Top 5 Tips to Keep Your Family Photo Albums Safe for Generations
Top 5 Tips to Keep Your Family Photo Albums Safe for Generations
I recently came across an album my father made for me years ago. On the front page, he had rubbed the gold letters off to spell:
To | Jennifer M. Loomis
Trips I Took
From | Tom = Dad
The photos inside were dated 1978 and captured me and my sister visiting his place in South Dakota. As I sit here with tears in my eyes, I feel the weight of this discovery. My father passed away two years ago, and in the later years of his life, we weren’t as close as I wished. Politics, distance, and life’s challenges drew us apart. Yet, this album—a simple, handmade collection—reminds me how deeply he loved me, even when it didn’t always feel that way.
Seeing his handwriting, rubbed smooth by time, brought back a flood of memories and a bittersweet longing. It’s a reminder of how powerful these physical artifacts can be. They aren’t just objects; they are bridges to people we’ve lost and moments we hold dear.
If you have family photo albums, here are five tips to preserve them for generations, ensuring they continue to tell your family’s stories and evoke love, just as my father’s album has for me.
1. Store Albums in a Cool, Dry Place Away from Sunlight
Direct sunlight and extreme temperatures can fade colors and weaken paper over time. Keep albums in a temperature-controlled area of your home, like a closet or bookshelf that is not on an outer wall in your home, rather than attics or basements, which are prone to moisture and temperature fluctuations.
2. Use Acid-Free Storage Materials
Many older albums are made with materials that can deteriorate photos over time. Replace old adhesives, plastic coverings, or pages with acid-free, archival-quality materials. These prevent yellowing, brittleness, and chemical damage, helping your albums stand the test of time.
3. Avoid Stacking Heavy Items on Albums
Weight can compress and warp albums, damaging their binding and pages. Store them upright on a sturdy shelf or lay them flat with minimal weight on top to preserve their structure.
4. Handle with Clean, Dry Hands or Cotton Gloves
The oils on our hands can smudge or degrade photographs and delicate pages. Always handle albums with clean, dry hands. For especially fragile albums, consider using cotton gloves to add a layer of protection.
5. Digitize Fragile Albums for Added Security
Digitizing your albums ensures their content is preserved, even if the physical copies deteriorate or are lost. Use a flatbed scanner or hire a professional to create high-resolution digital versions, and store them securely on a cloud service or external hard drive taking care to have a backup.
Photo albums are far more than collections of pictures; they are living pieces of our family history. Preserving them ensures that future generations can connect with these cherished moments. Whether it’s a handmade album like my father’s or one you’ve created yourself, these simple steps can protect your memories for years to come.
Take the time to care for your albums—they might hold the love, stories, and reminders you didn’t even know you needed until, like me, you stumble upon them in a move and realize the person who made it for you is now gone and that he loved you so much.