Caring for archives
At its most basic, looking after archives is about ensuring they are safe and protected from extreme temperatures and humidity, wherever and whatever they are. For larger archives the expected levels of care for different types of material are set out in The National Archives' Standard for Record Repositories. Here we provide you with guidance and other sources of advice on caring for archives.
The National Archives' Standard for Record Repositories (PDF, 0.09Mb)
Guidance on caring for archives can be found in the following National Archives documents:Archive Principles and Practice (PDF, 0.29Mb)
Protecting archives and manuscripts against disasters (PDF, 0.05Mb)
Other sources of advice
- Collection care runs a programme of preventative conservation measures to minimise risks to collections
- If you have valuable items in need of care and repair, you can ask a specialist paper or book conservator for advice
- Collections Link provides practical advice on everything to do with collections in museums, archives, libraries and galleries
- Read our frequently asked questions about digital preservation
- The Library of Congress provides information on collections care and personal archiving
- The British Library Preservation Advisory Centre supports the preservation of library and archive collections of all types
- The National Security Service gives free advice to cultural venues about standards of security for loans and exhibitions. The priority is to establish that venues which wish to make use of the Government's Indemnity Scheme are able to meet appropriate security standards
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