Document Preservation with The Archive Lady - Melissa Barker

[@dianapocalypse]

Did you catch last week's video leading up to this one? No worries if not! You can go back and watch it now! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWSkl4inj5hpqdU -Diana, Genealogy TV Team

[@vanessaclark9303]

This was one of the best episodes. I knew almost nothing about this topic. I have several documents I need to work on now. Especially my grandmother’s original land grant certificate from the Dawes Commission where she got her land as a member of the Chickasaw tribe when Oklahoma Territory became a state in 1905. It’s framed on the wall, and I thought putting it behind archival glass was sufficient. It will be coming out of that frame today.

[@GenealogyTV]

Yes... Melissa is good. Thanks for supporting the channel Vanessa.

[@miiigoreng]

The most comprehensive sharings i've come across! Thanks 🙏 Years ago, i dipped into the collections of vintage print advertisements. Seeking means to do better

[@cathyhughes991]

I recently donated my mother-in-laws wedding gown to the historical society in the city in which she lived. It was handmade from China silk brought back by her then fiancé from France after the war. They were happy to receive it. I also gave a financial donation towards conservation.

[@GenealogyTV]

Nice!

[@lisareed5669]

Love seeing the actual products.

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks

[@iamjoyism]

I found my husband's Grandfathers Graduations announcement from 1930 yesterday.

[@GenealogyTV]

Yay! Congratulations.

[@clairemoniz4341]

This was so useful! I have my great great grandfather's Civil War discharge certificate and pension papers. I also have my great grandparents' wedding certificate. I've been wondering how to best preserve them. Thanks for the information!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks!

[@wildchook745]

Wonderful tips from Melissa. Great video, Connie.

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks so much!

[@AncestryNerd]

Awesome! I have always wondered how to perseve old documents and pictures. I have old postcards from 1890-1915 that were made by my 1C5R in Prussia. I just ordered some of the Polyethylene sleeves for vintage postcards and sponges using your Amazon link. I'm so excited. I think I'll post a before and after results from using the sponge! I already have an archive box but hadn't thought of putting my postcard collection in there. I was just showing my in-laws the post cards this morning. Happy to learn how to perserve these precious documents in a dark closet in a waterproof box in an archival box in a sleeve 😍😄😂

[@GenealogyTV]

Excellent!

[@brendasparks2642]

This is so amazing! I know Irene! And I work in Syracuse NY.

[@GenealogyTV]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@BillTxn]

I have used archival boxes for a couple of decades to store old family photos and many watercolor paintings that my late father created. Boxes of that type can be found in the links in the show notes.

[@GenealogyTV]

Thank you Bill... and thanks for the support.

[@nkbbrigger3359]

Thank you so much for all this information.

[@GenealogyTV]

You are so welcome!

[@josephrosenberg4301]

This was an absolutely amazing video, thank you so much. I recently found paperwork, documents and some photos from my rescue squad going back to the 1930's. Now I know how to preserve them a lot better and different ways to donate them if or when the time comes. Keep doing what you do, you rock!

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the compliments. I will keep on producing video. It's too much fun not to.

[@LindaSchreiber]

Marvelous discussion!!!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thank you

[@kathleenkelley1299]

Great information and tips from Melissa. Thanks

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks Kathleen.

[@rachelberwick7290]

Thank you for thinking of preserving it when family interest has ended! As the child who grew up loving research and family history I would love to have many family items have been gotten rid of because no one wanted them. Of coarse, this is 3 + generations later. Thank you Connie an Melissa for all the great information, I have been trying to figure out the best way to keep a civil war document and frame that I do have and now I think I have a plan.

[@GenealogyTV]

Awesome!

[@LJHYND]

Such a cool story and great advice from Melissa. Love this!

[@GenealogyTV]

Super. Thanks.

[@L1...]

Very informative video.

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad it was helpful!

[@elainefiveland1462]

So interesting and good to know. Thanks! To digitize it, I would definitely go to a quality office store that can do the flatbed scanning. I am not sure I would try this at home!

[@jveebklyn1644]

Some years ago the Smithsonian was providing grants to libraries to purchase high end scanning equipment. It was available for cardholder use at one of the branch libraries once you had completed a training class. Melissa's suggestion to contact a county or state archivist was a good one.

[@GenealogyTV]

Agreed

[@JolieBlanchardBrown]

Excellent ideas and advice.

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks

[@lynl2532]

Thank you for this video, it has been very helpful. I have a small fridge, occasionally used at Christmas. As we have underfloor heating, I’m wondering if it would be ok to store archived papers in there?

[@GenealogyTV]

You want a cool dry place with ventilation. I’m not sure that would be wise. I’d worry about mold.

[@lynl2532]

@@GenealogyTV Thank you Connie, I should have thought of that. I think my brain went AWOL for a while :-).

[@martihastoolittletime1204]

I would add that when scanning anything, no matter the original "color", scan at full color, never black and white. Will add that in my husband's family, a Church rummage sale sold a framed religious picture that someone bought for the old frame. They took the whole thing apart and found a folded note signed by husband's great aunt who died in 1986 at the age of 99. The person recognized her name and knew my husband's family so gave all of it back to the family. Family members remember always seeing that framed religious picture hanging over the aunt's bed in her bedroom, and figure when she moved into the nursing home at age 95, it must have been given away to charity or something. Long story short the note gave the name and birthdate of her illegitimate son born and given up for adoption in 1904. The family never knew anything about this child and the great aunt never married or had any other children. Through DNA a cousin was able to reconnect with that son's descendants and we had a wonderful family reunion.

[@GenealogyTV]

Wow! What a great story! YES always look in the back of pictures!

[@suellenw561]

I asked someone if the archival sponge is the same as one for cleaning dust after sanding a piece of wood before applying the next coat. I never received an answer. But when I look up "archival sponge" and "paint cleaning sponge," a lot of the same sponges are shown. If they are indeed the same, you might be able to find one locally at a GOOD paint store. You probably won't find the same kind at Home Depot and such places. I know because we tried. I believe we bought it at a Benjamin Moore Paints store after searching almost every place in town.

[@GenealogyTV]

Interesting tip. Just be careful with those old documents.

[@suellenw561]

@@GenealogyTV I haven't preserved any documents. I just used them for painting walls. But just in case I do find something to restore, good warning.

[@mikeshawn5298]

Loved the video. I was really excited to learn about the archival dry eraser. One reported use is for cleaning books. I almost bought some then noticed they are made from natural rubber. While they claim to be non-toxic, I fear the rubber dust they leave behind can be an allergy trigger. Are you aware of any allergy testing with this product?

[@GenealogyTV]

Not that I know of v

[@GregKleist]

I noticed that the "dirt eraser" looks very similar to the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Could that be used on the document (dry, of course)?

[@fishinwidow35]

They are very different. I use those dirt erasers on porcelain dolls

[@GenealogyTV]

I don't think that is wise. Mr. Clean leaves a while dusty film.

[@fables4564]

How does one preserve military uniforms? Any tips and advice?

[@GenealogyTV]

I would contact The Archive Lady Melissa Barker for advice. She has a Facebook Page here facebook.com/TheArchiveLady

[@cindycarrasco2383]

Connie, question for on this video on conserving documents...can this be done with very old photos as well. I just received many old and I mean old family photos from my Aunt...the photos were my Paternal Grandmother and Grandfather's lines so I want to preserve them and also scan to send to my cousins who are also into genealogy as well. I was curious if this would work with old photos too? Thanks for all your videos in support all of us amateur genies.

[@GenealogyTV]

I've recently started using a new scanner I really like for very old documents. It will be featured in next weeks video (early release for channel members). It's part of the Vivid Pix Bundle. The great thing about this scanner is it doesn't touch the document or photo. You can see it here if you want to see what I'm talking about. genealogytv.org/sponsors/

[@suz0000]

I have my grandmother’s baptismal certificate from 1897, the closest thing to a birth certificate, since there doesn’t seem to be one. It’s been rolled up for probably 100 years. What is the best way to flatten it or should I? I’d like to put it into one of those archival sleeves.

[@GenealogyTV]

Good question. Melissa addressed this question in another episode here at about 19:05 into the video. I had asked her about uncurling photographs, but she also talks about documents. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4jWfWChqpqomtE

[@suellenbowersock4335]

Would encapsulated in glass be good?

[@GenealogyTV]

I'm not an expert at archiving... but my concern with glass is trapping moisture inside.

[@sparta9472]

can you laminate these old documents or would that somehow damage them... because lamination totally encapsulates them , usually even moisture cannot get in to them

[@GenealogyTV]

I would not. I would seek the advice of a professional before doing anything other than putting them in acid free preservation materials.

[@sparta9472]

@@GenealogyTV ok Thank you !

[@gailsewsquilts1529]

Do you live in NJ? I'm in Bordentown. Just starting my genealogy journey

[@GenealogyTV]

Welcome to Genealogy TV! No I don't live in NJ. But this episode is more about this marriage certificate, which inspired this video you just watched. Since you live there, you might get a kick out of this story. 1870s Marriage Certificate Found in Thrift Shop: The Whole Story kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWSkl4inj5hpqdU

[@Esiddik]

Any thoughts on lamination ?

[@GenealogyTV]

Don’t do it. Use proper archival methods.

[@Esiddik]

@@GenealogyTV noted thank you

[@em4steam896]

I have a 1880 tintype of my ancestor on a farm. But I'm afraid to have someone make a photo of it because of the threat of damaging it or losing it. I have tried taking a photo of it with my smart phone but it doesn't turn out that clear. I am wanting to make the picture bigger , so it is easier to see my ancestors. It's not faded bad. Just the people are in a distance. Any suggestions?

[@GenealogyTV]

You need a high resolution scan. Check out Maureen Taylor the Photo Detective. She is an expert in this area.

[@desertpatient]

How does one save a old paper back book (200 pages--When New Mexico Was Young")from circa 1900, Thank you

[@GenealogyTV]

In an acid free box. Go online and Google archival materials and you’ll find plenty of companies that offer acid free boxes. You can have them custom-made specific to the size of the book.

[@desertpatient]

@@GenealogyTV Thank you very much for your reply. Might you know of a place that might digitize the whole book? I live in Southern California.

[@GenealogyTV]

Oh. Sorry I misunderstood your question. I know that the FamilySearch folks were doing this at RootsTech.

[@desertpatient]

@@GenealogyTV Thanks bunches. Might you have a contact? And again, thank you for taking the time with me. It seems every time I get started again on my genealogy, life gets in the way...I am trying to learn.

[@GenealogyTV]

@@desertpatient You can contact us through the Contact tab at genealogytv.org/contact/

[@warflowersociety]

The dog ate my homework regarding the comment about pets. I had a kitten that loved to eat toilet paper and play with the roll. He then discovered my tote where I kept old census, vitals, etc. It was also in my closet. He still managed to get in and into the tote and eat the sides off of some census copies and papers a cousin sent me. Thankfully nothing else. Temperature is also super important. (These are just part of the reason why I'm scanning and uploading to wikitree to the ancestor. Time is not friendly to paper.) I unfortunately had to keep my crates of documents in a storage unit that wasn't temperature controlled. Surprisingly, photos, including civil war were not damaged. However, the death book from my baby uncle, all the pages are wrinkled an the binding of the leather gold gilded box it rested in, also cracked some. Images can be scanned and put online but that, can't. Besides it being relevant to family history it is also funeral history. Didn't have any other option at the time and the pages were a different style paper, so I'm still not certain what can be done, other than keep it safe and don't mess with it. Something I've noticed that helps: Larger Rubbermaid Crate, place inside a large cardboard box or line it with cardboard to absorb possible moisture, inside that, organize and label smaller plastic totes and keep documents, photos, etc. as stated in this video. Photos can always be scanned and printed and framed. The originals should be stored just like documents. Light, dust, or the glass breaking and cutting up the photo along with climate can affect them. Then, if you are comfortable with doing so, the originals can be donated to a historical society along with perhaps a thumb drive of all scans so that there is less handling of. Just some thoughts/ideas based on experiences I've had the misfortune of. P.S. a thumb drive with old family photos sent to family makes a great holiday gift, just include a notepad file on it of what and who is included. It's a good way to ensure all we are trying to preserve stays so.

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks for the comments. I agree... a storage unit is very hard on family documents and photo... as well as pets. Herei another episode about archiving that goes into more detail from The Archive Lady. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4jWfWChqpqomtE

[@pepperspot805]

I would consider donating to the Mormon Church if you can't find anywhere else

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks

[@roberthopgood1894]

Why do archivists use TIFF format?

[@GenealogyTV]

Because it is a lossless format as opposed to jpg which is a lossy format. This means that a Tiff file is a higher quality image.

[@roberthopgood1894]

@@GenealogyTV Then PNG (It is the most frequently used uncompressed raster image format on the internet. This lossless data compression format was created to replace the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF)) would be acceptable?

[@AncestryNerd]

@@GenealogyTV Good to know about the TIFF file. I will be downloading images in TIFF as much as possible from now on. I just got a flatbed scanner too.

[@EMPPT]

@@AncestryNerd Be sure to check your storage capacity first, because of its lossless quality TIFF files can get quite heavy.

[@GenealogyTV]

Good point

[@fishinwidow35]

You can always donate the leftover sleeves and folders to your local historical society

[@GenealogyTV]

Great idea!

[@jillianlea9690]

Call me crazy hut i have an 1892 catalog. im going to try and conserve myself . I know, im a complete rebel and donnot reccomend 😅😅😅

[@clairemclendon3150]

Yy

[@GenealogyTV]

??