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Bench setups compared for family archive work, from paper to textiles
A mixed family collection needs one bench that changes shape, not three. Here is how each setup is laid out for paper, photographs and textiles.
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Cellulose nitrate in family collections: recognize it before you store it
How to spot cellulose nitrate in old family objects by date, look, smell, and trade names, and how to store it ventilated, cool and labeled.
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Building a family archive emergency kit: before the crisis, not during it
Kit for the emergency you have not had yet: emergencies become disasters when nobody prepared. The short household kit, the one-page plan, and who to call.
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Storing home archive supplies: where board, tissue and foam go, and what the grab bag holds
How to store mat board, tissue, folders, foam and sleeves so they stay usable, plus what to keep in a grab bag for records you cannot replace.
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Home setup for digitizing family cassettes: deck, cleaning, and audio routing to a computer
Set up a playback deck, clean the tape path, route audio into a computer, set safe levels, and store family cassettes and captured files at home.
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Digitizing Family Oral Histories: A Workflow from Interview to Digital File
A step-by-step workflow for digitizing family oral histories, from recorder setup and consent notes to file naming, transcription, and safe storage.
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Measuring tools for a home archive, compared for a first-time buyer
A first-time buyer's comparison of hygrometers, light meters and moisture meters, and which measuring tools a home archive should actually own.
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Oral history recording gear for family archives: what to buy first in 2027
Which recorder, microphone, and room setup to buy first for family oral history interviews in 2027, from XLR handhelds to dynamic mics and soft-room treatment.
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Home archive shelving: line the wood or replace the unit
Home archive shelving decides what the boxes sit on. How to choose between lining bare wood and buying steel, and what upkeep each choice asks of you.
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4 things to check in photo restoration services
What to specify when you have new prints made from family photographs, and how to identify a glass plate before anybody scans, cleans or handles it.
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St. John's and Halifax storage compared for wet Atlantic family collections
Atlantic Canada archive storage compared: how damp, salt air and heating shape family papers in St. John's, Halifax, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.
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Archives of Ontario, BC Archives and seven more compared for family record requests
Provincial archives compared for family records: holdings, search fees, copying charges and request forms across Ontario and British Columbia.
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Work surfaces compared: where archive handling mistakes actually happen
Four work surfaces compared for archive handling, showing which mistakes happen on each and what to check before you lay fragile material down.
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Archive materials fail quietly: plastics and rubber damage from the inside
Materials that quietly cause the damage: some of the worst things in a family collection are the storage materials themselves, degrading plastics and rubber.
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A detection and containment checklist for archive mistakes before they spread
Kit for finding problems before they spread: the monitoring and containment kit for a home archive, what to buy for detection, what isolation actually requires.
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Family history organization storage: what to keep apart
Family history organization storage: keep incompatible materials apart, support books upright, and give textiles and objects their own boxes and labels.
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Family Collection Numbering: Schemes Compared and File Naming Rules
It compares five numbering schemes for a family collection, names software tied to some, and gives file naming rules plus answers to common questions.
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A first kit for a family archive, and what it leaves out in 2027
The short list of supplies that earns its place on a family archive first pass, in buying order, plus the equipment worth delaying until you know the size.
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Photo digitization at home: resolution and consistency
How the National Archives frames resolution, why consistent settings matter, and what to record when preparing a home photo-scanning workflow.
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Work surfaces for sorting a family archive: the 2027 view
Choosing a table for archive work: size, height, light and the rules about food, drink and pens that make a household surface behave like a reading room.
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Photo digitization at home: setting up a scanning station, and what it costs for 2027
A home scanning station costs between a few hundred and a few thousand dollars in 2027, depending on the scanner, the bench and the supplies you choose.
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Document Preservation Comparison: Household Storage Risks
This document preservation comparison covers household risks from water, light, folding and access, plus separating working papers from historic records.
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Acid-free, buffered, inert: reading the labels on archive supplies
Family archives materials: what the words on archival packaging mean, where lignin and alum-rosin sizing come from, and when buffered storage is the wrong choice.
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Photo digitization formats and disc handling rules for a lasting family archive
How to choose open, widely supported formats for scans and apply disc handling and storage rules that protect a family photo collection over time.
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4 parts of memory display storage, explained
Storing framed pieces and textiles between rotations: where display items go when they come off the wall, vertical screens for frames, flat storage for textiles.
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Glazing, matboard and hinges for memory display, compared for a first frame
Glazing, matboard and hinges for a first frame, with the named products and acid-free tape worth comparing before you spend anything on a display.
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Document preservation buying: what to get first for family papers in 2027
What to buy first for family papers: folders, boxes and interleaving in buying order, plus the honest answer on old scrapbooks, box them, copy them.
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What to buy first for a photo archive, paper or plastic, buffered or neutral
What to buy first for a photograph collection: paper or plastic, buffered or neutral, sleeve or envelope, how to choose photograph enclosures.