Family archives are part of our history. We draw a sense of identity from knowing who we are and where we’ve come from. Archives may include photographs, albums, letters, and important documents.

Handling and storage of our family collections directly impacts how long they last. These guidelines will help you preserve your family archives for future generations.

_{An historical image from the Pacific Islands Education Resource Centre (PIERC) Archives with the first PIERC director, Le Mamea Taulapapa Sefulu Ioane, circa 1970s.}

• Keep similar items together. Mixing photographs with documents or newsprint can lead to discoloration and deterioration. Newspaper is highly acidic and unstable. Photocopy the original clippings onto acid-free paper rather than risking damage.

• Boxes should be acid-free and the right size for the collections you are storing. Too big and items can shift; too small and they will be cramped causing creases, tears or items sticking together. Cardboard boxes, shoe boxes and wood boxes are all acidic. You can use these, but line them fully with acid-free ‘buffered’ paper and change it every few years.

• Paper deteriorates faster when folded. Store paper documents flat or use a limited number of folds. Large items like maps can be rolled and stored in acid-free tubes.

• Choose folders instead of envelopes to reduce damage to the edges and corners of your collections.

• If you are storing your collections on wooden shelving, line or seal it first to prevent acids in the wood transferring to the paper.

• Do not use magnetic or ‘self-adhesive’ albums or scrapbooks. Choose photo corners or pocket albums instead.

• Use a soft 4B pencil to write on documents and photographs instead of ball point or felt pens, which cause indentations and bleeding of dyes. Write on the edges of photos rather than the middle. If you’re mounting them in an album or scrapbook, consider writing on the page next to the photograph.

When on display, place your items vertically and use bookends where possible. Letting books lean on an angle can distort their bindings. Large or heavy books should be stored horizontally. If permanently stored on open shelves, remember to dust the tops regularly to prevent mould growth. 

Store books and albums spine down or horizontally in boxes. When books or albums have broken bindings, use cotton tying tape/ribbon to hold pages together. Avoid using rubber bands – these will degrade and leave stains. 

Magnetic media like cassette tapes, floppy disks, and hard disk drives often have short lifespans of only 10–30 years. These shouldn’t be stored near microwaves, televisions, computers, or other devices that produce a magnetic field. Store tapes vertically, wound all the way to one end, and rewind every five years. 

Do not bend or touch the surface of any magnetic media or optical discs (CDs, etc). Electronic formats corrupt easily and become obsolete quickly. Consider printing or backing up any valuable information onto multiple devices.