If your stuff looks disorganized and is spread across different locations

or on the floor, then it is time for an organization project. Even if YOU

know what is in the collection, how will anyone else in the future?

Perhaps more importantly: how will you know what you want to digitize
if you don’t know what you have?

Today I am going to talk to you a little about telling your story through
your historic documents.

I want you to leave today feeling more confident about doing WHAT
YOU CAN.

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View your materials with an eye towards creating a collection that tells a life
story. Create a collection that reflects the personalities, interests, and activities
of your family or organization. Decide what material is repetitive and can be
found elsewhere to help you decide what to keep and what to throw away. For
example: old newspapers about JFK’s assassination are found easily across the
country and do not necessarily tell a story about your family or group. Not
everything needs to be saved. In the archives world, we call the process of
deciding what to keep APPRAISAL.

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You want to try to get over sentimental about your materials. Avoid getting
overly attached to personal materials, like that collection of popsicle sticks
from the third grade that reminds you of your favorite teacher. Organize
without reading every interesting thing that pops up so that you can actually
FINISH your project. Think about how a researcher or your great-great
grandchild might see these materials, so that what they see tells a story about a
life or a group.

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Do not spend a bunch of time re-organizing collections. Sometimes materials
kept the way we received them can tell us a lot about the person who filed
them that way.

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Organize materials in groupings by the person who created them, types of
materials, and dates. Archivists prefer groupings of papers to individual items.
Try to keep family lines and original creators separate. Groupings are another
way to avoid spending too much time describing every single item. Think of
groupings as a filing cabinet. Each drawer has a folder, but you do not describe
every single item in every single folder, do you?

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If you cannot identify photographs or other materials, remove them. There is
little value in keeping photos or documents that cannot be identified. Record
information about materials if it is not already written. Why are these
documents important? Keeping materials in groups can help with
identification as well.

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You will want to assess your materials for any
preservation needs. This does not have to be a major
project -- just do a PHYSICAL INSPECTION and
WRITE DOWN what you need to do!

The most important issues: mold and insects. For minor

mold issues, you can wipe with diluted rubbing alcohol
and let the materials air dry. For major mold issues, it is
recommended that materials be thrown away. You can
risk losing everything to a mold spore infestation!

Insects can be treated at the minor level by

quarantining materials in a sealed plastic bin or bag --
only if the materials are dry and not moldy.

If you can get your collection into boxes and off of the floor, you will be in
great shape for the future. It is recommended that materials stay at least
6" off the floor in case of flooding and pests. Boxes help protect materials
from light, dirt, pests, and serve as a buffer should the temperature or

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humidity change abruptly.

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After your materials are organized and safely stored, consider what might be
missing from your story. Retrieve items from your mother’s attic or a
founder’s garage. Make an effort to find missing materials, and if all else,
consider doing oral history interviews with elders to record memories about
your family or organization.

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