How to Archive Family Keepsakes

You’ll love this book if:

• You’re helping a parent or loved on downsize to a smaller home
• You want a simple, effective filing system for your genealogy research
• You want to scan and make digital copies of genealogy records
• You’re looking for a way to preserve your family history for future generations

 How to Archive Family Keepsakes gives you step-by-step advice for how to organize, distribute and preserve family heirlooms. It’s full of practical and effective ways to manage boxes of photos, papers and memorabilia inherited from a loved one. Whether you have boxes filled with treasures or are helping a parent or relative downsize to a smaller home, this book will help you organize your family archive and preserve your family history for future generations.

You’ll learn how to:

• Organize the boxes of your parents’ stuff that you inherited
• Decide which family heirlooms to keep
• Donate items to museums, societies, and charities
• Protect and pass on keepsakes
• Create a catalog of family heirlooms
• Organize genealogy files and paperwork
• Digitize family history records
• Organize computer files to improve your research

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the valuable tips you’ll find in How to Archive Family Keepsakes:

• Think twice before attempting any conservation acts involving irreplaceable family artifacts. Transparent tape, plain glue and metal staples are archival enemies. All eat away at the surface of the item they are meant to repair and leave stains, tears and marks when removed.
• Use your digital camera or movie camera to make a visual record of heirloom collections.
• Your computer filing system, like your paper filing system, is only successful if you can find the files you store. Both PC and Mac operating systems include a built-in search feature; learn to use it and start saving time now.