Specific Format Preservation
Photos, Newspapers, Books, Scrapbooks and Digital Files
Photographs
Check our general preservation practices page.
Handle properly
- Hold photographs by the edges, and avoid touching the emulsion surface.
- Use clean, lint-free gloves when handling important photographs.
Frame and display properly
- Frame photos carefully using acid-free matting to prevent them from touching the glass.
- Use acid-free backing as well as ultraviolet light-filtering glass, and face framed photographs away from direct light sources to minimize light damage.
- Photographs are especially sensitive to light, so display a copy instead of the original if you can.
Identify your photos
- Note the date, place, event and names of people in each image.
- Do not use ink around photographs. Use a soft pencil to mark the enclosure or page.
- If it is necessary to mark the photograph itself, write with a soft pencil along the edge on the back of the photograph.
Keep your negatives
These are your original master copies and can be used repeatedly to make reprints.
