Preservation and Access to Historic Materials

FREE Preservation resources

• Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts: CCAHA is a nonprofit, full-service facility with experts in a range of disciplines. They have been providing conservation and preservation services since 1977. 
• Digital Preservation Assessment Handbook: A handbook that provides a framework and templates for all components of a digital preservation assessment. Intended for use by cultural heritage consultants and professionals who provide preservation assessment services, this resource was launched in 2019 as one of the products of a Preservation and Access Education and Training grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Download the accompanying templates here: Assessment One-Pager, Pre-Visit Questionnaire, and Assessment Report.
• Digital Preservation Peer Assessment: A workbook that guides two or more institutions in a conversation about digital preservation--successes, obstacles to growth, and next steps for improved long-term access to digital collections. This resource was launched in 2019 as one of the products of a Preservation and Access Education and Training grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

  • Evaluación por pares para la preservación digital. Spanish translation of NEDCC’s Digital Preservation Peer Assessment.

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Library of Congress Personal Archiving Collection: A collection of free resources relating to personal archiving. Topics include digital photographs, digital audio, digital video, electronic mail, personal digital records, and websites. View the general preservation FAQ here.
• Northeast Document Conservation Center: Founded in 1973, NEDCC was the first independent conservation laboratory in the nation to specialize exclusively in treating collections made of paper or parchment, such as works of art, photographs, books, documents, maps, and manuscripts. Today, the Center offers conservation treatment, digital imaging, and audio preservation services, as well as preservation training, assessments and consultations, and disaster advice on collections. NEDCC is a trusted resource worldwide for information on the preservation of paper-based collections.
  • An additional list of additional free resources offered by the NEDCC. 

• National Archives Family Papers: Maybe a relative sent you old letters, certificates, and family photographs and you are not sure what to do. Maybe you’re wondering how to save your child’s pictures and other mementos. These simple tips will help you preserve your family papers and photographs for the next generation.