photographs that you can also do at home.

7. Store in the
Appropriate
Box
The box should be large
enough to lay the document or
image flat. When laying the
document or image, it should
be secure in the box and not
have the room to shift. The
storage box should also be
lignin-free and acid-free.

8. PLASTIC SLEEVES
If you are storing documents in a binder or an archival album,
select an album with D-rings, so that the documents lay
perfectly flat, and photos and documents are not bent when the
album is open. Make sure the album has large enough rings, so
the sleeves aren’t compressed, and store the album vertically,
not horizontally, so that documents bear no weight from the
other pages. It is recommended to use a polyester L-sleeve.

9. CYLINDERS
Very large documents can be
stored in a cylinder that is acid-
free or lignin-free, but only if you
can easily roll up the document.
The cylinder should be two inches
longer than the width of the
document or photograph. Do not
roll the document too tight, which
can increase bending and
crimping.

10. Museum-quality storage products are easy to obtain. There are
many companies that make and/or sell archival storage supplies
(boxes, plastics, white cotton gloves etc.) that are safe (acid-free,
lignin-free) for all of your valuables, not just documents and
photos.
Here is a helpful website from the National Archives in
Washington, D.C.: https://www.archives.gov/preservation/family-
archives/storing.

11. THANK
YOU FOR
YOUR TIME
To read the blog,
please visit
drlindaellis.org.