Preserving and Scanning Family Papers, Bibles and Photos
How to store, handle and digitize family documents and photographs so they last another hundred years, without expensive equipment.
The family Bible, a bundle of letters, a discharge certificate, a box of photographs: these may be the only copies in the world. Paper and photographs are fragile, and the biggest threats are common ones, like heat, damp, light, and well-meant tape and glue. A few simple steps will protect them for generations.
The basics of safe storage
- Keep them where you live. Store family papers in a closet or room inside the main part of the house. Attics, basements, garages and storage units have extreme temperatures and humidity that destroy paper and photographs.
- Keep them dark. Light fades photographs and yellows paper. Don't display originals in sunlight; frame a copy instead.
- Keep them stable. Moderate, steady temperature and humidity are best. Avoid places near heaters, air vents and outside walls.
- Keep them away from water. Store boxes off the floor and away from pipes.
Use archival supplies
Ordinary cardboard, envelopes and plastic can damage what they hold over time. Look for supplies labeled:
- Acid-free and lignin-free for boxes, folders and paper
- "Passed the PAT" (Photographic Activity Test) for photo sleeves and boxes
- Polyester, polypropylene or polyethylene sleeves, never PVC (which smells like a new shower curtain)
Archival suppliers sell these online, and many craft stores carry acid-free boxes and sleeves.
What to remove, carefully
- Rubber bands, paper clips and staples, which rust, crumble and stain
- Old "magnetic" photo albums with sticky pages and plastic overlays, which damage photos over time. If photos come out easily, move them to archival sleeves. If they're stuck, leave them and scan them in the album; forcing them can tear them.
- Tape: don't try to remove old tape yourself from valuable items; consult a conservator.
Unfold letters and documents gently if they're flexible. If paper is brittle and cracks when you try, stop and leave it folded.
Handling
Handle items with clean, dry hands, and hold photographs by the edges. Cotton gloves are often recommended for photographs, but can make it harder to handle fragile paper safely; clean hands are fine for most documents. Never use pens near originals, and write identifications lightly in soft pencil on the back of photo mounts, or on sleeves and folders.
Family Bibles
Family Bibles often record births, marriages and deaths, sometimes the only record of them. Photograph or scan the family record pages and the title page (which shows when the Bible was printed). Note whether the entries appear to have been written at the time of each event, in different inks and hands, or all at once later, which affects how reliable they are. Store the Bible flat or upright with support, in a box, not on a shelf in the sun.
Scanning and photographing
Digital copies protect the originals from handling and let you share them with the whole family.
- Use a flatbed scanner for loose photos and documents. Avoid sheet-fed scanners for fragile items.
- Scan photos at 600 dpi or higher, and small photos (like tintypes or tiny snapshots) at 1200 dpi or more, so you can enlarge them later.
- Save master files as TIFF (or high-quality JPEG if space is tight), and don't edit the masters. Make edited copies for sharing.
- Scan the back too, especially if there's writing or a studio imprint.
- For bound books and oversized items, photograph them with a phone or camera in even, indirect daylight, holding the camera parallel to the page.
Name and describe your files
A thousand files named "IMG_0042" are nearly as lost as the originals. Use descriptive names, like 1912_Miller-John-and-Mary_wedding.tif. Add who, what, when and where in the file's description or a spreadsheet, and record where the original is kept.
Back up: the 3-2-1 rule
Keep three copies of your digital files, on two different kinds of storage (such as your computer and an external drive), with one copy off-site or in the cloud. And share copies with relatives, the oldest backup system there is. See Owning Your Research.
Planning for the future
Decide who will receive your originals and research, and write it down. Many family papers are thrown away because no one knew they mattered. If no family member wants them, local historical societies, state archives and libraries may welcome documents of historical interest.