Caring for personal archives

There are a number of resources which can assist you in keeping your archives in their best condition.

• The National Archives of Australia have an extensive range of fact sheets in their Preserving information section. Their website also includes information for family historians on looking after your family archive.
• The Australian War Memorial has a useful range of online leaflets about Conservation, including one on Documents.
• The book Keeping Archives is a useful guide for archivists which covers the key archival principles of original order and provenance. Trove can help you find a copy of the guide at a library near you.

Preserving old books

There are a number of websites which provide basic and advanced guides to help you keep your books in their best condition.

A small selection of these are include:

• Preserving archival volumes: this web page from the National Archives of Australia contains information on preserving various styles of bound books.
• Conservation guides: this State Library of Victoria page provides a series of useful guides to preserving books in your private collection.
• Caring for your collections: the State Library of Queensland provides a series of guides for individuals and libraries on caring and preserving your collections.

If you want to get your book restored, you can find contact details, or business listings, for book or art restorers in the Yellow Pages. Try searching for the business types: Art Restoration & Conservation, and Archival & preservation products & services.