Preservation Programs - National Archives · Meet Preservation Programs Four units work together in...

Did You Know?• TheNationalArchiveshasarchivesfacilities,Federalre-

cords centers, and Presidential libraries in 44 facilities

acrossthecountryfromWashington,DC,toAnchorage,

AK,andfromWaltham,MA,toCollegeStation,TX.

• TheNationalArchivespermanentholdingsgroweach

yearandincludeover• 4millioncubicfeetofpaper,photographs, maps,audio,video,art,andfilmrecords• 150terabytesofelectronicrecords• 550,000artifacts

• Wehost an annualPreservationConference that ex-

plores topics ranging fromdigitizingrecords tocon-

servationtreatmenttocollectionspreservationinthis

timeofclimatechangeandeconomictransition.

• We participate actively in developing national and

international standards, working with the American

NationalStandardsInstitute(ANSI),theInternational

OrganizationforStandardization(ISO),andothers.

• PreservationProgramsoffersfellowships,internships,

andvolunteeropportunitiesinconservation,holdings

care,andpreservationscience.

• NARAisarecipientoftheprestigiousHeritagePres-

ervation/American Institute forConservationAward

forOutstandingCommitmenttothePreservationand

CareofCollections.

Cover image detail: Sail drawing of the USS Constitution (19-4-43)

Preservation ProgramsNationalArchivesandRecordsAdministration

8601AdelphiRoad,Room2800

CollegePark,Maryland20740-6001•301-837-0633

preservation@nara.govTolearnaboutpreservationandourprograms,pleasevisit:

www.archives.gov/preservation/

NationalArchivesPreservation

PreservationattheNationalArchiveshttp://preservearchives.tumblr.com/

FollowusonTwitter:PreservationatNARA@archivespres

PRESERVATION PROGRAMSThe goal of Preservation Programs is to ensure that the

recordsofourgovernmentareappropriatelypreservedso

theywillbeavailableforuse.Weworkwithstaffacrossthe

NationalArchives(NARA)tosupportandfurtherpreser-

vation.You’ll find Preservation Programs staff at work—

preparinghistoricdocumentsfordisplay,rescuingburned

militaryrecords,preservingelectronicrecords,advisingon

designof storage and exhibition spaces, or protecting re-

cordsinemergencies.Weserveasaresourceandofferguid-

anceonthewiderangeofmediainNARA’sholdings—from

paperandelectronicrecordstoartifactsandspecialmedia.

Prevention Is Our PriorityPreservation Programs develops and applies preventive

strategies to avoid damage to records.We know that the

earlier preservationmeasures are implemented, themore

cost-effectiveoureffortswillbe.Westriveto

• Monitorandtrackrisksthreateningrecordsinallformats

• Prioritizeandimplementpreservationactions

• Specifyandmonitorenvironmentalconditionsin

storage,processing,andexhibitspaces

• Specifyandevaluatestablehousingstoholdand

protectrecords

•Provideproceduresandoffertrainingonwaystohan-

dlerecordsandpreventdamage

•Developpoliciestominimizethreatsto

records,fromfoodanddrinktopests

andpollutants

•EnsureNARAfacilitiesare

preparedforrecordsemer-

gencies

•Applycutting-edge

technologyandprocesses

thatdelivercost-effective

preservation

preservation programs

Safeguarding and preserving the records of our Government

Meet Preservation Programs FourunitsworktogetherinPreservationPrograms:Con-

servation,ElectronicRecordsPreservation,NationalPres-

ervationPrograms,andSt.LouisPreservation.

ConservationCaringfortheConstitution,theDeclarationofIndepen-

dence,andotherfoundingdocumentsisjustoneaspect

ofConservation’swork.Wepreserverecordsthatcometo

theNationalArchivesinmanyformats:looseandbound

textualdocuments,photographs,posters,artwork,archi-

tecturaldrawings,andprintedandhand-drawnmaps.We

assesstheconditionoftherecordsandidentifytheircom-

position,andwestabilizeandtreatdocumentstoprepare

themfordigitization,exhibition,andusebyresearchers.

Wemake custom housings for large or fragile records,

andweteachholdingsmaintenanceandrecordshandling

procedures. Conservation staffmonitors environmental

conditions in our facilities, and conservation scientists

conductpreservationresearchandevaluateproductsused

forstorageandexhibition.Theconservator-on-callteam

providesspeedyguidanceonemergencyresponseforall

NARAfacilities.

Electronic Records PreservationTheElectronicRecordsPreservationstaffconductstech-

nical analysis of electronic data structures and formats

andprovidesfirst-timepreservationofelectronicrecords

ontoarchivalmedia.Weoperateandmaintainthearchi-

val preservation system that includes network-attached

storage,harddrives,softwareapplications,anddatabases.

Weconductannualholdingsmaintenanceworkforsev-

eralthousandmagnetictapesandopticalmedia,andmi-

grateelectronicrecordsontonewandstablearchivalme-

dia.We provide reference reproductions to researchers.

Wereviewassociatedmetadataforaccessionedelectronic

recordsanddeveloparchivalinformationpackagesforin-

gestintoNARA’sElectronicRecordsArchives.

National Preservation ProgramsOurresponsibilitiesinPreservationProgramsconnectuswith

colleagues in our archives facilities, Federal records centers,

andthePresidentiallibraries.Togetherweidentifytheneeds

ofNARArecordsbyconductingpreservationreviewsatthese

facilities.Weestablishpreservationpriorities,developcost-

effectivestrategies,implementprogramsandpoliciestopro-

tectrecords,andmonitorourprogress.OurworkonNARA’s

newHoldingsManagement System enables trackingof

records locations andpreservationneeds andactions.We

workwithallNARAfacilitiestoensurereadinessintheevent

ofarecordsemergency.Wearehelpingbuildstrategicalli-

ancesforemergencypreparednesswithotherFederalagen-

cies.Ourcommunicationsinitiativeisbringingpreservation

informationtobroaderaudiencesthroughnewmedia.

St. Louis PreservationPreservationstaffattheNationalArchivesatSt.Louiscares

formilitaryandcivilianrecordsattheNationalPersonnel

Records Center.We assess condition for each request for

burnedrecordsfromthe6.5millionthatsurvived

the 1973 fire. We remove mold, humidify

andflattentherecords,andmendthemas

needed. Ourreformattingstaffdigitizes

ormicrofilmsrecordstomakethemmore

accessibleandprotectstheoriginalsfrom

excessivehandlinganddamage.Weplanto

makeevenmorepersonnelrecordsavail-

ableaswebegintoscananddigitally

enhanceimagesofburnedandother

records.