Of all your personal memories, photographs may have the most value to individuals and families. Photographs can provide irreplaceable information and chances are high that at least some of your photo albums, boxes of photos and now digital photos will remain of interest for a long time. Saving traditional and digital photographs for future access – including passing on to future generations – require different types of care.
Pass it On: Personal Archiving Day at the Library of Congress is a free public event taking place on Saturday, April 30, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will provide information about preserving personal and family photographs in both digital and non-digital form.
The event is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are needed.
Library staff will be on hand to talk directly with individuals about how to manage and preserve their pictorial treasures. There will also be videos and printed information available.
The event will take place in Room 119 of the Jefferson Building, located at 1st Street S.E., between Independence Avenue and East Capitol Street.
For information about visiting the Library see //www.loc.gov/visit/.
For security reasons, we ask attendees not to bring collection materials to the event. No appraisals will be provided.
In conjunction with Preservation Week, the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program will present a webinar (external link) on Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. EST on the subject of "Preserving Your Personal Digital Memories."
Pass it On: Personal Archiving Day at the Library of Congress celebrates Preservation Week (external link) (April 24-30, 2011). This joint initiative of the Library of Congress, the American Library Association, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and others, highlights libraries and other collecting institutions as excellent sources of preservation information. Pass it On: Personal Archiving Day at the Library of Congress is co-sponsored by the Office of Strategic Initiatives and Library Services.
"It is a great pleasure for us to be able to help families preserve their photograph collections," said Laura Campbell, Associate Librarian for Strategic Initiatives. "Digital technology in particular provides new challenges and opportunities to keeping photographs accessible over time and across generations."
Dr. Deanna Marcum, Associate Librarian for Library Services, says "Many of the collections currently held by the Library of Congress came originally from personal collectors. It is in the best interest of the Library to help families preserve memorabilia that help trace the history of our communities and nation."
All visitors entering any Library building must pass through a metal detector and have their belongings screened by an x-ray machine. All those exiting any Library building must pass through an electronic theft detection system and open all bags, etc., for inspection.
Twitter Hashtag: #preswk
