Additional Resources

What to Save

Creating Family Archives: A Step-by-step Guide to Saving Your Memories for Future Generations by Margot Note, published by the Society of American Archivists.

My History Is America’s History: 15 Things You Can Do to Save America’s Stories, a 104-page publication of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

How to Save It

American Institute for Conservation 
The best source to help you find a conservator in your area is the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. The AIC is the national membership organization for the conservation profession in the United States. It plays a leadership role in setting professional standards, promoting research in the field, and providing reliable resources for the public.

AIC’s website will help you learn what questions to ask potential conservators and what to expect when working with them. In the section titled “Finding a Conservator,” you can use their simple questionnaire to help you locate conservators in your geographical area who specialize in particular materials, such as documents, furniture, costumes, or paintings.

Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts 
The Conservation Center specializes in the treatment of art and historic artifacts on paper. Established in 1977, CCAHA is one of the largest non-profit regional conservation labs in the country.

Image Permanence Institute
The Image Permanence Institute (IPI) is a recognized world leader in the development and deployment of sustainable practices for the preservation of images through research, education, products, and services.

Library of Congress
This website provides simple instructions, as well as links to more comprehensive information for “Preparing, Protecting, Preserving” many types of family treasures.

Northeast Document Conservation Center 
The NEDCC is a nonprofit, regional conservation center specializing in the preservation of paper-based materials. NEDCC serves libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and other collections-holding institutions, as well as private collections.

Society of American Archivists 
The Society of American Archivists is North America's oldest and largest national archival professional association. SAA's mission is to serve the educational and informational needs of more than 5,000 individual and institutional members and to provide leadership to ensure the identification, preservation, and use of records of historical value.