Caring for my personal and family records
Many of us may have at home old family letters or records and documents relating to a variety of activities handed down from past generations. You can maximise their chances of surviving in a good condition if you stick to the following guidelines.
What you can do to avoid damage or loss:
Avoid storing records in common household plastics such as bin liners, plastic bags or cling film. These emit harmful gases as they degrade and may also encourage condensation. Protect records from accumulating dust. Advice on suitable suppliers of best quality folders and boxes of appropriate size for storage purposes may be obtained from your local record office. Contact details of such offices can be found on our website in the ARCHON Directory. The Society of Archivists also publishes the Directory of Suppliers
What you can't do:
This is no more than elementay advice. You can find more detailed advice on the care of books, photographs and works of art on paper in the following leaflets. Those caring for more substantial archives should consult our guide on protecting records against disasters. You may seek further expert guidance from staff at your local record office or a conservator who will be able to advise you on the environment in which your records are stored and on the condition of the records and how either may be improved. Further enquiries can also be addressed to National Advisory Services whose staff can draw on other expert advice from within The National Archives as appropriate.
