January 5, 2024
It’s the first of the year, and many people are making New Year’s Resolutions. Genealogists are no exception; almost all of us have goals we’d like to accomplish. Identifying some of those goals and putting them in the form of a resolution may help spur us into taking concrete steps toward achieving them.
Personally, I’ve decided that this is the year that I finally get serious about organizing and perhaps scanning some of those old photos that have been languishing in boxes for years. Rather than making a lot of resolutions that will overwhelm me, this is the only resolution I’m making this year. Hopefully, this will goad me into action. I’m tired of feeling guilty every time I look at the unsorted boxes. If you’re in the same situation, you may want to make a similar resolution.
Even if you’re not ready for a deep dive into your old photos, a mini resolution might be to make sure that your photos are stored in a safe location. A damp basement or hot attic are not the ideal storage spots for pictures. A closet shelf or other out-of-the-sun spot that doesn’t experience sharp temperature changes would be better.
While you’re moving your storage boxes to new storage spots, make sure that the boxes and files are made of archival-safe materials. Old shoeboxes or grocery cartons are not acid-free and could contribute to the deterioration of photos. Even many plastics are not safe and may react with the inks of your pictures.
Also, make sure that none of your photos are in those stick-on albums with plastic covers for each page. Those materials can quickly destroy photos. If you are removing photos from albums, take a snapshot of each page before you remove the pictures. The original arrangement of photos can provide clues as to the identities of the subjects.
If any other documents are stored with your photos, it’s important to give them separate folders or sleeves of their own. The paper in these documents can adversely affect photographs. Be especially careful to put newspaper clippings into separate files. Newsprint decays rapidly and can adversely affect anything stored next to it.
If you’re wondering where to begin, a good beginning tutorial on preserving photographs is available at the American Library Association website at https:///www.ala.org/alcts/preservationweek/howto/photos .
Acid-free, archival quality photo sleeves and boxes are readily available online.
Once your photos are in safe storage conditions, scanning them is the next step. You can do this yourself or have a professional do it for you. Cost and time will be the deciding factors. Your time or your wallet may not allow you to take this next step immediately. Now that they are stored in conditions that will preserve them long term, scanning is not as immediately urgent.
If you don’t get around to finish scanning everything, remember that a partial resolution accomplished is better than none.
Carol Stetser
Researcher