Of all your personal memories, photographs may have the most value to individuals and families. Photographs can provide irreplaceable information and chances are high that at least some of your photo albums, boxes of photos and now digital photos will remain of interest for a long time. Saving traditional and digital photographs for future access – including passing on to future generations – require different types of care.
While information that documents the lives of people and their families has value, keeping it over time is hard. Paper documents get moldy; home movies fade; photographs are lost through fires and other calamities. The problem grows even bigger for digital information, which depends on layers of highly changeable software and equipment. And, as digital technology is still new, there is currently limited information available about preservation practices for non-specialists.
ABOUT PRESERVATION WEEK
Preservation Week activities raise awareness of the role libraries and other cultural institutions play in providing sound preservation information. In addition, Preservation @ your Library: Pass it On! is an opportunity to inspire action to preserve collections - in libraries, archives, and museums, of course, but especially the items held and loved by individuals, families, and communities.
Memories and treasures should last a lifetime and be passed on to future generations. The memories and treasures of individuals, families, and communities are essential to our record of this process - they contribute to our understanding of history and its participants just as collections in libraries, museums, and archives do.