Many thanks to our fantastic speaker, Kathy Stone and our audience, including Ann Rockley, Bill Moore, Jane Chapman, Jennifer Jones, Kyla Bayang, and Linda Teather. Our wonderful audience today was treated to an incredibly useful summary of archival tools, insights, and perspectives from an expert who has dealt not only with museum-quality materials but also the practical trade-offs of preserving family artifacts.
Today’s episode focuses on a topic not yet covered in the RootsTech conference program, at the foundation of almost every family’s collection: the physical materials among the inherited stuff.
The topic came up in the context of her epic program in December when Projectkin members Jill Swenson, Linda Teather, Dr. Mary M. Marshall, Ellen Thompson-Jennings, Jayme Blenkarn, and Paula Collins stepped up to share postcards in their family collections. Looking at these incredible items and the memories they held reminded us of the importance of preserving them properly. Postcards slip into that sometimes uncomfortable space between museum-quality artifact and cheap souvenir. As we quickly learned, one can damage the other.
At the conclusion of her talk, there was an offline discussion of programming at RootsTech as it related to archiving. There are few sessions tailored to this, just one class surfaced:
An Archivist’s Guide to Preserving and Managing Your Family Treasures
with Katharine Korte Andrew (includes a syllabus for the talk).
Kathy additionally recommended a vendor talk from
How to Save and Share Your Genealogy Research and Memories for Generations with Glen Meakem of Forever.com. No syllabus was provided.
The following are resources and references Kathy mentioned in her talk. Though many of the listed blogs and videos can be provided by vendors, they’re offered without affiliate or sponsored links.
Archival Resources & References
Archival Methods
ArchivalMethods.com/blog/how-to-begin-to-preserve-your-family-archive
ArchivalMethods.com/blog/postcards-archival-care-for-preservation
ArchivalMethods.com/blog/how-to-store-old-letters-and-documents
ArchivalMethods.com/blog/archival-definitions-acid-free-buffered-unbuffered
From Archival Methods’ YouTube channel @ArchivalMethods:
Gaylord
Certifications for Permanence
(“Acid-free”, lignin-free, etc.)
Image Permanence Institute rit.edu/ipi
Photographic Activity Test rit.edu/ipi/photographic-activity-test
ISO 18916 iso.org/standard/84731.html
Photographic Activity Tests of Various Adhesives
resources.culturalheritage.org/pmgtopics/2013-volume-fifteen/61-T15_Down_et_al.pdf
Canadian Sources
Resources for Postcards
siarchives.si.edu/history/featured-topics/postcard/postcard-history
library.ualberta.ca/peel/postcards/the-postcard-a-brief-history
southpeacearchives.org/blog/the-art-of-postcards-history-in-the-mail
joycetice.com/johnson/catalog/rppc.html (Exaggerated Postcards)
About Kathy
With her decades of experience as a professional photo organizer, Kathy always has another special insight to get us through it. Learn more about Kathy’s Coaching.
As Projectkin, we’re here to help families tell their stories in any form. I feel strongly that our collections of photos and other artifacts are key to our memories and, in turn, our stories.
If you think this post might interest a friend or colleague, why not just pass it along? These are public posts, and our events are free.
You can also bring your friend along to join us at our next Kathy’s Corner event. See our calendar for upcoming events. We’ve partnered with Geneabloggers in the RootsTech Ride Along this year. Please visit our joint site at RideAlongPartners.org to learn more.
