Managing Records: Disaster Assistance:

Records Advisory:
Salvaging and Caring For Your Family Treasures

Salvaging Your Family Treasures

General Resources

• Basic salvage guidelines from professional conservators
  
• Preserving Treasures After a Disaster
  Basic information and video demonstrations on water damaged paper documents, books, photographic materials, textiles, furniture, paintings, CDs, computer diskettes, video and recording tape, and hard drives; also on dealing with contamination, mold, smoke and soot
  

Salvaging Books and Paper Records

• How to save wet books
  
• How to save wet paper records
  • Uncoated paper
  • Coated paper
• Freezing and drying wet books and paper records
  
• Preparation for drying framed or matted paper items
  

Salvaging Photographs

• Emergency Salvage of Wet Photographs
  
• Water damaged photographs, digital prints and photo albums
  (then select “ A Consumer Guide for the Recovery of Water Damaged Traditional and Digital Prints”)

Salvaging Audio/Visual Materials

• First aid for water damaged film, magnetic tape, and discs
  Flood damaged film, magnetic tape (audio and video cassettes, reel-to-reel tapes), and discs (LP’s, 45’s, optical discs, CDs, DVDs and BluRays)
  
• Disaster Recovery for Films in Flooded Areas
  Film (home movies) and videotapes.
  

Salvaging 3-D Objects

• Salvage Procedures for Wet Items
  Water damaged textiles, clothing, and costume accessories, and vellum, parchment and wooden items
  
• Salvage at a Glance: Object Collections
  Water damaged organic objects (ivory shell, skin, leather, wooden objects and basketry) and inorganic objects (ceramics, metal, stone, and glass)
  

Caring for Your Family Treasures

• What you need to know before you evacuate
  
• Memory and History: What to save and how – Caring for Your Treasures
  
• Resources for those who care for family collections
  

For further information or assistance contact the State Archives at:

Telephone: (518) 474-6926
Email: ARCH_SOS@mail.nysed.gov.

See also:

• Disaster Assistance webpage
• List of Advisories
• NYSA Advisory: Working with Disaster Recovery Vendors

11/9/2012