Your family heritage and personal collections are precious to you and to future generations and the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate wants to help you preserve these mementos in the best way possible. As you continue to collect and create these treasure troves, this website provides ideas for creation and steps to protect and extend the life of your treasures.
This website provides simple instructions, as well as links to more comprehensive information for “Preparing, Protecting, Preserving” many types of family treasures. Using this information, you will have the means to prepare ahead of time, to protect everyday, and if need be to preserve your family treasures after a disaster. Proper care, handling and storage of your treasures will help to ensure that they are available for generations to come.
The "Family Treasures" web pages were created through generous support from the American Library Association (ALA) Carnegie-Whitney Award and from the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate.
Preparing Your Family Treasures
Plan ahead to ensure that your collection will be treasured for future generations. Details to success include location, storage, insurance and an emergency plan.
Protecting Your Family Treasures Every Day
No one likes to think about disasters, whether natural or man made, but thinking ahead and preparing, together with knowledge about first steps, can save those family treasures from ruin.
Preserving Treasures After a Disaster
After a disaster passes, know what steps to take first.
Preserving Memories: Creating a Family Time Capsule
A time capsule is a collection of objects put together to preserve the memory of a place, experience, or group of people at one point in time. People often make time capsules for special public occasions and for others to open many years in the future.
Need Help?
The Preservation Directorate is not permitted to provide advice nor appraisals for personal collections. The links below will help connect you with someone in your area who can help.
Additional Resources
Other areas on the Preservation web site provide additional more indepth information that may prove helpful with with your personal collections.
- Caring for your Collections - provides more detailed information based on the type of media (book, paper, photograph, film, etc.)
- Emergency Prepareness - provides more detailed information on insurance and preparing for and recovering from disasters.
- Supply Catalog - describes and illustrates products used to house (i.e., store) collections (folders, boxes, polyster film). Included are common sizes available and construction and durability requirements.
