May Day Help for You and Your Family

Some think of May Day as a day to celebrate, once again, the coming of spring, the departing of the cold and dark days of winter. For some, May 1st conjures up visions of children dancing around a maypole in a green field, lush with spring flowers. Or maybe for you it raises socialist and labor movement consciousness. Calling "May Day" three times is also internationally known as a call of distress, derived from the French m'aider, meaning "help me."

The Library has a comprehensive Disaster Plan and well trained staff who can respond to any emergency in the library. But are we prepared at home to save our family history and treasures?

It doesn't take a disaster for us to lose our history. It only takes time: our parents and our grandparents grow old and infirm and pass away taking their memories with them; important letters and documents grow faint and crumble; photographs get lost or fade; we might forget who that man, woman or child is in the picture with our parents and… just where were they when the photograph was taken?

Well, before we lose any more than we already have, we have prepared a short list of Web sites that might help you get started at home to prepare against the inevitability of the ravages of time.

Don't despair; spring is here to remind us that there is hope even after the bleakest winter and there is still time to prepare for the winter that will certainly come again.

The Preserving Your History Brochure Series
http://calarchivists.org/pubs/SCA_PYH.html
At this site you will find concise brochures to download that won't bog you down with too much information but will inspire you to get out that tape recorder and ask Aunt Bess to tell you where you came from. They were produced with the intent of assisting the general public - the people whose everyday lives make history. They establish guidelines for preserving photographs and papers as well as provide a methodology for historical research about individuals and communities.

Photography Museum
http://www.photographymuseum.com/archival.html
If you want to know how to control the deterioration of your old family photographs, this is the site for you. Advice is given in laymen's terms and avoids professional jargon and acronyms. The authors recommend types of supplies you might need to house albums, daguerreotypes, albumen prints and much more (from Light Impressions, However, there are other vendors out there to).

Eden Photo
http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/1_early/1_early_photography_-_processes.htm
Looking to identify the types of photographs stored in your closet or up in the attic? Check out this informative site. If you want more information on photography in general, this will also lead you to a good many other sites.

Library of Congress: Preparing, Protecting, Preserving Family Treasures
http://www.loc.gov/preserv/familytreasures/
O.K., we don't like to think about it but let's not wait until it's too late. Prepare ahead of time, protect everyday, or get ready to salvage and preserve after the fact. This site will give you the answers you need and will take you deeper into the world of preservation. Our advice: do it now!

RBMS (Rare Book and Manuscript Section of the ACRL) http://www.rbms.info/yob.shtml This website on old books is a perennial favorite. As it states right up front, these are general answers to frequently asked questions, but are they ever good!

AIC (The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works)
http://aic.stanford.edu/library/online/brochures/
Here you will find some great but brief brochures with concise tips for preserving those treasures, again, without a lot of jargon to wade through.

Conservation Online CoOL
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/bytopic/disasters/
What do you do if the basement floods or the attic catches fire? This excellent site will take you step by step to recovering those quilts, manuscripts and works of art after (heaven forbid) your basement floods or the house catches fire.

Conserv O Grams Publications Museum Management Program
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/cons_toc.html
This is a terrific site for the professional but is also a wealth of information for you collectors out there. Want to know how to wax those antique tables and chairs, remove dust from Grandma's ceramics and china, clean Uncle Stoney's saddle, or find out how to preserve little Johnny's insect collection? Well, download a Conserv-O-Gram and collect and preserve like a professional.

Canadian Conservation Institute
http://www.preservation.gc.ca/index_e.asp
Wait! Don't throw that out! You may have something of value right under your nose. This site will tell you where to find an appraiser who will tell you what all that stuff in the attic, the garage or under your feet is worth. Learn how to make a time capsule; it may be the only thing you leave to posterity. Take a 3-D tour of your home and evaluate it for valuable items. This is a very cool interactive site, moving pictures, music and everything. Have fun!

Society of American Archivists
http://www.archivists.org/mayday/texts.asp
This site has an annotated May Day resource page a mile long, so if you really want information, this is the place to go!

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Last updated June 23, 2008 by the OHSU Library Web Managers. Please send comments, questions, and reports of problems to the Library through the customer support form.