Everyone has a story to tell
Your life is a compelling saga. To those who love you most, and to generations yet to be born, it is as enthralling as a bestseller. It is a composition crafted since before you entered this world—and it is still being written.
The words are there. They are your family stories, your parents' love letters, and your journals in the attic. The images are there too. They are the photographs stuffed in albums, piled in drawers, or packed in your basement.
Each of your photos and documents has a fascinating history, including how and why it survived generations. Will you give these artifacts the care they need to be passed on to your loved ones?
A guide was designed to help you create your legacy. You will learn how to protect your most cherished family treasures using techniques that professionals in the finest museums around the world employ. These solutions are easy, inexpensive, and crafted especially for you.
You and your family will soon enjoy the strengthened relationships, richer communication, and feelings of belonging that preserving memories has brought to thousands of lives.
You will come to understand history as you never did before. You will discover the traits, temperaments, and talents that connect your family through generations. You will realize that you are a member of a much larger group than your immediate family. You are part of history.
Are you ready to preserve your past, enrich your present, and inspire hope for your future? If so, Creating Family Archives: A Step-by-Step Guide for Saving Your Memories for Future Generations is the book for you.
Your Sneak Peek
Creating Family Archives: A Step-by-Step Guide for Saving Your Memories for Future Generations was written by an archivist for you, your family, and friends, taking you step-by-step through the process of arranging and preserving your own family archives. It’s the first book of its kind offered to the public by the Society of American Archivists.
Gathering up the boxes of photos and years of video is a big job. But this fascinating and instructional book will make it easier and—in the end—much better.
How will you remember your life?
The answer depends on how you save your family history materials. After all, this is more than just your “stuff.” It’s your childhood, your wedding day, your family history…your life. Your family papers, photographs, and artifacts are some of your most cherished possessions. They tell the stories of our lives.
However, in our fast-paced lives, our family history documents can be scattered in multiple places, in numerous boxes tucked in a basement, or stored in an attic. They’re disorganized and vulnerable to damage.
I wrote Creating Family Archives: A Step-by-Step Guide for Saving Your Memories for Future Generations after witnessing devastating losses many people experienced regarding their home archives. Natural disasters, pest infestation, poor handling and storage, fires, and floods will always be a threat to your historical collections. I can help you safeguard your memories so you can prevent the loss of these irreplaceable treasures.
What Can You Do With Your Family Archives?
Locate and collect historical records in your family.
Organize and catalog them for their best use and care.
Analyze and interpret the information the sources hold.
Identify and find more information by comparing the sources to books about them.
Care and conserve sources by archival standards to preserve them.
Describe and quote from the sources in your family history narratives.
Illustrate your narratives with images from your archives.
Donate your archives to proper repositories, if you wish.
Only the Essentials
Creating Family Archives: A Step-by-Step Guide for Saving Your Memories for Future Generations is a guide to help you protect your history. Short and easy-to-read, the book tells you exactly what you need to know about preservation.
Archiving is the process of preserving, organizing, and protecting something precious. It applies to materials--both physical and digital—that capture moments and memories. Remember, a family story is more than just names and dates. Documents record personal and professional interactions, and the stories they contain may be of interest to people other than your own family.
Ready to get started creating your family archives? Here are some of my favorite products:
