Many thanks to archivist Sarah Hedlund for the great information. As we get older, we find we want to reduce the objects and clutter in our lives and homes. Sarah provided some great tips for organizing and preserving our family documents and photos for future generations. Curate your family collections and do your best to maintain the records and prevent deterioration.
Sarah touched on the importance of “Respect des Fonds”, an archival principle that groups collections by the originator of the collection. So don’t mix those recipes from Grandma, or photos from your great Grandfather with those from another family.
Surprisingly, digitizing is not the magic answer. Have a reason to digitize such as sharing with distant relatives or as a backup preservation. Remember, you need a plan to continually update whichever media you use as storage. For example, do you still have photos and documents on a floppy drive? How do you access them now?
For information on the best way to preserve different types of documents, watch the recording of the presentation on our YouTube channel.