Preservation Options for Town Records and Archival Collections

The Vermont Historical Records Advisory Board and the Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance have surveyed many town clerk offices and small rural historical societies to help them establish priorities for the care of their collections. It is no simple task to keep up with collections maintenance. Trying to do the right thing can be confusing when reading through catalogs for supplies or talking with a preservation vendor or conservation professional.

The goal of both organizations is to help those persons in charge of municipal records and archival collections to better understand the preservation options available to them. We hope that our website will offer some useful guidelines as well as resources for additional information.

1. Why are my records falling apart?
2. How do I know which records to get fixed?
3. What are my preservation options?
4. How do I choose a conservator?
5. Downloadable documents you can use

This website and resources were created by MJ Davis, VMGA, and Polly Darnell, Librarian & Archivist, Shelburne Museum.