Preserving Your Family Papers and Photographs

Loading Events

Join Sarah Hedlund from the Montgomery History Speaker’s Bureau on September 8th at 7:00 p.m. when she explains the basics of organizing and preserving your family’s documents and photographs. Sarah is the archivist and librarian for Montgomery History’s Jane C. Sween Research Library and Special Collections. 

Every family has papers and photographs sitting around—dad’s letters from the war, mom’s recipe cards and photo albums, various diplomas and certificates from three generations, diaries, scrapbooks—what do you DO with all this stuff? How do you know what to keep and what’s okay to let go? And how can you continue to preserve your family’s story for future generations?   

Sarah will focus on proper storage and conservation techniques that you can implement at home, as well as advice on knowing when to call in a professional. 

Sarah Hedlund holds a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland with a specialization in archives and digital curation. She joined the staff at Montgomery History in the fall of 2016 as Archivist for the Montgomery County Archives, later adding the title of Librarian and Archivist for the Jane C. Sween Research Library and Special Collections in 2017. She has worked as a contract archivist for Ellis Conservation and the Town of Glen Echo, and before that worked as a graduate assistant archivist for the University of Maryland, and at the Archives Center in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Previously, acting as both archivist and researcher, she authored a 75th-anniversary commemorative history of the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Sarah moved to Rockville, Maryland in 2015, after working in Michigan for 20 years as a professional violinist and music teacher. 

Go to Top